Arts council suggests survey to measure arts interest, discover needs of community

The Arts Council of Southeast Missouri hopes to measure interest in art and culture among local people by administering a survey.

The council's board of directors discussed the idea at a recent retreat, said executive director Delilah Tayloe.

"We're always seeking feedback to really check the pulse of what is needed in the area," Tayloe said.

Exactly how and where the survey will be administered hasn't yet been determined, as the idea is still in its early stages, Tayloe said. But such research would fill a gap where no locally gathered data on the subject currently exists, she said.

City government and business leaders in Cape Girardeau have said they see a positive economic impact in the community derived from arts and cultural programming.

The arts council survey would be part of what the organization is calling its "community cultural plan," a strategic plan to guide the state's oldest arts council into the future, Tayloe said.

Another part of that plan would be to reach out to artists, musicians and others who currently don't work actively with the arts council to increase the strength of the area's cultural climate and more effectively market the assets located here.

As an example, Tayloe said the arts council board recently directed her to affiliate the organization with the River Heritage Association, a not-for-profit group that seeks to promote tourism in Southeast Missouri, presently headed by Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau director Chuck Martin.

Mary Ramsey, president of the City of Roses Music Heritage Association, organizers of the River City Music Festival (formerly known as the City of Roses Music Festival), said her organization would welcome the outreach and any kind of partnership the arts council might be interested in.

"We would be very happy to see that," Ramsey said. Right now, the arts council takes no active role in assisting with the organization or promotion of the festival.

Tayloe said several meetings will be necessary to develop the survey and the arts council's strategic plan. Carol Sparkman, president of the arts council's board of directors, will appoint a committee to work on the survey, she said.

msanders@semissourian.com

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