CAPE'S ARTSLINK PROGRAM TO CREATE BLUEPRINT FOR CULTURAL ACTIVITIES

Anyone interested in the Cape Girardeau area's artistic and cultural environment is invited to participate in Artslink, a federally funded project that will create a blueprint for the future of the arts locally.

Artslink is a cultural planning project funded by a $12,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Its goal is to devise a strategy for the development of culture and the arts as an integral part of the community.

The goals for the project include:

-- Development of an artist registry.

-- Development of a list of facilities for arts activities.

-- Surveying community views about the importance of the arts.

-- Surveying the community's financial and human resources with regard to supporting the arts.

-- Encouraging attendance at arts events.

-- Involving all segments of the community in the arts.

The plan, which is being formulated under the guidance of Chicago-based consultant Cheryl Yuen, is expected to be complete in 10 to 12 months.

The community service group Vision 2000 largely ignored the arts in devising a strategic plan for Cape Girardeau, said Beverly Strohmeyer, executive director of the Southeast Missouri Council on the Arts.

"We want to develop that portion of the plan," she said. "Where do we want Cape Girardeau to be in six years?"

A number of focus groups and task forces will be involved in defining the issues before the final action plan is developed.

Some deficiencies in Cape Girardeau's art and cultural atmosphere are apparent. For instance, African Americans and disabled people are relatively uninvolved in arts council programs right now, Strohmeyer said.

"I think we should be reaching all parts of the community," she said, adding that "we haven't done a very good job at that."

The lack of facilities for conducting workshops also is no secret.

"Maybe it will come out that Cape Girardeau really needs a city cultural center," she said.

In 1992, the arts council sponsored a series of focus-group discussions about the role the organization plays in the community. It learned that people are most interested in having more arts programs for children.

One result, Strohmeyer said, was last summer's series of concerts on Memorial Day, the Fourth of July and Labor Day.

Much of the preliminary work on the project was completed last summer. The next step, delayed for the lack of a chairman, is the formation of a cultural planning council.

The council's mission is to provide the plan with a vision for the Cape Girardeau area and to identify critical cultural issues.

Formation of the council was to have been completed by September but has been delayed.

"We envisioned finding someone to serve as chairman but we haven't found anyone willing to commit to the time," Strohmeyer said.

Now the plan is to draft a council of 20 to 25 people and perhaps select someone from within to chair the meetings.

Members should come from the following groups: arts and culture, business, education, university, ethnic, religious, political, medical, longtime residents and city planning. Up to three of the members will come from the Arts Council Board of Directors.

Members of the board already have submitted a list of nominees for the planning council, and within a week they will receive letters asking them to participate.

But Strohmeyer is appealing to the public to get involved as well.

"You don't have to be an artist," she said. "I'm not an artist."

Those on the council will be expected to spend a total of 15 to 20 hours on the project over the course of six meetings.

The arts council serves Missourians with a 35-mile radius of Cape Girardeau. Anyone who lives in that area is encouraged to apply for the planning council.

Those who don't want to serve on the council can participate in focus groups or task forces, Strohmeyer said.

The phone number for the Southeast Missouri Council on the Arts is 334-9233.