In this issue of CultureWork, Tina Rinaldi shares her experiences and reflects on serving as a novice chair for a community cultural planning committee. Drawing on her time on this advisory committee, Rinaldi provides an overview of the challenges and successes for citizen-led cultural review. What does it mean for the arts and culture professional to work in a forum with a high level of community participation? What are the roles of each stakeholder? Rinaldi addresses these and other questions of this dynamic and exigent forum for municipal cultural engagement.
She concludes: ‘After participating in the Cultural Policy Review, I believe strongly that arts leaders who want to play an active role in cultural planning must lead beyond the direct needs of and benefits to their organization’s narrow interests. In order to do this, arts leaders must understand and engage with the broader political and economic landscape in which they operate.’