Sugar Land City Council passed a Cultural Arts Strategic Plan and Implementation Guide on March 18 after months of research, workshops and public forums. The guide is designed to provide recommendations for sustaining and fostering the city's cultural offerings as a compliment to its overall Comprehensive Plan.

The plan calls for a number of initiatives, including the establishment of a cultural arts district and the creation of an umbrella entity to lead cultural arts efforts. It also recommends the start-up of grant and training programs to help individual artists and arts organizations succeed in the city. Parks and Recreation Director Jim Browne said the city will first focus on developing larger ideas and work on more specific objectives over the next year.

"I think early on you'll see an effort to look into commissioning a public art plan," he said. "We still have to identify what partnership opportunities are out there to bring art to parks and public spaces, look at evaluating some funding sources and do the research to make sure our grant program is successful."

Cultural arts district

The strategic plan describes creating an arts district—a "critical mass of artists" surrounded by arts organizations, restaurants and retail. Potential locations include the Imperial redevelopment, Town Square and the older parts of the city.

Maintaining a strong cultural arts environment is beneficial for quality of life and the economy, said Jennifer May, director of public affairs.

"We've heard throughout the process that residents and businesses both want Sugar Land to have a vibrant arts scene," she said. "Businesses look for this when they are deciding where to locate. People look for this when they are deciding where to move."

The plan also seeks to establish "creative neighborhoods" to be attractive to artists. The neighborhoods would feature inexpensive housing, an appealing physical environment, and access to art resources—such as studio space, galleries, rehearsal and performance space, and artist-run centers and associations.

Next steps

After the research and analysis phase of drafting the plan, the city moved on to a public input phase, which involved an open house, an online survey and interviews with cultural providers in art, business and education sectors. Nearly 300 community members participated in total, May said. With that information gathered, the next step involves creating the umbrella entity to spearhead cultural initiatives and serve as a voice for cultural arts organizations.

City Council plans to discuss a recommendation May 6 to allow the parks and recreation board to serve as the cultural arts board by expanding its duties. The parks department is reviewing the possibility of appointing additional board members with a background and skills in arts and culture, Browne said. The new board would also collaborate with existing groups, such as the Sugar Land Cultural Arts Foundation, Sugar Land Legacy Foundation and Sugar Land Heritage Foundation to promote programs and activities. Dennis Parmer, executive director of the Heritage Foundation, said he is glad to see the city considering its history as an aspect of cultural importance.

"I envision a community where different organizations—performing arts, visual arts, history—collaborate on projects," he said. "We see a number of ways we can have some synergy."

Sugar Land Mayor James Thompson said expanding the arts can help further establish Sugar Land as a destination.

"These are projects that will change the landscape of Sugar Land for future generations," he said.