Welcome to your interactive guide through the creative placemaking process!
Local government officials and cultural leaders like you are increasingly embracing creative placemaking as a tool to strengthen communities. In urban and rural places across the country, creative placemakers collaborate with residents to develop arts, culture, and design projects that help transform the economic, social and physical landscape in tangible—and equitable—ways. The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and Local Initiatives Support Corporation, National Creative Placemaking Program (LISC) are pleased to share this digital toolkit created especially to support local leaders as they embark on the work of bringing diverse partners together to integrate arts and culture into community development and planning.
"Creativity makes tough things possible by encouraging flexible thinking just when you need it."
—Marty Pottenger, Our Town Technical Assistance Resource Team Member
Every community and creative placemaking project is unique.
Wherever you’re coming from, the webinars, worksheets, and resources in this toolkit are designed to help you center artists and residents within creative placemaking projects from the very beginning, offering practical and tactical advice on topics like partnership, community engagement, and evaluation. This resource is intended to be a guide for anyone interested in beginning a creative placemaking initiative and can be used flexibly—in whatever way best suits the needs of you and your team.
Contents
- Introduction to Creative Placemaking
- Shared Values
- Partnership Basics
- Partnership Challenges
- Asset Mapping
- Power Dynamics
- Community Engagement
- Evaluating and Measuring Impact
- Storytelling and Documentation
- Hiring Artists: RFPs, Calls for Entry & Commissions
- Contracts, MOUs & Agreements
- Funding Creative Placemaking
- Rural Placemaking