Roeland Park Public Art Master Plan
Roeland Park, Kansas
WHY
Roeland Park’s Public Art Master Plan is a guide to assist the City in expanding and implementing a thriving public art program. The City sought a sound policy framework to best steward its existing and future collection, in addition to specific project recommendations that met the unique needs of the community.
HOW
The plan was shaped by Roeland Park community members and stakeholders through individual conversations, focus groups and community workshops. Its objectives and ideas were informed by their biggest and boldest aspirations for public art, as well as Designing Local’s lens of national best practices. As Roeland Park seeks to build a collection that is as reflective of its community as possible, the planning process provided an opportunity to assess the context and condition of the current collection as it related to the goals outlined in the plan.
WHAT
The Public Art Master Plan will serve Roeland Park as a living document that aims to achieve a number of goals pertaining to placemaking, belonging, and connectivity through public art. Functioning as both a reference and a roadmap for Roeland Park’s future public art, the Public Art Master Plan provides unique recommendations for projects that will enliven the city and reveal its character. These recommendations address the foundational needs for public art in Roeland Park, and detail comprehensive policies for public art. The Plan also outlines clear workflows for the collection and its implementation, creative strategies for maximizing space and leveraging unconventional canvases for public art, as well as addressing community desires for dynamic future public art.
Greater Lafayette Regional Arts & Culture Strategy
Benton, Carroll, Fountain, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Warren, and White counties
WHY
The Greater Lafayette READI Region is home to a vibrant, accessible, and inclusive arts and culture ecosystem. In all corners of the region, the arts economically enrich communities while strengthening relationships and enhancing personal well-being. The goals of this plan aim to increase the visibility of arts and culture resources and opportunities; connect communities through arts and culture; develop arts and culture programs that are accessible and inclusive to all; and foster and leverage local arts and culture amenities.
The Greater Lafayette READI Region is made up of seven counties in West Central Indiana: Benton, Carroll, Fountain, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Warren, and White. The Wabash River cuts through the middle of the region, creating many opportunities for dynamic waterfront developments. The region varies dramatically in population, containing both one of the largest counties by population in Indiana (Tippecanoe) and two of the smallest (Benton and Warren). Much of the region is rural with an agricultural landscape, with the exception of the cities of Lafayette and West Lafayette, though other small towns and communities provide more localized centers for arts and culture for residents.
HOW
Throughout the planning process, engagement was conducted to help identify and assess existing resources and gaps and provide a foundation for transformative projects. Methods of engagement were used to glean information from stakeholders and the general public included community workshops, stakeholder conversations and digital surveys.
WHAT
This Arts and Culture plan tenders a flexible framework, thus creating opportunities for decision-makers to pursue diverse funding sources and pivot implementation priorities to take advantage of changes and growth in the local cultural ecosystem. It also allows the community to continue to dream big, yet places emphasis on actionable, momentum-building steps for growing local arts and culture assets and tackle them as additional funding and capacity becomes available. Each objective outlined is accompanied by strategies to support the objective, timing, personnel requirements, impact, and relative impact, when appropriate. These strategies are expanded upon for each of the regional, county and facility levels.
Wabash River Region Arts & Culture Plan
Clay, Parks, Sullivan, Vermillion, and Vigo Counties, Indiana
WHY
The Wabash River region is made up of five counties in western Indiana on its Illinois border: Clay, Parks, Sullivan, Vermillion, and Vigo. The Wabash River cuts through the region from north to the south, providing dynamic and thriving waterfronts across both rural and urban areas, with many opportunities for investment and expansion. While much of the rural landscape is agricultural and forested, many downtown areas provide hubs of arts and culture for residents in and around those areas. The region is home to an exciting and deeply collaborative arts community. Together, they will cultivate compelling destinations for public art and diverse cultural experiences, making the region a vibrant and engaging hub for arts and culture. The main goals of this plan are beautification and placemaking, community pride, health and wellness, and local investment. Targeted goals of the Regional Arts & Culture Plan include beautification and placemaking, boosting community pride, encouraging health and wellness, and investing in the community by preserving historic assets and supporting local organizations, facilities and programs.
HOW
Engagement for this process was conducted to help identify and assess existing resources and gaps and provide a foundation for transformative projects. Engagement was promoted through RDA social media and through stakeholder networks. Engagement took the form of community surveys, stakeholder conversations, and public engagement such as a focus group held at Arts Illiana with members of the 41|40 Arts & Cultural District Advisory Group, as well as two public meetings. The primary concerns gleaned from public engagement included lack of funding for arts organizations, limited performance space and opportunities to experience local cultures in community settings.
WHAT
The Wabash River Regional Arts & Culture Plan provides a flexible, proactive framework that creates opportunities for decision-makers to pursue diverse funding sources and pivot implementation priorities to take advantage of changes and growth in the local cultural ecosystem. It also allows the community to continue to dream big, yet places emphasis on actionable, momentum-building steps for growing local arts and culture assets and tackle them as additional funding and capacity becomes available. The plan details the three priority regional objectives as well as actionable steps to reach them. These objectives include strengthening the Wabash River Region arts and culture community, promote regional arts development and tourism with a focus on the 41|40 Arts & Cultural District, and increasing the visibility of arts and culture in community spaces and downtowns.
Reimagining Columbus
Columbus, Ohio
WHY
In the turbulent summer of 2020, when protests erupted over police brutality against people of color and controversial statues were being toppled and defaced nationwide, the City of Columbus preemptively removed its Christopher Columbus statue from the steps of City Hall. With the statue in storage, the City of Columbus partnered with Designing Local in 2023 to seek funding from the Mellon Foundation for “Reimagining Columbus,” a 2-year research, community engagement, and design process to reckon with the statue and imagine a future in which truths about its subject are more accurately conveyed. The proposal was awarded $2 million and Designing Local was tasked with managing the project.
HOW
Designing Local managed a multi-disciplinary team to undertake the following:
RESEARCH & LEARNING. In order to confidently recommend a course of action regarding the City of Columbus’ Christopher Columbus statue, the Reimagining Columbus project team felt it was important to be grounded in truths about the explorer and his legacies, particularly those within Columbus, Ohio. Learnings from subject matter experts, museums and site tours, original research, community conversations, and arts and culture colleagues nationwide were used to educate the public and inform project deliverables.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT. In recognition that conversations about the Columbus statue would challenge participants — particularly those from the city’s Indigenous, Italian-American, and Black communities — the Reimagining Columbus engagement team planned a process that would accommodate their emotions about it but also forge a collective path forward. The team’s approach to this conversation utilized a customized, emotional safety–oriented methodology centered on Sankofa, the Ghanan idea that progress requires applying lessons from the past, to encourage more courageous sharing and evoke personal histories that could be influencing present-day perceptions. Large group and affinity group conversations, community events, and written feedback were employed in various ways throughout the process.
DESIGN. The project’s design team worked to translate the learnings from research and community engagement into a design concept for a possible new Christopher Columbus statue placement. The team relied on Indigenous design principles to guide their vision for an immersive experience of nature and community togetherness at which visitors could experience the statue (or not), but also learn, play, restore themselves, and heal.
WHAT
Designing Local delivered the following Reimagining Columbus project outcomes:
A website and StoryMap timeline, 2 research papers, 35 videos with more than 20 hours of educational content, and several in-person community learning exchanges provided context regarding Christopher Columbus, the statue of his likeness and public perceptions of it, and the city’s relationship with its namesake.
More than 20 community events and affinity group conversations elicited rich, layered feedback to help inform the design process.
Conceptual designs of a new space in which to display and contextualize the statue, based on Indigenous design principles, translated research and community feedback into physical elements that could tell the story of Columbus — the city and the man — and help all visitors experience emotional safety in the space. So expansive did this vision become that the city, the Reimagining Columbus project team, and community members were inspired to embrace it as a generational vision for an altogether new type of public space in the city.
An art plan for City Hall campus suggested how new art could refresh and enliven this uninspiring civic space and ensure that it celebrates all city residents.
View the Project Outcomes Here
NCIRPC Strategic Arts Plan
Cass, Clinton, Fulton, Howard, Miami, and Tipton Counties, Indiana
WHY
The North Central Indiana Regional Planning Council (NCIRPC), together with its partners, has developed a comprehensive, collaborative, and strategic plan to support and expand arts and cultural initiatives across the six-county region. With a strong focus on building community and fostering a thriving creative economy, the plan seeks to improve accessibility to the arts, retain and attract artists and creatives, and strengthen cultural amenities. With more than 226,000 people living across 2,100 square miles and significant development along regional corridors including Route 31, US 24, and 165, there are many opportunities for increased investment in arts and culture to enhance quality of life for residents and expand recreational tourism. The NCIRPC region is a vibrant destination for arts and culture that encourages community building and inclusivity, with a diverse artistic landscape that attracts creatives and cultural consumers to visit and invest in local communities. The goals of this plan include increasing accessibility and visibility of the arts, fostering and leveraging existing resources and amenities, invigorating local economies, and creating a stronger sense of pride in local experiences. Its objectives include developing state-of-the-art arts and culture facilities that engage residents and create new tourism opportunities, expanding engaging public art throughout the region, and encouraging programming in North Central Indiana communities that improves quality of life through increased access to arts experiences.
HOW
Engagement with local professionals and stakeholders was vital to the success of this process, with participation facilitated through a digital community survey and virtual conversations with the planning team. Business owners, arts organizations, elected officials, and community members contributed through a series of focus groups and one-on-one discussions, helping to identify priorities that shaped a shared vision, established project goals, and guided the prioritization of future efforts. Regional priorities played a significant role, and the flexibility of the long-term cultural planning framework allows decision-makers to pursue diverse funding sources while adapting implementation strategies to reflect changes and growth within the local cultural ecosystem. This nimble approach encourages the community to continue thinking ambitiously while emphasizing practical, momentum-building steps to strengthen local arts and cultural assets as funding and capacity evolve.
WHAT
Key priorities outlined in the plan include increasing the visibility of arts in downtown areas, improving accessibility to the arts, providing meaningful local experiences, fostering a sense of community pride, capitalizing on tourism opportunities, and attracting artists and creatives. NCI identified a variety of arts and culture projects through county- and regional-level public input meetings, one-on-one interviews, and an online survey. These projects were reviewed and selected for inclusion in the plan based on their level of readiness, regional impact, and alignment with overall objectives. Together, they support and expand arts and culture initiatives across the six-county North Central Region. Planned efforts encompass implementing public art—such as Arts and Heritage public pedestrian and bike paths, enhancing downtown placemaking, expanding arts education programs, and developing community spaces for artists and arts programming.
Tempe Public Art Plan
Tempe, Arizona
WHY
Tempe Public Art has grown significantly over nearly four decades, especially during a recent period of rapid city and regional development. Increased growth has brought more funding, expanded staff, and renewed public interest in integrating art into urban design and everyday life. As a result of this momentum, the City of Tempe is now poised to articulate a forward-looking vision for its public art program. A planning process was launched to engage the community, shape an aspirational vision for the program’s future, guide project decision-making and prioritization, and formalize policies and procedures.
HOW
Working alongside the Tempe Public Art team, Designing Local conducted an extensive public engagement process, offering more than 30 opportunities for involvement and engaging over 1,000 community members through both virtual and in-person methods such as surveys, meetings, focus groups, and public events. Community feedback emphasized creating a collection that reflects Tempe’s identity, supports local artists, promotes equitable access to resources and artwork, and incorporates interactive, diverse, and engaging art into everyday life.
WHAT
As Tempe Public Art enters a new phase of growth, its future vision builds on the program’s existing strengths while charting an inspirational path forward, shaped by input from community members, stakeholders, and staff. This plan will help to ensure long-term sustainability, increase innovation and impact, and maintain high-quality art citywide. Critical strategies include strengthening Tempe’s sense of place through public art in civic spaces and facilities, ensuring equitable geographic distribution, advancing signature projects, formalizing procedures, improving the Art in Private Development (AIPD) program, and enhancing collection management to maintain a robust, lasting public art collection.
Burleson Public Art Plan
Burleson, Texas
WHY
This plan envisions Public Art as a transformative force that will enrich the city of Burleson, Texas, serving as a constant source of discovery, beautification, fostering civic pride, inviting dialogue, and transforming locales into inspiring places that tell the community’s story- past, present, and aspirations. By integrating art into public spaces, the city aims to spark curiosity, strengthen connection, and create memorable landmarks that reflect the city’s unique character and celebrate community spirit.
The vision for Public Art in Burleson centers on celebrating the city’s unique identity, history, agricultural roots, and evolving culture. It aims to create accessible, educational, and interactive art that encourages outdoor engagement and reflects the community’s diversity across generations and backgrounds. The plan seeks to tell Burleson’s story through poignant, impactful works that honor people and history whilst also positioning the city as an arts destination.
Public Art is a critical factor to building a unique sense of place, as well as yielding extensive social, cultural and economic benefits for a community. The vision outlined in this plan aligns with broader priorities of Burleson, including public art policy development, donation procedures, governance structure, and the identification of success metrics to support program development.
HOW
Throughout the Public Art Plan process, and with our curation and coordination services, a team of local artists created a series of artworks in partnership with Russell Art Farm that honor the timeless tradition of quilting in the US. These artworks include a series of eight Barn Quilts, slated for temporary rotating display in schools across Burleson as the city’s first temporary public art exhibition. In conjunction with the barn quilts, a traditional quilt was crafted that reflects icons and landmarks of the Burleson community. This quilt is now on display in the City of Burleson’s interior collection at City Hall.
The City of Burleson is also committed to regularly evaluating progress toward its public art, economic development, and community vitality goals. Through continuous review and community engagement, the City will remain responsive, innovative, and dedicated to maintaining Burleson as a vibrant, safe, and inclusive place for all.
WHAT
The Plan champions for Burleson to become a community where Public Art is innovative, diverse, and accessible to create vibrant public spaces and meaningful connections. Through community engagement and survey results, respondents frequently identified sculptural art, functional art, and murals as their preferred art typologies. There was also a clear desire for public art to positively impact and enhance the beauty of surrounding public spaces and streets. The successful implementation of this Plan will harness Public Art to build Burleson’s collective identity, establish community values, transform their public spaces to be more engaging and accessible, connecting people, ideas, and places, thus drawing more people to the city and subsequently boosting the local economy.