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Commission advances "City of the Arts" proposal and pushes for better arts-calendar outreach
Summary
Members reviewed a concise "City of the Arts" proposal intended to brand Webster Groves as an arts hub, discussed coordinating the launch with a populated city arts calendar and outreach to business districts, and asked staff to work with the city clerk and communications staff to improve event submission and promotion.
Commission members discussed a three-page "City of the Arts" proposal that aims to brand Webster Groves as a regional hub for arts activity and to promote local cultural events and businesses.
Chair (S6) described the proposal's goals as a short set of points to publicly embrace the city's arts identity and promote Webster Groves throughout the St. Louis metro area: "publicly embrace the city's existing identity as the hub of the arts," the chair said, noting the proposal ties to the comprehensive plan and strategic plan.
The meeting turned to outreach and tools for building a visible events calendar. Members reported a recent website migration that briefly broke the event submission form and discussed whether the commission should maintain its own social presence or rely on existing platforms and partners. Several participants recommended an initial, staff-driven push (email blast or postcard) to populate the calendar and then use a simple tagging or hashtag approach so organizations can self-maintain listings. One committee member said, "I always thought it would be cool to just have an arts calendar," arguing that an opt-in feed focused on arts events would lower friction for users.
Members agreed to consolidate nominations, apply the rubric to new and carryover nominees, and seek to forward a shortened proposal to the City Council for consideration. Staff said the code consultant updating municipal ordinances has the arts plan under review, which the commission took as a sign the proposal is already being considered in the broader planning work.
Next steps: commissioners will submit rankings for honorees before the next meeting, staff will attempt to fix the event submission form and work with the city clerk or IT to circulate an email blast and coordinate communications with Jordan (city communications), and the commission will plan the public launch of the City of the Arts when the calendar shows enough events to make the launch effective.
