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Imagine if...

Greater Louisville is a magnet for artists and creative professionals, where arts and culture organizations and creative industries, both institutional and emerging, are thriving.

Greater Louisville was a magnet for artists and creative professionals… with thriving arts and culture organizations and booming creative industries. A place where creativity is nurtured and valued as essential to the success of our community.

The artists, creative professionals, arts, and cultural organizations are the foundation of our cultural community. Creative industries employ a large number of people, and jobs in creative industries often require bachelor’s and master’s level degrees and have higher incomes. Solo artists are entrepreneurs and small business owners and help to drive the economy. The number of arts and cultural organizations is one measure of the community’s assets, but also the diversity of the type of organization – whether performing arts theatre or visual arts gallery, museum, or other cultural sites.

Cultivating artists, creative professionals, arts, and cultural organizations, at all stages of development, is critical to a thriving ecosystem. Exposing young people to various art forms and avenues for creative expression, fostering meaningful dialogue around artistic practice, and supporting creative businesses to establish a robust arts career pipeline in Greater Louisville are all important aspects of cultivating the creative sector.

By promoting the engagement of all sectors of Greater Louisville—government, funders, foundations, corporations, educational institutions, and even social service organizations, art producers, and supporters—we will elevate the overall caliber and develop a highly skilled and well-rounded creative community.

Strategy 1

Support and cultivate strong arts and culture organizations to ensure a vibrant, sustainable, and equitable ecosystem.

  • Action 1 – Create a bridge for organizations to sustain through the covid pandemic and re-emerge with relevance and strength.
    • Provide funding for stabilization through 2021 and re-opening plans for 2022 & beyond
    • Provide consulting, legal advice, and resources for possible mergers and alliances
  • Action 2 – Invest in the growth and stability of organizations of all sizes through general operating support.
  • Action 3 – Invest in capacity building for boards and staffs to lead best-in-class organizations
  • Action 4 – Explore shared services, shared rehearsal, and performance spaces.
  • Action 5 – Create/nurture an arts incubator with shared resources and emphasis on BIPOC organizations

Strategy 2

Support local artists through resources, programs, and networks.

  • Action 1 – Support artists with professional development, consulting, and resources.
  • Action 2 – Promote local artist directory/s to help promote and provide exposure for artists of all kinds.
  • Action 3 – Advocate for changes to Live/Work Spaces policy currently in place, pursue funding and promote to the artist community.

Strategy 3

Address space challenges for rehearsal, performance, studio, and office space.

  • Action 1 – Conduct a space inventory
  • Action2 – Share results broadly
  • Action 3 – Identify new space opportunities with large organizations, local developers, and city officials.

Strategy 4

Advocate for public funding for the arts and arts-friendly policies locally and statewide.

  • Action 1 – Build a strong advocacy plan and relationships with Metro Council and city officials to promote arts funding and arts-friendly policies.
  • Action 2 – Designate a local Louisville arts agency to represent Louisville as part of the Americans for the Arts largest city peer network and to serve as one of the primary liaisons to the National Endowment for the Arts.
  • Action 3 – Mayor to create an Arts Commission to help advise the city on arts-friendly policies.
  • Action 4 – Advocate for a return to previous arts funding levels to promote the strength and stability of the arts and culture sector to help achieve the vision and goals of the Imagine 2025 plan.
  • Action 5 – Explore new public funding models including per capita funding, cultural tax models, and a percent-for-art funding model.
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