Ms. Nina Z. Ozlu Tunceli

Your Mayor Can Be Your Greatest Arts Ally

Posted by Ms. Nina Z. Ozlu Tunceli, Apr 29, 2011 0 comments


Ms. Nina Z. Ozlu Tunceli

Nina Ozlu Tunceli

I'm here in Chicago at the National Mayors Summit on City Design sponsored by U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Endowment for the Arts, and the Architectural Foundation.

Yesterday, I participated in working sessions with mayors, city planners, and architects to develop a series of recommendations to federal officials of how to streamline partnerships to create economic development and improve city infrastructure.

Specifically, I made several recommendations, including creating incentive funding for cultural districts and public art programs in federal infrastructure projects and economic development zones.

I am pleased to say that I was not the only carrying messages about the importance of the arts. 

Mayors Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, Nutter of Philadelphia, and Riley of Charleston, SC, talked about cultural placemaking, focusing on the authenticity of a community by embracing its cultural assets, changing zoning ordinances, and generating economic development around iconic public art projects such as the Watts Towers in Los Angeles.

Many mayors highlighted the importance of having public art incorporated into their major transit, especially railway, projects and how it encourages local residents to take mass transportation.

Many of these items were turned into formal recommendations that were presented this morning to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan and other federal representatives of the Department of Transportation and White House Domestic Policy Council. Yay!

In fact, Mayor Elizabeth Kautz, president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, just said it well: "Art and design represent the heart of every city's soul."

Are your local government leaders as enthusiastic about the arts? How does your mayor support the arts in your community?

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