The City of Toronto's new culture plan is now available to the public in advance of its May 4 presentation to the City's Economic Development Committee. You can download a copy at the Live with Culture site. Here are the major recommendations of the report:
ensure a supply of affordable, sustainable cultural space.
ensure access and opportunity for cultural participation to
all citizens regardless of age, ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation,
geography, or socioeconomic status.
support the development of creative clusters and emerging cultural
scenes to capitalize on their potential as generators of jobs and
economic growth.
promote its cultural institutions, festivals and other assets to
enhance its position as a Creative City regionally, nationally, and
internationally.
Keep pace with international competitors by making a firm
commitment to sustain Toronto’s cultural sector and position
Toronto as a leading, globally competitive Creative Capital.
More detailed subgoals for each of these recommendations is listed in the report. For example, one recommendation on access is to have a rotating cultural "hotspot" in city neighbourhoods. As far as I can tell it would be kind of like the "creative capital" program that operates nationally, designating the celebration of culture of a certain region for a year or two at a time.
I haven't had a chance to look at the report indepth, and probably won't until Friday, but I encourage everyone to check it out as it is basically a major document on the City of Toronto's arts planning policy, and the basic argument for Mayor Ford that the arts should have its funding sustained while everything in the municipal budget goes under review for the chopping block.
(Image of the cover of the new culture plan from Live with Culture)
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