Waupaca Cultural Plan
Bringing our community together through the arts.
An Idea Blossoms
Waupaca Mayor Brian Smith, former City Administrator Henry Veleker, the Waupaca Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Waupaca Community Arts Board, presented an Arts Summit that began a cultural planning process focused on:
historic and heritage celebration and preservation
collaboration and connectedness through the arts and community
creativity and vision for the city’s future
improving quality of life through the arts, culture and creativity
The 2016 Art Summit included many arts & cultural stakeholders throughout the Waupaca area. See this amazing group in action in the Gallery below.
Planning Begins
The Waupaca Arts Summit led to a cultural planning process, made possible with investments of time and funding by the city, involvement and ideas of dedicated community members, and facilitation by Arts Wisconsin.
The process resulted in the first-ever Waupaca Comprehensive Cultural Plan, a deeply collaborative, public-private partnership to intentionally grow and build capacity for a strong arts presence in the every-day lives of all Waupaca residents.
The plan’s four goals are:
The arts as a community resource: this includes strengthening the economy through arts and creative industries, enhancing local historic preservation efforts, and bolstering local industry; it also includes the arts as part of addressing significant local social challenges.
The arts as a family resource: this includes strengthening arts programming in the schools and increasing youth involvement in arts activities.
The arts and quality of life: this includes enhancing public arts programs as community resources are developed.
Connecting and strengthening the arts sector network and the community, and building a bridge between the arts community and business, education, government, civic issues, and residents.
The Cultural Plan Explained
Check out this 2018 League of Wisconsin Municipalities YouTube on The Creative Economy where Waupaca presented its Cultural Plan.
Building on Success
The City Council unanimously approved the plan in 2017. Since then, the goals, objectives, and strategies of Waupaca’s Cultural Plan have guided a pro-active and growing network of community activists with a shared vision and purpose.
Arts groups and leaders have come together to form the Waupaca Area Arts and Culture Network, a coalition meant to collaborate, share marketing strategies and reference the goals in the Arts and Culture Plan. In just a year since the Network’s inception, Waupaca has seen a sharp increase in the amount of engagement by all groups, with additional groups forming. Waupaca’s arts sector now works collaboratively and continually asks, “who else should be at the table?” Examples of this new and exciting partnership spirit abound and advance progress towards a community built on the arts and culture.
In 2019, Arts Wisconsin and the League of Wisconsin Muncipalities awarded Waupaca’s Cultural Plan with the Arts in Community Award, for visionary leadership and committed advocacy for championing creativity as integral to economic, educational. and community vitality. Come see this stunning award at Waupaca City Hall in the Council Chambers.
2016 Art Summit Gallery
