Prosperity Indiana is pleased to announce that we have partnered with the National Association of Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB) to provide technical assistance to the City of Rushville using a US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Rural Technical Assistance grant. Prosperity Indiana will work closely with Brian Sheehan, Director of Special Projects and Mayor Mike Pavey on the project to provide capacity building, leadership development, and facilitate development of an arts council & arts master plan.
“This is a great opportunity for our community. The opportunity to partner with experts in the field of art and leadership development to build greater capacity in our community is something I am very excited to be a part of.” – Brian Sheehan
This technical assistance grant pairs with the Indiana Arts Commission (IAC) consultancy the City of Rushville received through the IAC’s program “Open Scene”, available to those that attended their summer creative placemaking workshop. When the City of Rushville applied for an arts consultancy through the Indiana Arts Commission they dreamed big and applied for assistance with an arts master plan for their community. Lewis Ricci, Executive Director of the Indiana Arts Commission said “It’s been really exciting to work with Rushville’s energetic and innovative leaders. This match with Prosperity Indiana will give Rushville more tools to keep building quality of place while celebrating their community’s creativity.” The city wants to build on the Stellar Communities program success and look toward arts as a means of advancing community economic development in their area.
Prosperity Indiana Director of Planning Services, Rose Scovel, was on the consultant team for the Indiana Arts Commission and believed that what Rushville was seeking was a good potential match for the HUD Rural Technical Assistance Program that Prosperity Indiana is connected to through their partner, NALCAB. She encouraged the City of Rushville to apply for technical assistance for an arts master plan, capacity building for a new arts council, and leadership development.
The project work began in early January and will continue through June. The project has four components that will engage residents of the Rushville community: 1) creation of an arts commission and capacity building for the arts commission; 2) leadership development workshops; 3) a resource guide for the arts council; and, 4) an arts master plan. Early in the year Prosperity Indiana will begin interviewing key stakeholders connected to the arts in Rushville and conduct focus groups to advise the development of an arts council. Once an arts council has been appointed, Prosperity Indiana will provide board training. The leadership development component will include workshops on community organizing and civic engagement, and conclude with a community resource fair. Residents are encouraged to attend these workshops, which will be held in February, March, and April.
The process for the arts master plan will include a community survey, focus groups, a visioning workshop, working groups to develop the action plans, and a public rollout of the plan. Residents will be welcome (and encouraged) to participate in all aspects of developing the master plan.
For this project the arts are being construed broadly, including visual arts, performing arts, writing and storytelling, and culinary arts.
For more information about the project contact Rose Scovel, Director of Planning Services at rscovel@prosperityindiana.org or Brian Sheehan bsheehan@cityofrushville.in.gov, Director of Special Projects at the City of Rushville.
