While residents, corporations, commercial enterprises and foundations in Chattanooga and the region have long been known for their appreciation of the arts, there has been an increasing need for a comprehensive plan to build on that tradition to create a new blueprint for the role arts should play in community life in the future. That plan — and it is a sound one — is now available for public scrutiny, comment and action. The call to action should be answered in the affirmative.
The Imagine Chattanooga 20/20 cultural plan, facilitated by Allied Arts and developed through intense study and research as well as widespread citizen participation in the planning process, calls for significant changes in the way the city’s arts culture is viewed and supported. The plan strongly and properly calls for the arts to become fully integrated into every aspect of community life. It is an far-reaching goal, but one that can be achieved.
Indeed, if the city and the region for which it serves as a cultural, civic and economic hub, is to continue to thrive and to grow, the arts in their broadest sense by necessity will have to play a more prominent role here. If they do not, the city and region likely will find it increasingly difficult to sustain the quality of life — cultural and otherwise — that heretofore has made them so attractive to individuals and corporations — think Volkswagen, Wacker and Alstom — in search of new homes and sites for plants.
Don’t believe it? Check with VW leaders. When the automaker announced plans to build its new plant in Chattanooga, company executives specifically mentioned the city’s Riverfront development, which showcases public art, and the broad array of cultural offerings here as powerful influences on their decision-making process.
Indeed, the value of art and culture is not limited to its growing role in economic development. Both contribute directly to the prosperity of the city and region and to the well-being of those who live here. It promotes the region’s esthetic value, public enjoyment and quality of life and bolsters tourism. In a world where every aspect of community life is examined by individuals and corporations whose presence is essential to continued growth, arts and culture, like good schools, roads, sewers, medical care and other public amenities, are used as measuring stick by decision makers.