Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed’s transition committees are hosting their remaining meetings throughout January and February. While these meetings are open to the public, there is some confusion between the consulting company hired for facilitating these transition committees, the actual members of the committees and the general public. During the Cultural Arts & Entertainment committee meeting, committee member Ashley Jernigan noted that the decision to make these meetings open to the public was a last minute decision made during a city council meeting on the eve of the planned Montgomery United committee meetings. Community members who attended Health & Human Services committee meetings shared frustration over meeting times and lack of time for public comment. Additionally, according to the Montgomery United Transition Plan, these meetings were initially slated to be livestreamed but the January 9th meetings were not available on Mayor Reed’s facebook page. However, the Cultural Arts & Entertainment committee meeting prioritized public comment and group discussion more than the initial committee meetings. My full notes from the meeting can be read here. Below are a few key takeaways from the overall discussion.
Cultural Arts & Entertainment Committee Meeting
The committee’s main charge: Sustain and bolster local arts and culture through an active entertainment district and tourism.
—There is a lack of awareness of who has institutional power to make decisions. The Cultural Arts & Entertainment committee needs and wants to understand what can actually be done as a committee. Both committee members and the general public expressed confusion over what power the committee—and the Mayor’s office—actually has to make necessary changes in the community.
—There is strong volunteer efforts in Montgomery arts communities.
—There is a dire need for Montgomery Public Schools to get adequate arts programming and resources and it is clear that there is not an adequate pathway to support county-controlled Montgomery schools.
—There are a plethora of (silo’d) Cultural Arts & Entertainment assets in Montgomery and there needs to be effective marketing to amplify available assets.
—Black arts leaders are not adequately represented, valued or supported in city/state arts and culture organizations.
—Committee co-chair Ashley Jernigan amplified the need for a “Cultural Affairs Department” that houses a marketing team, maintains relationships with private and non-profit organizations, and manages special events and public art.
—The city should better utilize what already exists and address the structural needs that deter access to existing arts resources.
—Access to public space for art is needed, particularly local neighborhood arts programming and supports for young people (that aren’t criminalized).
Lastly, local artist and community leader, Kevin Kin, noted that we have communities here in Montgomery that purposefully destroy Black business districts and despite that, there still are people in these “failing” communities that are doing amazing work. Kevin reminded the committee that these folks, “need to be at the forefront of all these arts conversations.” He named that despite investment in west side communities, like the one he lives and creates in, the people have still managed to create the necessary infrastructure for developing transformative arts programs.
Kevin shared, “we know that the arts has the power to transform,” and on that note, the work continues.