11/01/2006: Goal of Cultural Planning: to ask the community what kinds of arts & culture they would support, and to strengthen the arts & culture sector as a whole.
NAPA, California, October 6, 2006: ACNV (Arts Council Napa Valley) successfully raised $50,000 in less than eight weeks to meet a $50,000 challenge grant issued by the Community Foundation of Napa Valley. ACNV also announced its move to a new office space at 1041 Jefferson Street, Suite 4 in Napa. After two years of being housed at NewLevel Group, a consulting company that provides marketing and management services to businesses and non-profits, ACNV has grown strong enough to move out on its own. The main phone number of ACNV remains the same at 707-257-2117.
Arts funding budget cuts in 2003 almost closed the doors of ACNV, but in 2004, NewLevel Group took on ACNV as a pro-bono client, offering them subsidized office space, infrastructure support and consulting services. In the spring and summer of 2006, ACNV partnered with the Community Foundation of Napa Valley (CFNV) to bring together arts leaders from across Napa County to work on a plan to strengthen the arts sector in Napa as a whole. Based on that plan, CFNV issued the $50,000 matching grant to ACNV, who successfully met the challenge. "We were thrilled by the outpouring of support from the community to reach this challenge," said Michelle Williams, Executive Director of ACNV, "but our work has just begun. My hope is that a year from now, rather than bemoaning the loss of another art gallery or performance group, we will be celebrating the bright future of our arts & culture sector."
The funding is going to be used to strengthen ACNV so it will better be able to serve the artists and arts organizations in this valley. In the short term, this will mean developing practical tools, such as an online Master Arts & Culture Calendar. In the long term, the funding will also support the investments already made into the local arts scene (such as the newly renovated venues) as well as creating a strategic plan for the future of Napa Valley arts. This will be accomplished by developing a cultural plan for Napa County. A cultural plan is a strategic vision for the arts in a community. In Napa County, this plan will help build an arts audience of locals & visitors, create greater collaboration & cooperation within the cultural community, and make Napa Valley a destination for the arts. The cultural planning process will be launched this fall.
ACNV will officially open its new doors on October 1st, 2006, and welcomes the community to stop by and see the new space. ACNV will also be launching the online Master Arts & Culture Calendar, which will be live on the ACNV website, www.artscouncilnapavalley.org, by November 1st.
For more information on Arts Council Napa Valley, on the new Master Calendar, or on cultural planning, please call (707) 257-2117.
