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The Big Canvas Phase II

Nearly 300 people from all over the Philadelphia region participated in
the first round of forums in the Big Canvas initiative of Great
Expectations this summer.

They came together to discuss how they use and value the region’s arts
and culture assets. They offered a myriad of ideas for how the sector
could be made stronger.

The Big Canvas project is based on a sense that the region should do
more both to support and to benefit from its arts and cultural riches.

Now comes Phase II of The Big Canvas. Consider this your invitation to
take part and make your voice heard.

In this phase we’ll have seven forums at sites all around the region in
late September and early October. We’ve tried to set up the slate of
events so that at least one will be convenient for you.

What will happen at the forums?

You’ll sit with fellow citizens/taxpayers/culture lovers and talk
through four possible arts and culture strategies for the region. We’ve
pulled together this array of four distinct choices based on the input
citizens gave us at the July forum. (Once you register, we’ll send you
an advance copy of this issue framework, so you can arrive prepared.)

At the end of the evening, you’ll get a chance to vote on the
strategies, allocating 20 “points” among the four however you see fit
(e.g. 20 points for one approach, zero for the other three; or, 10 for
one, five for two choices, zero for the fourth).

When we add up all your votes, we’ll get a pretty clear picture of what
ideas for arts and culture appeal to the citizens of the region, and
what they’d be willing to contribute to make them happen.

We’ll take all your input and distill it into a citizens’ report on arts
and culture to be presented to the region’s cultural and political
leaders in the concluding event of the project, The Big Canvas Confab,
to be held Saturday, Dec. 6, at the Valley Forge Convention Center.
(Save the date. You can combine the event with holiday shopping at the K of P mall!)

The Big Canvas, as with all Great Expectations events, is designed to
listen carefully to citizens’ voices, amplify them, and find ways to
help them achieve real impact. Beyond that, as hundreds who took part in
the July forums can attest, these dialogues can be stimulating fun. You
can see full moderators’ and bloggers’ reports on the July forums on the

project website, http://www.greatexpectationsnow.com. You can also register for

the forums there, or you can do so by calling 215-854-5956.

Hope to see you this fall. And bring a friend. Or 10.

Chris Satullo, The Inquirer
Harris Sokoloff, the Penn Project for Civic Engagement
Linda Breitstein and Holly Kirksey, Great Expectations project managers
Carolyn Chernoff, graduate assistant
Jodie Chester, Web master

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