The South Carolina Arts Commission has a long and successful history of strategic planning based on broad statewide participation. The foundation of that success has been the creation of long-range plans, which lay out a far-reaching vision and direction for the arts, spanning as much as a decade.
The intent of the Long-Range Plan for the Arts in South Carolina, 2011-2020 is that all sectors in South Carolina, not just the arts, but local government, business, nonprofits, education and individuals, will find that their work can impact one or more of the outcomes.
We invite you, and everyone interested in the success of the arts and of the state of South Carolina, to help make this plan a reality.
Once every decade or so, those of us in the arts in South Carolina have an opportunity to do an amazing thing. We come together as a community and discuss what we need, what we want, and what we envision for the arts in our state over the next 10 years. The process is called “The Canvas of the People,” and it’s been happening in South Carolina since 1980. It results in volumes of input from hundreds of people who attend meetings, answer surveys, send e-mails, or provide input in myriad other ways. All of that input is analyzed, sorted, grouped and matched. Regional differences and personal agendas fall away, leaving a core of key goals for the decade on which there is broad agreement, a challenge of achievability, and common purpose. These goals have become the centerpiece of A Long-Range Plan for the Arts in South Carolina, 2011-2020.
Projecting the next nine to 10 years can be a risky business. Time can render some ideas quaint or downright obsolete. Looking back at the previous long-range plan, launched in 2001, who would have predicted the impact of social media and the parallel decline of traditional media? Who could have specifically foreseen the dramatic economic swing that has created such uncertainty and upheaval as we experienced in 2010? The goals in this plan are deliberately broad. They are intended to withstand the tests of time and remain wide open to multiple approaches and methods of making progress. Every sector has a role to play in the success of this plan. Beyond the arts community, the business, government, education, public and private sectors can find parts of the plan to own and contribute to its success.
Of course, the South Carolina Arts Commission will do its part. As South Carolina’s state arts agency, with its mission to “develop a thriving arts environment” for the benefit of all South Carolinians, it is in a unique position to coordinate the Canvas of the People and develop A Long- Range Plan for the Arts in South Carolina. Its own strategic plans over the next decade will be based on this long-range plan, directing the efforts and resources of the Arts Commission to making progress on these goals.
Here is an invitation to you, and everyone interested in the success of the arts and of the state of South Carolina, to help make this plan a reality.
The Canvas of the People is a comprehensive statewide planning process designed to help assess the state’s artistic and cultural needs, share ideas, set priorities, develop arts networks throughout the state and build support for the arts in South Carolina.
The 2010 Canvas is the sixth to be conducted by the South Carolina Arts Commission. Canvases conducted in 1980, 1984 and 1987 focused on gathering input for the Arts Commission’s strategic plans. Beginning in 1992, the agency expanded its view and planning process and developed a plan for the arts in South Carolina. The 1992 plan also covered a longer (10-year) time span. The next statewide Canvas was held in 2001.
This longer, more comprehensive view has allowed the Arts Commission to serve as a convener and catalyst in moving the state forward through a coordinated planning process and has provided other arts organizations with a context for their own strategic plans. With this statewide, long-term context, the Arts Commission monitors progress on key issues regularly, through a variety of means:
This new 10-year plan includes outcomes identified by the public and objectives that will mark progress toward these priorities. The outcomes and objectives in this new plan are deliberately broad—outlining general areas where the arts have real opportunities to make progress and generate value in the next decade. As circumstances, technologies and economies change, the broad nature of the outcomes provides a common reference point as those working in the arts set their own strategies for achieving progress.
Clearly, while the Arts Commission fully accepts its leadership role in creating the plan and monitoring progress, it cannot accomplish all that is outlined. Indeed, for this to truly be a long-range plan for the arts in South Carolina and an instrument of real progress, arts organizations and arts providers must adopt the plan’s objectives as their own. This long-range plan was created based on input from the public and the arts community as a guide for the arts community as it serves the public. With collaboration, partnerships and shared purpose, much in this plan can be accomplished to ensure that the arts flourish and benefit all South Carolinians.
The South Carolina Arts Commission has a long and successful history of strategic planning based on broad statewide participation. The foundation of that success has been the creation of long-range plans, which lay out a far-reaching vision and direction for the arts, spanning as much as a decade.
The planning process is coordinated by the Arts Commission, which creates and distributes the plan document, and promotes opportunities for arts organizations and other stakeholders to integrate parts of the long-range plan into their own strategic plans.
The process for gathering public input for the plan was “The Canvas of the People,” an interactive statewide outreach combining research, surveys, public forums and targeted meetings with participation and input from almost 1,400 South Carolinians.
For the first time, the 2010 Canvas process featured targeted meetings with local civic leaders to discuss issues (not necessarily arts-related) impacting their communities, with a goal of identifying key civic issues that intersect those of the arts community. The result is a plan for making South Carolina and its diverse communities better places through the arts. The intent of the plan is that all sectors in South Carolina, not just the arts, but local government, business, nonprofits, education and individuals, will find that their work can impact one or more of outcomes.
Specific objectives for achieving these outcomes are outlined in the plan.