Creative Arts Districts provide unique opportunity

Joann Falkenburg, left, leads the first listening session Tuesday, part of the process to create an official Arts District in McCook. Several more sessions will be held in McCook over the next few weeks.

Courtesy photo

McCook has many great attributes from the brick-lined streets and surrounding lakes, to hard-working people and unique, innovative businesses.

And now McCook has the opportunity to take another of its assets to the next level: arts and culture.

In 2020, the Nebraska Unicameral adopted LB943 for Creative Arts Districts across the state. The program recognizes that the arts serve many purposes, including as an economic driver of a region and telling the story of a community.

McCook already has an enthusiasm for the arts, represented in so many different ways: theater productions, musical performances, art classes, museums, dance troupes…the list goes on and on. But McCook can take its passion for the arts even further with the creation of a Creative Arts District.

What exactly is an “arts district”?

According to the Nebraska Arts Council which oversees the project, “Creative Districts” are “designated geographic, cultural and economic areas where innovation flourishes and neighborhoods come together in the name of art. They provide significant economic impact by creating purposeful spaces like art galleries, theaters, and music venues thereby attracting community members, employees, businesses and visitors.”

In other words, it is a specific area of a community - a district - which would focus on the arts. Not that only arts wouldn’t be available throughout the rest of the community, but there would be a special emphasis on that area. And art would not be the only asset in the district; rather, art would enhance and complement what is already available.

It’s like the Canteen District in North Platte, the Haymarket in Lincoln, the Old Market in Omaha - those areas have a special distinction within the community but ultimately benefit the entire area.

Why would McCook benefit from having a Creative Arts District?

For starters, there is funding as part of the legislative bill to support the arts. Other communities in Nebraska have already completed the process to become an Arts District and will be eligible for grants from $10,000 to $250,000. If McCook developed an official Arts District, some of those funds could make their way to Southwest Nebraska.

Art Districts can also be an economic driver in a community, bringing tourists and tax revenue.

Beyond the financial aspect, an organized art district may attract innovative, creative people to move and stay in our community; it could provide additional entertainment and teaching opportunities; and perhaps most importantly, it would create a sense of pride, foster collaboration and simply bring people together.

As part of the application process to become an official Arts District in Nebraska, the community must hold workshops for community members to share their visions and ideas.

The first workshop to discuss a McCook Arts District was held Tuesday but there are several more sessions being conducted over the next few weeks. Anyone with an interest in the arts or who thinks this could have an impact on our community or who would like to have a say in what McCook looks like in the next 3, 5, 10, 20 years is encouraged to sign up.

The upcoming dates are Sept 6 (7:30-9:30 a.m.), Sept. 8 (5:30-7:30 p.m.); Sept. 9 (11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.); Sept. 16 (11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.) with all the sessions held at the Keystone Business Center.

If you would like to share your vision for McCook and Southwest Nebraska’s future as a cultural and creative hub, please send an email to mwsehnert@gmail.com to register.

This type of opportunity does not come around every day. When projects like this come along, we need to jump at the chance to be involved and to be part of the change. By giving a little bit of our time now, we can all make a difference for generations to come.