The Delaware Division of the Arts is reaching out to the public as it develops a strategic plan for the next five years.
“We do one every five years,” explains Jessica Ball, director of the Division of the Arts. “It's our way of working with the public to ensure that the agency is being responsive to what folks in Delaware want to see us doing strategically when it comes to arts, culture, and creativity in their communities.”
The strategic plan is community-driven, Ball says, with public events held around the state earlier this year and a survey online right now.
“For us, it's a way to collaborate with folks in our communities, to ensure that the arts are available to people, that people feel like they understand and can access and engage with the arts in a way that makes sense for them and their families,” Ball says.
Updating their strategic plan every five years is important as audiences - and what they are seeking from arts organizations - evolves, according to Ball. For example, many arts patrons are seeking not just inspiration, but participation.
“I really believe that people lately have been wanting to use the arts to explore different aspects of their lives through creative outlets and also be part of a larger community in the arts.”
In recent years, the division has stepped up programs to get the community involved in the arts in a hands-on way, like its Creative Aging classes for seniors.
“After the eight weeks, you really know how to do the thing, whether it's, beginning ceramics or whether you're able to paint a picture and hang it on your wall,” Ball says. “But more importantly, these folks in these classes are making friends with their classmates, going out for coffee, developing relationships and friendships that go beyond the class.”
Beyond creating a sense of community, the arts are also good for local economies, Ball says. Even people who never set foot inside an art museum or theatre will see the benefits of a thriving arts scene in their community.
“Typically, small businesses like bars, restaurants, cabs, Uber drivers, even babysitters and dog sitters benefit from folks going to arts events,” Ball says.
Arts organizations continue to face challenges, however. For example, the performing arts are still recovering from a year or more of empty seats following the pandemic.
“The performing arts were a little slower to recover, but we did see that people did want to be back out in community and out at live events,” Ball says. “So slowly but surely the sector has been rebounding.”
But even as the arts sector continues to gain ground, it faces an even more vexing problem - continuing drastic federal funding cuts.
“Certainly there's been some uncertainty when it comes to the federal agencies that are devoted to arts and culture in our nation,” Ball notes. “I know people have been nervous watching funding get pulled.”But in Delaware, she adds, state budget writers have generally been supportive of the arts and the Division of the Arts.
“I think all things said, the state of Delaware is really committed to providing stability when it comes to funding for the arts so that these types of programs can continue,” Ball says.
Delaware Public Media's arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
