evanstARTs invites the entire Evanston community to COME HEAR THE RESULTS. The meetings will be held on TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, 2013 at 10:30 a.m. to 12 Noon at the Music Institute of Chicago (1490 Chicago Ave.) OR 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Parasol Room at the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center (2100 Ridge)
evanstARTs is holding two COMMUNITY MEETINGS to announce RESULTS from the Arts Survey and community conversations and to PRESENT Recommendations and a VISION for the ARTS in Evanston.
The meeting will be preceded, 30 minutes prior, by a performance by Evanston artists. Meeting will start promptly at the designated time.
1490 Chicago Ave.
Evanston Il 60201
What is evanstARTs?
The City of Evanston, the Evanston Community Foundation and the Evanston Arts Council are collaborating to gather public input on the arts in Evanston and to generate recommendations for policy, programs and infrastructure. The recommendations will, in turn, foster a more dynamic and coordinated climate for the arts in Evanston for artists, the creative economy and the city’s residents. This cross-community collaboration will suggest a “Roadmap for the Arts” in Evanston.
The first phase of this effort, from September 2012 to January 2013, seeks to identify the diverse perspectives on arts and culture from community members who care about the arts in Evanston, whether they are artists, patrons, business professionals, parents or students. The initiative will include public listening sessions, an online survey, stakeholder interviews, focus groups and more.
The collaboration is spearheaded by a seven-person working group. Members are representatives of the City of Evanston, the Evanston Community Foundation, and the Evanston Arts Council, along with nonprofit consultant Amina Dickerson.
The working group conducted five public listening sessions:
• Thursday, September 20, 10 a.m. to noon at the Music Institute of Chicago (1490 Chicago Ave.)
• Thursday, September 20, 7 to 9 p.m. at Fleetwood-Jourdain Community Center (1655 Foster St.)
• Monday, September 24, 7 to 9 p.m. at Oakton Elementary School (436 Ridge Ave.)
• Friday, October 5, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Ecology Center (2024 McCormick Blvd)
Whether you attended a meeting or not, please share your thoughts about the arc of arts experiences, current and potential, in Evanston through an online survey.
The vision that is discovered during the first phase will provide the foundation for a more extensive planning effort to be undertaken by the Arts Council in collaboration with the Community Foundation and other local groups. There will be a more comprehensive, multi-year plan to develop and integrate arts into overall city planning efforts. Preliminary findings and recommendations will be shared with the public for comment at two open community meetings in November. The final report will be issued in January 2013.
Evanston is not unique in its search to identify economic opportunities created by a strong arts community. Throughout the U.S., communities are looking closely at the arts experiences they offer to residents and visitors alike. It is clear that the arts provide more to communities than audience experiences and income for artists. The arts inspire, enrich, entertain and enlighten, but also serve as an important economic engine for Evanston.
A 2005 study by the Evanston Community Foundation found that the work accomplished by the Evanston nonprofit creative community contributed $25 million in direct economic benefits to Evanston, while the indirect and associated benefits to the community totaled roughly $89 million. Evanston’s 2012 National Endowment for the Arts grant to explore the possibilities of new arts facilities in the downtown area, together with creative new uses for city-owned buildings, create a unique opportunity for the arts to contribute still more to Evanston's economic development.
These developments have created a tremendous opportunity for Evanston to define the arc of arts experiences that residents throughout our community can enjoy over their lifetime in spaces new and old, downtown and around town. Evanston could increase the bottom line impact for business, the community and the city itself by building on its rich tradition of excellence in the arts, its proximity to Chicago and its lively restaurant scene.
THE EVANSTON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION, celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2012, helps Evanston thrive now and forever as a vibrant, inclusive, and just community. It builds, connects, and distributes resources and knowledge through local organizations for the common good. The Foundation builds endowments for current and future opportunities, fosters private philanthropy, focuses the impact of collective giving, finds solutions to community challenges, allocates grants, and provides leadership training.
THE EVANSTON ARTS COUNCIL encourages the involvement of citizens in the arts and helps coordinate private and public cultural activities, in addition to administering and developing the Noyes Cultural Arts Center as a resource for the Evanston community.
Listening session held on 9/20 at Music Institute of Chicago.
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Thank you for reading my blog Evanston Newbie, a blog devoted to covering my family's move from El Paso, TX, to Evanston, IL, in 2011. We arrived in June 2011 and several people have pointed out that I am no longer a "newbie" and should start some other blog. But I disagree and want to keep the "newbie" status for a while longer, maybe five years and for several reasons. #1 - there are many Evanston families who have lived here for generations since the town incorporated in the late 1800s, so in comparison to them, I am very much a "newbie". #2 - I firmly believe this blog is a good branding tool for the city of Evanston and it's the least I can do to thank our new town for being so AWESOME! If you have any questions or need to get in touch with my about this blog, Evanston, or anything else you can email me at thelisadshow@gmail.com. Thank you for reading and have an awesome 2013.
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