Park City // Summit County Arts & Culture Master Plan
Park City // Summit County, Utah
WHY
The foundations of this Arts & Culture Master Plan emerge from a deep understanding of Summit County’s creative landscape—its history, its current conditions, and the aspirations voiced by residents, artists, and cultural leaders. Through comprehensive planning assessment, data analysis and asset mapping, peer benchmarking, and community engagement, a clear picture comes into focus: Summit County is a community rich in cultural assets yet marked by uneven access, constrained capacity, and untapped potential. These foundational insights ground the plan’s vision and directly shape the strategies and key priorities that chart a roadmap toward a more connected, equitable, and resilient cultural ecosystem for all.
HOW
The Park City // Summit County Arts & Culture Master Plan is grounded in a comprehensive assessment of the county’s cultural ecosystem, combining asset mapping, benchmarking, data analysis, and targeted community engagement to understand both strengths and structural gaps. The planning process revealed a region rich in cultural legacy and economic impact, yet constrained by uneven geographic access, fragmented leadership, limited infrastructure, and a lack of coordinated funding and implementation capacity. These findings shaped a clear, evidence-based framework for action rather than a purely aspirational vision.
WHAT
Building on prior efforts such as Project ABC (Arts, Beauty, Culture) and the Sustainable Tourism Plan, the Master Plan establishes a strategic roadmap to strengthen arts and culture countywide through coordinated leadership, diversified funding, equitable distribution of facilities and programming, and long-term cultural infrastructure investment. The plan emphasizes practical mechanisms—such as expanded public art planning, artist housing and workspace strategies, cultural district development, and cross-sector partnerships—to support sustainable growth and community identity. By aligning cultural planning with tourism, economic development, and placemaking, the plan provides a phased, implementable guide to ensure arts and culture remain integral to Summit County’s social, economic, and physical vitality.