SRAC Executive Director Leslie Forrester said the process began when the Arts Council hired the Cultural Planning Group.
"We brought them in to help us build a process that would ensure there was a lot of community engagement and help us gain some new perspective," Forrester said.
To gather information for the plan, the Arts Council conducted focus groups, community events, surveys and more. The Cultural Planning Group then helped sift through the feedback, Forrester said.
The plan took about 18 months to develop. During that time, the group identified three overarching goals.
The first focuses on improving communication and promotion of arts events throughout the region.
"One of the most consistent pieces of feedback we heard was, 'I don't hear about things until they're over.' So this goal is really focused on residents and visitors, business leaders and other people who are not already plugged into the arts community," Forrester said.
She added that social media often creates an "echo chamber" where only people who are already connected hear about local events.
The group's second goal is to strengthen existing systems and provide the resources the creative community needs.
Forrester hopes the plan will lead to more rehearsal halls, studio spaces, professional development opportunities and other resources for artists.
The third goal is to provide more operational funding to invest in Springfield's creative economy.
"In order to create a really vibrant nightlife economy that supports the creative community, we need to ask if the system is set up well to support that," she said.
Those resources could also help artists pursue residencies, recover from emergencies or continue working during difficult economic times.
"When the economy is rough or natural disasters strike, the arts community usually takes a very heavy hit. If we had systems and resources in place to support recovery faster, we would build a more resilient arts and culture community," Forrester said.
"There's room for everyone here. That's part of the beauty of this region. If we can create resources, or realign existing resources in a way that makes them more accessible, that should be a priority for us," she said.
Forrester said the next step is developing an implementation plan to carry out the strategies and maximize their impact.
She added that she hopes the community will stay engaged in the process and continue asking questions.
For more information on the SRAC’s plan, visit their website, Instagram or Facebook pages.
