Greater funding, more integration of arts and technology, and housing for artists could help develop arts and culture in Durango, residents told city officials Thursday.
“I think we are way behind communities our size,” Carol Salomon said about Durango’s arts and culture facilities.
Salomon was among those who shared their ideas with city staff at the Durango Public Library and answered five visioning questions.
The staff plans to use the feedback to help write the first arts and culture chapter of the city’s comprehensive plan.
This could focus the city’s efforts on arts and culture and place a greater emphasis on it, city planner Vicki Vandegrift said.
“It does raise it to a higher level,” she said.
The new chapter of the comprehensive plan could help encourage art in public and commercial construction projects or public spaces that encourage creativity, she said.
It could also lay out specific goals, such as developing a dedicated funding stream for public arts and culture, said Sherri Dugdale, assistant to the city manager.
But the plan would not lay out a way to create the new funding stream, she said.
Several people suggested increasing the public funding for arts and culture.
The city cut funding for arts and culture significantly during the recession, and Sherry Bowman, the executive director of the Animas Museum, would like to see it restored.
“A lot of the nonprofits that run the arts and culture activities really relied on that,” she said.
Steve Schacht would like to see a maker space in town where more technology-related artistic endeavors could be developed.
Some maker spaces are funded with memberships and encourage collaboration. They give artists and others access to specialized equipment, he said.
Providing housing for artists can also inspire collaboration and community, Salomon said.
She would also like to see the Durango Arts Center renovated or replaced because it is a former car dealership and is now inadequate.
However, she believes building a new facility will likely take private donations and may have to be done in phases.
But she said including arts and culture in the comprehensive plan is a good step.
“I think it is good to do these studies, I just hope they act on it,” she said.
A city survey about arts and culture is also available at www.peakdemocracy.com/4162.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
