The Big Canvas Confab - Group Seven

The Big Canvas Confab - Group Seven

Our group consisted of 16 people, including two arts and culture representatives and one state official. The age range went from youth to senior citizens but tended toward the older side. There were a few people from Philadelphia with the rest from the suburbs. There was a mix of men and women, with more women than men, and there was one African American in the group. Moderators were Loretta Raider and Carole Cohn. State Sen. Ted Erickson also joined the group.

What elected officials thought most important:

• Bringing regionalism to our area – silly to have redundancies.

• Creative Economy – This could be economically beneficial for our region with a small investment.

What the arts and culture leaders/workers thought most important:

• Regional arts calendar

• Half-price ticket booths – marketing easy to do

• Collaboration, Coordination, Communication – theater companies do this so already a strong foundation on which to build

• Additional ideas:
     → More marketing and more weekly information / PR
     → “Culture Passport” - offer venues / events that have geographical diversity and variety across disciplines so that people are encouraged to participate in new things and new places
     → Better communication, including more interactive online services – ex. Philly Fun web site could connect users to listed venues through links to those organizations and also have links to other related events (like Amazon.com does when you make a purchase – “other buyers of x product purchased these products [links included]”)
     → Encourage arts groups to share lists and information
     → More SEPTA late night trains and arts and culture publicity / ads in their vehicles
     → Give incentives for people to bring friends to arts and culture events
     → To deal with “intimidation” factor – Fringe Festival model – when you call for information / tickets, a real person responds, answers your questions, makes recommendations after getting information about caller, and explains various events and locations - makes people feel safe, welcome and more willing to try new things and locations

Discussion and additional ideas:

• Lots of discussion about transportation and SEPTA with agreement on points in handout plus new ideas (see Common Ground section of report)

• Some discussion of the importance of arts and culture in communities and the need to encourage and enhance it (see specific ideas in Common Ground section of report)

• Develop map of region identifying the location of arts and culture venues

• Print information about restaurants and clubs in theater programs (not just ads)

• Have non-online ways of accessing half-price tickets

• Digital divide: seniors, others don’t “do” computers, some, including many students don’t have computers

Common ground:

• Creative Economy – groups supported all actions coming under this umbrella – early agreement on this so little discussion
Culture Passport – with some additional twists (see other sections of report)

• The 3 C’s – with some new ideas (see other sections of report)

• Create a better sense of community:

• Use word of mouth to spread information about arts and culture events and opportunities

• Contact / PR in churches, synagogues, mosques, etc.

• Build loyalty to arts and culture in neighborhoods

• Use recreation centers in communities this summer for arts project and other activities

• Better transportation / SEPTA

• Central fund for transportation / SEPTA

• SEPTA should hand out flyers to send people to the city from the suburbs and vice-versa like it hands out flyers to get folks to go to NJ and NYC

• Shuttle services for theater to which businesses contribute

• Go to SEPTA Board meetings

• Have a plan to take to SEPTA and legislature

• More frequent trains and buses at night

• Use older, retired people as volunteer resources to arts and culture organizations and to work in community centers – find ways to connect that population to where the need is