LA PLATA – The April meeting of the Charles County Arts Alliance Vision 2020 group has come and gone. Thus marks the county another month closer to a comprehensive plan for the arts in our communities. Alliance President Diane Rausch led the meeting with her usual high energy style.
The dedicated group hopes to have their plan ready for the Charles County Commissioners by the end of the year. The plan is focused on making the changes within the next thirteen years, to be completed by the year 2020. This is no small task considering the size, varying population densities, and needs of Charles County.
Waldorf is a suburban environment while Nanjemoy is sparsely populated and parts of it are remote. Creating a plan which includes the entire county is a daunting task, but the members of the alliance seem eager to work hard towards better outreach and more opportunities for both artists and art lovers.
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| Photos courtesy of H. Bartlett for TheBayNet.com |
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There were plenty of people on hand to go over the carefully cultivated notes and information from the previous meetings. The topics ranged from arts education to outreach, transportation and venues. The groups meet monthly; each meeting inches Charles County closer to a richer culture and a better quality of life.
After the groups met individually there was a general report from each group of the items they are sorting out and those they wish to take action on by the next meeting. Assignments to group members to collect data, arrange field trip times or create reports were dealt out.
The Arts Education group was full of ideas to create arts education publicly and privately. They stay in touch with local politicians to discuss ideas and options to help the community better include arts in education.
Arts Programming and Arts Development reported from surveys, data collection, reviews of past studies and valuable information from other sources.
Venues and Facilities group planed to make field trips to communities that have strong arts culture, successful venues, and Arts & Entertainment Districts with models to inspire their direction, such as The Patterson and Gateway Arts District Sector Plans.
Each of the four groups is an important part of the master plan. Pooling their efforts is something Diane Rausch has carefully cultivated over recent years. She keeps the group focused on the final plan.
All interested parties are invited to join the Arts Vision 2020 group and the Charles County Arts Alliance. You can learn more by visiting the Charles County Arts Alliance website.