summary of arts plan pdf

7/29/2019 Summary of Arts Plan PDF

1/11

1

MANCHESTER, NH


2/11


3/11


4/11

4

STRENGTHS AND CHALLENGES

Strengths

Overall Manchesters arts and cultural assets are formidable and diverse.

The city that was once a company town built by the manufacturing technology of the past century is proud of its deepmanufacturing and immigrant heritage. The buildings that once housed the textile mills of Amoskeag Manufacturing millsstand proud along the Merrimack River representing the strong architectural design of the period. The Millyard Museum isalso where visitors and local school children can go to understand the history and heritage of this community. The two riversPiscataquog and Merrimack add significantly to the persona of this city.

While preserving its past, this city is also looking forward and embracing the new era of technology. The same building thathouses the Millyard Museum also is home to The See Science center where, the FIRST competitions sponsored by DEKAdraw the new generation into the city. Visitors and residents of this city can experience not only take arts and design classesbut also visit dinosaurs, a replica of the Millyard made entirely of Lego, share art and architecture designed by Picasso,Georgia OKeeffe, Louise Bourgeois and Frank Lloyd Wright.

Good number and range in size of facilities.

The city is also home to several performing arts facilities and venues. These venues range from the large scale VerizonWireless Arena that can seat 11,000, the Palace Theatre with 900 seats, Dana center with 700, the Majestic with 230 andCurrier with 140. One can experience Bob Dylan, Recycled Percussion, the Gay Mens Choir, American Idol and thenutcracker within 5 miles of each other.

Within the city there is also a strong mix of museums that provide a wide range of experiences. These venues are housed notonly in the downtown and the mills but throughout the citys neighborhoods. The recently opened Aviation Museum, the BoyScouts Museum, the Zimmerman House are all located within several neighborhoods of the city

The audience and visitor base is also quite diverse

The regional market includes Massachusetts, Vermont and Maine. Every four years during the Presidential Primaries, the cityis also home to thousands of people and who arrive nationally and internationally. These venues provides the age range forperformances and shows is birth to death


5/11

5

Impressive infrastructure investment

There has been strong investment into the infrastructure of arts and culture in the past decade including public investment intoVerizon Wireless Arena of $70 million, the Fisher Cats Baseball $21 million and $145,000 in public art. Private investment ofthe Currier Museum of Art $21.4 million, NH institute of Art $18 million in expansion.

The higher education in the City and the region are also seen as a strong arts and cultural asset.

The city is home to 11 institutions of higher education with roughly 15,000 students. These colleges have been a great catalystto house and attract arts and culture. The New Hampshire Writers Project is housed at Southern New Hampshire University,St. Anselms College, through the Dana Center, brings in national and international performers and the New HampshireInstitute of Art has been significantly growing their downtown campus.

Trolley had been helpful in bringing the community together

The Open Doors Trolley with is run 4 times a year has been growing and has been a strong asset to bring the communitytogether, attract visitors and give exposure to facilities that most people normally would not visit. A series of summer concertsand cultural celebrations also draw visitors to the city.


6/11


7/11

7

A general recognition that the city could do more to attract and engage young people

There are 15,000 individuals who attend colleges in the area; there has been modest effort to keep/bring them into the culturalcommunity.A few organizations have a younger demographic the NH Creative Club, the Graphic Artist Guild, and a web designers

group New dynamic young people who grew up in the city are coming back

Signage and parking are a serious issue

Poor signage makes it difficult for newcomers and visitors to navigate the City which presents real problems to many culturalinstitutions that want to broaden and expand their audience base.

ConclusionsThe arts and cultural community and assets could bring a higher level of economic impact to the city, but it wont occur unlesscommunity is more organized and able to better capitalize on its strengths.


8/11

8

PRELIMINARY RECOMMENDATIONS

The following are areas of recommendation identified by participants during the April 5, 2010meeting at the Dana Center.Among these areas of recommendation, the group prioritized next steps this way:

1) First get organized with high level CEOs from both the arts and cultural community --

identify those likely CEO allies/champions in the business community.

2) Second, craft and tell the story of the economic significance of the arts and cultural community.

3) Third, get organized internally among arts and cultural organizations, commercial enterprises, and institutions.

Specific tasks to be undertaken

Position the City as a Higher-profile Arts Destination

Create new visual arts points throughout the City Develop clear brand and identity for the Citys Creative and Cultural Community Improve signage and use the arts community to make the improvements Create highly-visible programs / events focused on the arts Tell the story of the economic significance of the arts and cultural community (how it brings vibrancy to the economy and the

community) in a clear, concise, and a compelling way. Then the arts and cultural community needs to systemize the story

telling so that it is part of a strategic process reaching a wide and diverse audience

Capitalize on Existing Visitor Base Reciprocal discounts and customize information to extend audience stays (Radisson, Verizon, Airport) Leverage one-time impact events (primaries, summer antique shows, etc.) Knit together stand-alone exhibits and museums thru maps and common themes of industrial heritage, river, mills, Native

American French Canadian-immigrant heritage

Take Advantage of Assets and Benefits of Higher Ed

Create relationship between Creative Economy and the Arts Directors / Coordinators in each institution


9/11

9

Work with institutions on building and programmatic expansion plans and offer the assistance / support of the creativeeconomy

Organize Art Education courses / programs that can bring in new audiences / customersBuild a Stronger Relationship with the Business Community

Create more effective outreach to the business community; CEO tour of venues with signature events Educate the business community about the revenue and job generating capacity of the Creative Economy Develop mutually-beneficial programmatic relationship with the business community

Build Programs and Relationship that Lead to Development of New Audiences

Create programs to bring in new audiences to downtown and to arts and cultural community Develop new relationships and collaborations that target audiences who may only be marginally connect to the Creative

Economy Connect to other regional events to build shoulder opportunities

Develop Mechanisms for More Effective Partnerships and Collaborations

Get more organized internally within the arts and cultural community and find more consistent mechanisms forcommunication. Related, meetings that are organized should be strategic in nature, have CEO level participation, and, ideally,include CEO counterparts in the business community.

Hold regular Strategic Action meetings

Focus on specific/targeted issues such as collaborations on special events, and new audience development. This should beconvened and facilitated by a neutral party, but accountable to selves and flexible enough to allow self-defined groups to workand prioritize action items.

Create a electronic system for sustaining and building collaboration and partnership development. Initiate more multi-venue, cross sector (visual arts, design, performing arts, creative education) marketing and promotion. Investigate incubator space that accelerates enterprise development of artists and arts community.


10/11

10

LIST OF PARTICIPANTS

Agency Contact Name

Amoskeag Fishways Dalbeck Helen

Art 3 Gallery Lee Forage

Art Commission Crystal Nadeau

Art Commission Elizabeth Hitchcock

Center NH - Radisson Maurine Bowlin

City of Manchester Economic Development Office Jay Minkarah

City of Manchester Economic Development Office Christopher Wellington

City of Manchester Economic Development Office Meena Gyawali

Credit Union Museum Peggy PowellCurrier Museum of Art Susan Leidy

Currier Museum of Art Susan Strickler

Dana Center St. Anslems College Bob Shea

East Colony Fine Arts Randy Knowles

Franco-American Centre Adele Baker

Granite State Ambassadors Judy Window

Manchester Chamber of Commerce Robin Comstock

Manchester Chamber of Commerce Gemma Waite

Manchester Community Music School Jeanine Tousignant

Millyard Museum Aurora Eaton

Mt. Auburn Associates Stephen Michon

Mt. Auburn Associates Michael Kane

NH Business Committee for the Arts Joan Goshgarian

NH Institute of Art Jessica Kinsey

NH Institute of Art Katie Berger

PSNH Elizabeth Larocca

SEE Science Center Douglas HeuserSEE Science Center Peter Gustafson

Southern New Hampshire Planning Commission David Preece

State of NH Alice Desouza

The Palace Theatre Peter Ramsey

Verizon Wireless Arena Jason Perry


11/11

11

City of ManchesterEconomic Development Department

One City Hall Plaza

Manchester, NH 03101(603) 624 [email protected]

summary of arts plan pdf

Documents