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Montgomery County committee hears plan for 10‑year cultural strategy emphasizing belonging and equity
Summary
Consultants from Metris and the Arts & Humanities Council briefed the Education and Culture Committee on a 10‑year Montgomery County Cultural Plan centered on belonging, sector resiliency and intersectionality, outlining multilingual outreach, pop‑up events and a draft public review schedule for late 2025.
The Education and Culture Committee heard a formal briefing on March 24 from the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County and Metris Arts Consulting about a proposed 10‑year Montgomery County Cultural Plan.
Anne Gadwin Nicodemus, consulting lead for Metris Arts Consulting, told the committee that “cultural planning is the practice of creating place‑based plans that identify priorities, guide investment, and inform local policies concerning arts and culture,” and outlined a process that emphasizes community‑driven research and engagement.
The consultants said the plan will center three priorities — belonging, cultural sector resiliency and intersectionality — and aim for coordinated adoption by the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, the Maryland‑National Capital Park and Planning Commission planning board, and the County Council. The team described a timeline that anticipates a public review period in November–December 2025 and target adoption by February 2026.
Why it matters: committee members said they want a cultural plan that helps direct public and private investment, strengthens arts organizations, and supports cross‑agency work on issues ranging from housing to public health. Council members repeatedly pressed the consultants for concrete outreach steps to include residents who typically don’t respond to online surveys.
Metris described multiple engagement methods designed to reach “high‑interest, low‑influence” groups: in‑person pop‑up events in each council district, translated online surveys, culturally targeted physical mailers, focus groups with sector stakeholders, and a youth town hall scheduled for March 31 in partnership with Councilmember Fanny Gonzalez’s office. “We’re going to the community,” the presenter said, describing efforts to attend existing community gatherings rather than relying solely on online responses.
The briefing included a description of a creative engagement tactic called “Culture Preserves,” in which trained multilingual facilitators invite passersby at events to write short stories on rice paper that are photographed, transcribed and analyzed; the artifacts themselves are preserved as part of the data collection.
Committee members welcomed the emphasis on equity and documentation. One member urged that the county also capture the outreach methods and results in a reusable format so other departments can replicate successful approaches. Metris said it will document methodologies and seek to produce tangible resources for county agencies and community partners.
Next steps: the consultants asked the committee to consider issuing a letter of endorsement during the anticipated public review period and requested help promoting the survey and pop‑up events. The committee took no formal vote on the plan at the March 24 meeting; staff and consultants will continue community engagement and return with materials and updates ahead of the public review window.
The committee then moved on to library CIP items.
