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CAH to form economic development committee and hire consultant to socialize Art Week DC plan; $135,000 budget noted
Summary
Commissioners discussed creating a committee focused on economic development for the arts and a consultant procurement to socialize an Art Week DC strategic plan. Staff said the city administrator approved $135,000 in this fiscal year to begin work; timeline for a public launch was described as likely 2026 or later.
The District of Columbia Commission on the Arts and Humanities said May 13 it will form a committee on economic development and plans to procure a consultant to help socialize and implement an Art Week DC strategic plan.
Aaron, a CAH staff member, said the economic development committee would "strategize around obtaining data and research, working alongside other state art agencies and making determinations about sector needs." He described the committee as a response to grantees seeking data support, help finding space and private-sector connections, and a desire from neighboring state arts agencies for regional coordination.
Staff reported that the strategic plan for Art Week DC (developed with input from Michael Kaiser and the DeVos Institute) includes an implementation piece and that the commission submitted a plan to the Office of the City Administrator that included $135,000 for this year. Aaron said that submission "was approved," allowing the commission to proceed with a consultant procurement to socialize the plan with stakeholders and to clarify the commission's role.
Staff said the consultant's work would include engaging artists and organizations, refining the plan, and identifying an appropriate governance structure for an Art Week DC foundation separate from the commission. Aaron added that the commission's likely role would be to prepare and support artists (business skills, pricing, collector conversations) rather than to run the festival directly.
Commissioners discussed how the committee should be formed and chartered. Commissioner Julianne asked that the governance committee review bylaws and ensure special committees are properly created and populated with members and staff support. A governance-committee process was proposed to define structure, leadership, membership, staff support and community representation before the economic-development committee is launched.
Some commissioners, including Hector, urged outreach to existing neighborhood business improvement districts and community organizations that already work on development and arts events, and cautioned the commission to include those groups in planning rather than supplant them. Staff said that stakeholder engagement is the consultant's charge.
Staff estimated the earliest public soft launch for Art Week DC would be 2026, with a stronger launch possible in 2027, and recommended ensuring a quality rollout rather than rushing the event. No formal vote to create the committee was recorded; commissioners agreed to work through the governance committee and to bring a formal charter and membership proposal to the June governance meeting.
Next steps recorded in the meeting included finalizing a statement of work for the consultant within the available budget, circulating the strategic-plan draft to all commissioners for review, and using the consultant to socialize the plan with community stakeholders.
