Arts 2019-01-16 Agenda Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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Cary Simmons from TPL will present to the Tukwila Arts Commission on January 16, 2019 National Endowment for the Arts — Grant Summary: To support Creative Outreach Tools for Underserved Communities in Tukwila, Washington, The Trust for Public Land will partner with the City and health and refugee aid organizations to pilot innovative methods for advancing creative placemaking and civic engagement in one of the largest refugee resettlement areas in the state. The project will provide a platform for marginalized groups to define the community's vision for a greener, more livable Tukwila, a small, diverse King County city, particularly in light of the City's 2017 Equity Policy and as the City's Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Plan is scheduled to be updated in 2019. This project will expand community engagement efforts with innovative methods to gather greater input on increasing access to parks, in order to achieve long-term community benefits. Activities: This project will support efforts to undertake a comprehensive open space and parks planning effort in Tukwila that has culture, creativity, equity, and identity at its core. Given the diverse backgrounds of Tukwila's residents, it is unlikely that conventional community engagement strategies would be effective. We believe a creative, experiential, and adaptive approach to outreach will tap into the arts' power to celebrate the evolving story and dynamic culture of Tukwila. This project will test innovative and non-traditional engagement methods to expand outreach to the most underserved and disenfranchised members of the community. Proposed activities include: • Continued partnership development: Partnerships are central to this effort and to soliciting meaningful input from all community members. TPL, in close partnership with the City, will continue to work with two organizations staffed by leaders from the local refugee communities in Tukwila, Global2Local and the International Rescue Committee. This activity will focus on listening, building presence in the community, and understanding the network of community development issues (transportation, housing, food access, etc.) that may impact a park design and planning and community livability at large. • Cultural organizations and artist partnership: TPL, in close partnership with the City and community leaders, will collaborate with local, cultural organizations to advance a shared vision of parks and open spaces for the city. TPL has relationships with 4Culture, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Seattle Asian Art Museum (reopening next year), and this project will build upon these and expand outreach to other arts and cultural organizations. These partners will be instrumental in designing creative community engagement events to solicit input from community members and the park activation projects (likely public art works that engage park users and inspire others to begin using public spaces). • Community engagement: Project partners will customize an approach (and Community Engagement Plan) to engage the refugee and immigrant communities, building capacity to define a grassroots vision for Tukwila's open space system. This project will pilot innovative methods for advancing civic engagement in park and open space planning, with a focus on non-English speakers, racial minorities, and youth. Ideas include hosting creative placemaking events and festivals and training existing community health workers to better engage arts and culture in their outreach programs. One potential aspect of this is employing Springboard for the Arts to conduct training with Global2Local. This collaborative outreach and engagement process will also begin the process of daylighting broader, community -level issues, which may set the stage for a longer -term series of park and open space projects. Input gathered from the community will inform the selection and design of park activation projects. Input gathered throughout this project will also inform the City's updated plan. • Implement park activation projects: We will identify and pursue 1-2 park activation projects, engaging municipalities and community groups from the health and social service sectors to lead programming and events as part of the activations. TPL will work with a community organizer and a local artist to engage the community in the creation of a tangible installation, art work, or other creative project that activates an existing park space in Tukwila.