Riviera Beach Art in Public Places Plan
Riviera Beach, Florida
WHY
The Riviera Beach Art in Public Places Master Plan stemmed from a desire to move beyond mere beautification toward a unified civic identity through strategic public art investment. Recognizing that public art is a powerful catalyst, city leaders embraced the plan as a roadmap to express core community values, celebrate the rich culture of its neighborhoods, and invigorate the local experience for both long-term residents and incoming visitors. The underlying goal was to integrate the arts into the "Reimagining Riviera Beach" initiative—a comprehensive push for renewal that seeks to overcome systemic obstacles, strengthen community engagement, and leverage the city’s abundant natural amenities and history for future, equitable economic growth. The Art in Public Places program was created to be an essential element for establishing a distinct cultural presence and enhancing the city’s quality of life.
HOW
Developing the comprehensive recommendations for the Art in Public Places Master Plan relied on robust community input. The planning process was organized around several key milestones, including a formal discovery visit, followed by a community survey, stakeholder interviews, and targeted focus groups. This collaborative approach ensured that the resulting recommendations—which included establishing selection criteria, defining key opportunity sites, proposing updates to the City’s existing percent for art ordinance, and recommending a solid set of public art policies —accurately reflected the needs and aspirations of the diverse population. Furthermore, the plan works within the framework of the established Public Art Advisory Board, which provides ongoing, professional governance by reviewing applications, advising the City Council on maintenance policies, and ensuring that all proposed artwork aligns with the city's broader vision.
WHAT
Ultimately, the successful implementation of the Art in Public Places Master Plan promises to deliver significant social, cultural, and economic outcomes for Riviera Beach. Socially, the resulting artwork is expected to foster a greater sense of attachment and ownership among residents, creating creative gathering spaces and inspiring contemplation. Culturally, the art will reflect local history and unique identity, serving as a platform for open discourse and inclusive community connection. Most critically, the plan is designed to realize tangible economic value by enhancing the city’s brand, attracting cultural tourism, and directly supporting the economic development strategy. The vision is for Riviera Beach’s commitment to art to become a distinguishing feature of the region, ensuring that creativity breathes life into public spaces and contributes to a vibrant, prosperous future for all.
North Central Indiana Region Strategic Arts Plan
Cass, Clinton, Fulton, Howard, Miami, and Tipton Counties, Indiana
WHY
The North Central Indiana Regional Planning Council (NCIRPC) launched its Strategic Arts Plan as part of a larger, state-wide strategy to address regional challenges like population loss and to capitalize on significant economic investments, such as the record-setting expansion in advanced manufacturing. The primary reason for initiating this plan was the recognition that a robust arts and culture scene is crucial for improving "quality of place," which directly impacts talent attraction and retention—a key necessity for continued growth. The plan serves as a roadmap to revitalize the arts and culture sector across the six-county region, ensuring that local vibrancy and quality of life keep pace with the ongoing industrial and economic transformation. By focusing on culture, the region aims to create a more livable and attractive destination for current and future Hoosiers.
HOW
The development of the plan was intentionally a collaborative and community-driven process. To ensure the recommendations reflected the needs and aspirations of the entire region, the NCIRPC engaged in extensive public engagement activities. This included issuing wide-reaching community surveys, hosting focus groups, and facilitating online forums that invited residents, artists, and organizational leaders to share their ideas. This methodology was crucial for identifying and prioritizing ambitious, "big ideas" for regional transformation. By building the plan on this broad community input, the council sought to create a collective vision that would define the role arts and culture play in Northern Central Indiana, thus ensuring the strategy was relevant, inclusive, and supported by a diverse cross-section of stakeholders.
WHAT
The Strategic Arts Plan is designed to deliver transformative outcomes across several key areas of the region. The prioritized projects focus on boosting cultural tourism strategies to attract outside visitors through unique experiences. Furthermore, the plan aims to create new physical spaces, including visual arts hubs for creators to live and work, and new performing arts venues for artists to rehearse and perform. Another critical outcome is the expansion of arts education Initiatives to ensure quality arts access for all ages. Ultimately, the successful implementation of these strategies—bolstered by the availability of new regional funding opportunities through programs like READI 2.0—will revitalize the region's cultural landscape, strengthen social connections, and firmly position North Central Indiana as a vibrant, innovative destination.
Vacaville Arts & Culture Master Plan
Vacaville, California
WHY
The Vacaville Arts & Culture Master Plan was developed through a comprehensive and highly collaborative process led by Designing Local, structured around four key phases: Discovery, Community Engagement, Synthesis, and Plan creation.
HOW
The success of the plan was the extensive outreach that was completed, which actively involved residents, local creatives, and arts organizations from every corner of the city. A major component of this phase was the “Weaving Our Future” art project, featuring workshops held in each of Vacaville’s districts, where community members shared their aspirations for public art and cultural engagement through words, drawings, and shapes. This hands-on, community-driven approach was critical to building consensus and ensuring the final plan reflected the diverse voices and visions of Vacaville’s population.
WHAT
The final Plan provides a focused, five-year strategic roadmap for the City’s commitment to arts and culture, establishing foundational policies, a clear vision for cultural growth, and a streamlined approach to public art integration. Key tangible outcomes include the comprehensive Arts and Culture Master Plan document, accompanied by a Draft Public Art Program Policy and a Draft Arts Advisory Committee Policy. Together, these deliverables define the infrastructure for the City to enhance quality of life, strengthen local economic development, and cultivate a truly culturally rich and attractive community for both residents and visitors alike.
Downtown Ormond Beach Master Arts Plan
Ormond Beach, Florida
WHY
The Ormond Beach Downtown Master Arts Plan is a comprehensive plan that outlines strategies to integrate public art into key areas in its historic downtown, including parks, sidewalks, gateways, and the iconic Granada Bridge, enhancing the city's identity and elevating its appeal for residents and visitors alike. With input from community members, stakeholders, and experts, the plan emphasizes art that reflects Ormond Beach's coastal beauty, rich history, and small-town charm, while fostering inclusivity and accessibility for all.
HOW
Through detailed recommendations based on extensive community input, the plan introduces innovative public art typologies such as mosaics, sculptures, light installations, and environmental art, alongside functional art like artist-designed benches and planters. It also provides actionable steps for implementation, including funding strategies, artist selection processes, and maintenance guidelines to ensure the longevity of the projects. Special focus is given to the Granada Bridge, with proposals for transformative art installations that symbolize the city's character and connect its downtown and beachside districts. Designing Local collaborated closely with the Florida Department of Transportation to understand opportunities and key regulations surrounding public art implementation on the state-owned Granada Bridge.
WHAT
The Downtown Master Arts Plan is a call to action for Ormond Beach to embrace its cultural assets and create lasting experiences that inspire pride and spark conversation. By leveraging community input, strategic partnerships, and sustainable funding mechanisms, the plan positions Downtown Ormond Beach, a Community Redevelopment Area established in 1984, as a destination for art, culture, and innovation, ensuring its legacy as a vibrant and welcoming city for generations to come.
Milpitas Public Art Plan
Milpitas, California
WHY
The Milpitas Public Art Master Plan outlines a 10 year vision for public art as a dynamic and inclusive force that fosters belonging, reflects the city’s diversity, and enhances residents’ quality of life. Strategic recommendations emphasize community-centric, accessible art that resonates with Milpitas’ diverse population, including bilingual signage, and a Public Art Field Guide. As Milpitas looks to the future, Milpitas is also in a distinct moment in its history. The City’s population has become increasingly diverse with each generation, and will continue to embrace neighbors from around the world. Public art is not only a powerful mechanism for bridging the past and the future, but also it is an essential part of connecting residents with each other across language or cultural divides. Through its beloved parks, civic amenities, and other public spaces, Milpitas’ public art will convey that all are welcome—and belong.
HOW
In addition to Designing Local’s community-oriented approach to gathering public input for the plan, Designing Local hosted two artist-led engagement events. Edi Hsu and Saranya Chandrasekaran each lead community art making projects that yielded productive conversation with the community during the City’s Lantern Festival in September 2024 and the Holi Festival in March 2025. Additionally, Designing Local worked with ACT Art Conservation to develop a collection assessment report on the overall condition of objects in Milpitas’ public art collection. An updated appraisal report, created by Roth Art Group, was included in the scope as well.
WHAT
The plan advocates balancing tradition and innovation to engage a STEM-focused community while maintaining relevance. Sustainable funding mechanisms are recommended, including increasing the developer fee from 0.5% to 1.5% or higher, alongside clear policies for collection care and maintenance. Additionally, the plan encourages community art-making projects, partnerships with public and private entities, and enhanced accessibility through consistent signage and online resources. Public art was strategically recommended to be placed in high-traffic and gathering areas to maximize impact, with collaboration between city departments, developers, artists, and cultural organizations to expand reach. The Plan also included a collection assessment report, which was the City’s first ever comprehensive condition report for objects in its collection, and an appraisal report.
Loudoun County Comprehensive Arts Plan
Loudoun County, Virginia
WHY
The Loudoun County Comprehensive Arts Plan (CAP) presents a vision, goals, and strategies to develop and establish Loudoun County, Virginia as a thriving arts and culture destination within the state. The actionable strategies outlined in this plan include public art investments, strategic artist support; and diverse, arts-focused programming and facilities that enrich and contribute to the health and wellbeing of the community. With vital input gleaned from community members, stakeholders, and experts, the plan emphasizes art that reflects Loudoun County’s culturally rich heritage.
HOW
The proposals outlined in the CAP were developed directly from extensive community engagement that was conducted from Fall 2024 through Spring 2025. Engagement for the CAP was split into two phases: Setting the Baseline and Ideating on the Future.
Phase 1: Setting the Baseline - Designed to elicit a comprehensive understanding of the arts and culture amenities and resources available in Loudoun County, and the direction in which participants wanted to see it progress. It consisted of a public survey, which received over 1,100 responses, over 60 one-on-one stakeholder interviews, 12 focus groups, and tabling at community events.
Phase 2: Ideating on the Future - Offered the community opportunities to review the findings of Phase 1 and rank them. This consisted of 4 public meetings and 3 virtual meetings totaling over 150 attendees, as well as additional targeted outreach.
The ideas developed in Phase 1, which included concepts such as increasing publicity and marketing efforts around the arts, and creating more visual spaces for artists, were prioritized during Phase 2 and then narrowed down into 5 guiding principles. Engagement from both phases helped our team develop a concise vision for arts and culture in Loudoun County.
WHAT
The Loudoun County Comprehensive Arts Plan will invigorate Loudoun County’s Arts and Culture Programming by consistently helping to create engaging public art, elevate and promote the value of the arts, while also fostering it as an accessible and inclusive community. The CAP proposes more investments in arts education for all ages that instills the importance of the arts in day-to-day life, but also supports a range of affordable, quality facilities for both visual and performing artists to work on and share their craft. The CAP will help Loudoun County to integrate arts and culture further into its identity, through leveraging existing infrastructure, expertise, and community connections to maximize impact and efficiency. These strategies will help to facilitate seamless collaboration, expand public access to the arts, and ensure that cultural initiatives are woven into the fabric of the community.
Acworth Public Art Master Plan
Acworth, Georgia
WHY
Acworth is a unique destination for work, play, and everything in between. With just over 22,000 residents and its proximity to metropolitan Atlanta, it is poised for continued growth in the next decade. As Acworth looks toward its future, the City believes in public art's ability to tell the story of Acworth, enliven public spaces, and reveal what makes this City special.
HOW
From large-scale, multi-year projects that define Acworth's gateways, to temporary, yet meaningful mural opportunities in Acworth's beloved greenspaces, this plan outlines a range of strategies for high-impact public art projects in Acworth.
WHAT
In addition to strategy recommendations, this plan provides guidelines for establishing the public art program in Acworth, administrative next steps and best practices, and strategies for effectively and efficiently implementing public art projects in Acworth.