The City of Columbus, in partnership with the Columbus Arts Council and the Columbus Area Visitors Bureau, is moving toward making the downtown area a certified Creative District.
If the certification is achieved, Columbus would have access to numerous grants that are specifically aimed to help promote the arts in the downtown area.
The goal of the district is to transform the downtown area into the heart of the community by attracting artists and creative enterprises, encouraging business and job development, and promoting the cultural and historic heritage that has long been the makeup of Columbus.
Projects being considered include the installation of murals and asphalt art (murals on the ground) and a sculpture walk, among other things.
With that in mind, the City of Columbus is seeking the public’s help by asking people to take an online community survey about their thoughts on the downtown area.
“This survey will provide community input on how residents feel about the downtown area and the projects being proposed,” City Planning and Economic Development Coordinator Jean Van Iperen said. “If we’re going to try to compete with peer cities, we need to start seriously looking at funding alternatives. We need to rely on more than City funding to get these creative district-specific projects done.”
Van Iperen and Elley Coffin, City community coordinator and the Columbus Arts Council's executive director, earlier this month took Nebraska Arts Council representatives on a tour of downtown Columbus. Learn more about that tour in a previously published story here.
This survey will provide community input on how residents feel about the downtown area and the projects being proposed.
Take the survey, here.