How healthy is the arts and cultural environment on the Sunshine Coast? A regional cultural scan is underway to answer that question and to determine the extent of the arts and cultural/heritage services, facilities and products available to Sunshine Coast residents and visitors. "A comprehensive arts inventory is the first step towards creating a long term cultural strategy," said Francine Lucas, project manager for the scan.
The Sunshine Coast, long known for its natural beauty and high ratio of artists, is undergoing transformation in its traditional economies, population and demographics. By responding to these changes and tailoring a plan for the delivery of arts and cultural/heritage services that best fits the needs of the population, the Sunshine Coast's "art beat" will continue strongly. A cultural strategy will propel the growth of arts and culture into the future. The cultural scan is the first step. It will determine what services and products are currently available to artists, organizations and residents of the Sunshine Coast. It will inventory such things as arts organizations, artists and collectives, festivals and events, facilities, museums and galleries and other cultural resources to determine the economic and social status of the local community. The inventory will identify gaps in cultural services and products, provide an indication of organizational capacity, identify the economic impact of the arts and culture and detail local government support for arts and culture.
Lucas, and a Grant Thornton consulting team led by Sydney Johnsen, are working together with a steering committee to complete the research phase of the project.
"Johnsen, a former resident of the Coast, with a long-standing history of involvement in the cultural community and solid business skills, was a natural fit for the project," said Lucas.
Johnsen has developed a number of tools to gather the required information. First of those is a questionnaire that will be available to all Sunshine Coast residents, including artists, cultural workers and volunteers, audience members and the general public.
Residents are invited to respond to the questionnaire, available at www.coastculture.com and in hard copy across the Coast. And there are three public forums scheduled, in Pender Harbour (May 15), Sechelt (May 16) and Gibsons (May 18). Watch for times and locations. The Sunshine Coast regional cultural scan is funded through ArtsNow and Western Economic Diversification funding and community support.
