Report from the Bucks County Big Canvas Forum

This was the first in the second round of Big Canvas forums, was held last Saturday at Pennsbury Manor in Bucks County, William Penn’s recreated country home. While all of the other forums are held at 6:30 p.m., this one started at 10:00 a.m. Those attending were invited to bring their families and children as activities and tours of the grounds would be available. The event did not pull in a huge crowd. The Pennsbury Manor website says directions provided on more standard directional sites are incorrect. I had been to Pennsbury twice before, as a group chaperone, and it is well worth finding.

While a Rand study of arts and culture and Southeastern Pennsylvania found that public support of arts and culture is high, government and private support is low. Bucks County provides more support than the other collar counties, with a dedicated funding stream from a hotel tax.

But, as said earlier, it was a relatively small group at the Big Canvas forum. There were introductory remarks from the director of Pennsbury Manor, and from group organizers, Chris Satullo of the Inquirer and Harris Sokoloff of the University of Pennsylvania, and an overview of the process. At the first round of forums, the five held in July, we were asked to brainstorm about what the arts contributed to the region. Those comments were grouped into four different approaches. These are spelled out on the Big Canvas website in the issues guide

Participants are given a 24 page printed guide as well as a four page brief version. After the introductions we went into a different room for small group sessions. With the relatively small turnout we all made one slightly large group instead of breaking into smaller ones. As might be expected, most of the group had some connection to the arts and cultural community in some way. I encourage those with a more tangential connection, or simply those who attend artistic or cultural events, to attend one of the other forums so more diverse voices are heard.

We walked through the four approaches, going over the components of each one, as well and the arguments for and against. The first approach is sort of “art for arts sake,” and the group did not seem overly enthusiastic about it. The second has a child focus, with the rationale that children who appreciate the arts grow up to be adults who appreciate and support the arts, as well as thinking that if children want to go to events, their parents will take them, so the entire family will attend. Most of the group thought this had merit, but most of the group looked to be in the prime parenting years; others spoke of grandchildren. A group made up of young twenty-somethings or those with no direct contact with children might have a different view. The third approach is built around the creative economy. The group seemed to like that one also. The fourth approach is concerned with community and the place of the arts in everyday life. This sparked some interesting conversation.

One theme that came up across the approaches is the importance of having a diverse group making funding decisions. The purse strings should not be held by one small homogenous group of people.

As a finale we were each awarded 20 points and asked to use those points to vote for one or more of the four approaches, plus one surprise fifth option. We could divide the points evenly across all options, giving each four points, but it sounds like people tended to favor some of the approaches more than others. Some even divided their points down to fractions.

The voting results from the forums will eventually be posted to the Big Canvas website. All of the feedback will be compiled and put into a final report, which will be presented to civic and political leaders on Dec. 6th at a public event in the Valley Forge Convention Center beginning at 1:00 p.m. Yes, this is right next door to the King of Prussia Mall so you can do some holiday shopping before or after.

The forums are very interesting events, a chance to hear what others in your community think. Please consider attending one of the remaining discussions.

Remaining forums (all start at 6:30 p.m.):

10/02 Greater Plymouth Community Center

10/05 Moore College of Art & Design

10/06 Narberth Borough Hall

10/14 Swarthmore College

[disclosure: bloggers are compensated for their time in attending and writing about these events]