Liz Shapiro, director at the Connecticut Office of the Arts, and a Connecticut Main Street representative urged Northwest Corner municipal leaders to consider cultural-district designation and the state’s AIR collaborative as tools to invigorate downtowns.

Shapiro said the arts are an economic force and a civic asset. "The arts and culture sector in Connecticut was a $10,100,000,000 industry," she said, citing data sources including Americans for the Arts and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. She also cited state survey findings that roughly 91% of Connecticut residents participated in cultural activities during the pandemic and said the Connecticut Cultural Fund supported more than 730 arts and cultural nonprofits in fiscal year 2022–23.

The state program: cultural districts and the application process

Shapiro described Connecticut’s cultural-district program, which she said was established by statute in 2019 and launched administratively on Jan. 1, 2020. She said the designation requires a publicly defined, mappable area and an inventory of cultural assets—public art, theaters, restaurants and other features towns want to highlight—and a governing body that represents artists, nonprofits, businesses and other local stakeholders.

She outlined practical benefits for designated towns: use of a cultural-district logo, a dedicated page on the CTvisit tourism site, opportunities to create walking tours and enhanced marketing. Towns apply through one of eight regional service organizations; for the Northwest Corner Shapiro identified the Northwest Connecticut Arts Council and regional contact Steph Burr.

Examples and next steps in the Northwest Corner

Shapiro said Torrington already has an approved cultural district and Winchester is working toward designation. New Milford has completed a walk-through and is pending a full application; Washington Depot has submitted a letter of interest. She also said Norwalk will publicly announce a cultural-district designation and unveil a mural on Oct. 30.

Programs to help towns plan

The Connecticut AIR collaborative, Shapiro said, offers a three-part, community-rooted process—asset brainstorming, design thinking and stakeholder collaboration—delivered as a 16-hour workshop or a condensed one-day model that can use AI to assist in a human-centered way. The program carries a sliding fee scale intended to make deeper work feasible in rural and lower-capacity towns.

Measuring impact

Shapiro highlighted an arts economic-impact calculator the office will publish. The tool asks for three inputs—an arts organization’s annual budget, annual attendance and the host town’s population—and returns estimates of jobs and tax contributions. She urged towns to collect simple operating numbers from local arts groups to run the calculator and better understand the sector’s local economic footprint.

Why this matters, and practical tactics

Michelle (Connecticut Main Street) framed cultural-district designation and AIR work as complements to Main Street practice, pointing to four management priorities—design, mobility, economic vitality and promotion/organization—and urging municipalities to support coordinated volunteers, pop-up uses for vacant storefronts, façade-improvement grants and modest funding for a coordinating entity.

During a question-and-answer period, officials and participants pressed for local details. Shapiro confirmed that Torrington is approved, Winchester is advancing, New Milford is pending, Washington Depot has expressed interest and Norwalk will hold a public announcement Oct. 30. A former Torrington official credited regional support for bringing local organizations together to implement the district.

What’s next

Shapiro and Connecticut Main Street encouraged towns to consult the program guidance on the Office of the Arts website, submit a letter of interest to their regional service organization, hold a public meeting to demonstrate support and assemble a cultural-asset inventory. Designation does not guarantee large state funding now, Shapiro said, but it does afford marketing and networking benefits and can be a platform for future resource requests.

The presentation concluded with an offer from state staff to field follow-up questions and to tour applicant towns with representatives from tourism, marketing and other state offices.