In November 2005, the West Valley Arts Council embarked on a 12-month cultural and heritage assessment
and planning process for the entire West Valley of Maricopa County, a 56,000 square mile area, west of
Phoenix, Arizona - the third fastest growing Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the nation.
Among the
many noteworthy aspects about this project is its collaborative financing, which included the cities
of Avondale, Buckeye, Goodyear, Peoria, Surprise, Tolleson, Youngtown and Wickenburg, the Virginia G.
Piper Charitable Trust, Maricopa Partnership for Arts and Culture, plus generous support from the Arizona
Republic and SRP.
Led by a 75-person Steering Committee representative of West Valley government, arts
and business leaders, the project’s goal is to develop a five-year plan and long-term vision to accomplish the following:
To plan comprehensively and also to ensure value to each sponsoring municipality, the approach was both regional and city-by-city. Plan methodology included analysis of ten geographic areas, review of pertinent Maricopa Association of Governments and Maricopa Partnership for Arts and Culture’s research, plus review of cultural development trends in the West and across the country. All available city master plans, arts-related policies, budgets, websites, information services, and existing and planned cultural/leisure amenities were reviewed.
Extensive surveying provided us with qualitative and quantitative information from 96 regional artists, 2,044 West Valley residents[1], and 42 arts, culture and heritage organizations serving the West Valley (48 percent of 87 organizations surveyed).
In January, April and June 2006, we also met with and interviewed 142 individuals representing different West Valley sectors. Public opinion surveying and forums were conducted in both English and Spanish.
To assess current and future audiences, market research was conducted using MOSAIC, a multi-national market research segmentation system developed by Experían, U.S. Census demographics and ESRI Business Information Solutions to measure consumer index data for arts participation.[2]
[1] 1,093 surveys were usable. Of those 1,074 provided contact information so they could be added to WVAC’s database and receive additional information about cultural opportunities.
[2] West Valley based organizations were: The Bead Museum, Challenger Center, Del Webb Center, Sun Cities Chamber Music, Theater Works, West Valley Art Museum, West Valley Arts Council and Wickenburg Cultural Organization. Phoenix based organizations were Ballet Arizona, Heard Museum, Phoenix Symphony and the Phoenix Theatre.
The West Valley Arts Council held a West Valley Cultural and Heritage Assessment and Plan Summit on October 3 and 4, 2006 to discuss the results of the assessment process. Attended by more than 110 government representatives, artists, arts organizations, community groups, and the public, the Summit focused on regional and city specific trends and themes. Summit participants created regional and area-specific priorities that will contribute to the development of a comprehensive 5-year plan to address current arts funding, participation, and interests across the West Valley.