FoCo Creates: Arts and Culture Master Plan

showcase on public access tv

Did you know FC has a public access TV station in the Carnegie building? - use it to showcase your art -have your non-profit partner for informative videos

Love the focus on equity and inclusion not only as a goal, throughout document.

On the Carnegie Center: Great opportunity to have a black box performance space within a building that can serve the local makers and Foco.

It can serve as: performance space, education center for grants etc, research and collaboration within the science and artistic community, a place for ideas to percolate and grow, ability to house residencies and so many other things.

Transcend "World Class"

Certainly to some, the term "world class" can refer to professionalism, polish, perfection. To others, the 20th century notion of "world class" could carry with it a sense of elitism or exclusivity. What if we try to transcend the term and just shoot for something with a sense of being seasoned, intentional, collaborative and relevant? Fort Collins creative culture is in a state of becoming. Its 21st century identity as a town of multiple cultures has yet to coalesce. We're just at the beginning. We need to address and nurture that. Who are we? What do we stand for? What do we believe? What boundaries are we exceeding? Let's leave room for exploration and discovery of our collective identity. Make allowances for 21st century change. When Fort Collins finds itself, we can then begin to have an impact upon the world at large. We can take our place as relevant citizens of the world. That would be a great discussion to have. If we try to define ourselves right now, we run the risk of becoming an anachronism. If we pat ourselves on the back for simply having people of different cultures perform in a production of "The Magic Flute," we've missed the mark.

Neighborhood Art Hubs

Each neighborhood area utilizes a local park/space for pop-up art festivities: performance: street theatre, music, open mic, craft fair, poetry slam, etc.

The City should work with the arts organization to pass the Scientific and Cultural District similar to Denver. It would help them greatly

Provide support for attending arts and culture conferences

Our artists and cultural entrepreneurs need to have access to the latest ideas and developments in order to play their full part in contributing to a thriving arts and culture scene in Fort Collins. Yet few can afford to cover the necessary travel, accommodation and fees. Fort Collins should launch a travel fund that can expand city-wide access to the trends and business practices that are equal to improving the health and fuel the growth of our sector.

Pop Up Performance Fleet

Instead of expecting the people to come to the arts, bring the arts to the people. A modest fleet of shipping container stages could provide enrichment to underserved neighborhoods and peoples. This could also provide expanded performance opportunities for marginalized and ethnocentric artists (dancers, musicians, actors, performance artists, spoken word artists, etc.) https://www.isospaces.co.uk/portfolio/boxpark-popup-stage-shipping-container/

Fund year round incubation and acceleration activities for arts, culture and creative industries.

Call it risk capital if you like... but given the returns we are getting on our existing arts investments, I think we can confidently reinvest in this way.

Organized volunteer effort to encourage the private sector to fund arts & culture.

If we're going to use city funds to increase funding for arts & culture in Fort Collins, we should put the funding towards an organized effort to raise money from the private sector.

Increase arts accessibility in suburban neighborhoods away from Old Town

Suburban neighborhoods are full of potential audience members and arts patrons who don't want to go all the way to Old Town to see a show. We could improve accessibility by constructing outdoor stages, supporting more live music venues like Avogadro's number, and creating more locally owned restaurants and cafes with open mic nights like the Bean Cycle, all in areas which are completely lacking in any cultural amenities.

Curate, Fund, and Produce Local Storytelling Events

Themed storytelling events that are (with permission) recorded, repurposed, published, and distributed to larger audiences to tell the story of Fort Collins and its people.

Incentivize arts orgs + bizs to develop their own recreator classes/activities through offering an incubator/accelerator program at CCC.