Governance of a Cultural District

How do we start and manage a Cultural District?

COA recommends using one of these three models to govern a cultural district. Choose the one that best aligns with your municipality’s governance structure:

1. Create a new Cultural District governing body in accordance with local charter requirements. This requires new volunteers to serve as governing group members.
2. Assign it to an existing board or commission and create an advisory council reporting to that board or commission. This creates a non-voting advisory council and could be an informal working group with some fluidity in membership. This requires additional volunteers.
3. Assign Cultural District oversight to an existing board or commission that meets the members requirement below. Examples include a municipality’s economic development commission or the municipality’s governing body (council, board of selectmen, etc.). This doesn’t require additional volunteers, but it does place more responsibilities on existing volunteers.

Your Cultural District should be able to exercise any power and perform any duties to manage the district. That includes consulting/collaborating with Connecticut Office of the Arts, state and local tourism organization, and the DRSO for:

• Marketing
• Connecting with and/or convening local arts and culture community representatives
• Asset mapping
• Advocacy
• Directing resources
• Applying for or soliciting and accepting grants, contributions, or other funds

Cultural District Members

• Should represent diverse organizations and businesses and the shared interests of the district.
• Three-quarters must represent the arts and culture community.
• The majority must live or work in the district.
• The size of the Cultural District group should be related to the needs of the municipality and its population, with a minimum of six members.
• Should include at least one representative from each of the following categories:
• Local cultural or arts council
• Cultural organizations (historical society, museum, ethnic heritage organization)
• Artist who lives and/or works in the district
• Organizations that represent artists (artist cooperative, etc.) if applicable
• For-profit creative business i.e. gallery, theater
• Local business and/or chamber of commerce

A city, town, or borough may include additional representatives. depending on the assets in the Cultural District and the district’s goals. They can be from:

• Tourism
• Historic preservation/history
• Leisure and hospitality industry (i.e. restaurants, hotels and similar businesses)
• Educational institutions
• Economic and community development

Cultural District Duties and Procedures

The group must develop:

• Goals and objectives
• A management plan
• A cultural assets map and inventory
• Goals and success measures for the district
• A marketing plan. The municipality must use Connecticut Cultural District branding as part of any sign, marketing, promotion, and/or recognition. We recommend printing a minimum of two signs for your municipality, which determine where to display them.

The Cultural District group should:

• Meet on a regular basis
• Oversee the implementation of its management plan
• Operate in accordance with the municipality’s governance structure

Cultural Districts may be asked for data from the DECD and/or DRSO to help measure the impact of the district. The data should reflect the Cultural District’s specific goals. Examples include visitation data, building occupancy rates, aggregate sales tax in the district, number of full-time jobs, number of artists, box office sales, and consumer surveys. Cultural Districts must respond to requests for data from the state in a timely fashion.