Princeton's art scene has seen progress a year after the local arts council developed a culture plan to make arts, culture and heritage more visible in town.
In September, ArtsBC hosted its first sustainability seminar event in Princeton, which looked at organizational structure, capacity and forward planning. The Princeton Museum followed by holding its own strategic planning session.
A dinner and meeting organized by the Town of Princeton and the Princeton Arts Council took place in October. This yearly event was established to bringing community organizations together to discuss their events, prevent duplication, share skills and develop a community calendar for the year.
"The Princeton Cultural Plan was developed through almost a year of research and community consultation to identify the key arts, culture and heritage issues within Princeton and Area H," said Princeton Community Arts Council facilitator Vicky Jones.
Progress has been made on increasing the visibility of the arts in Princeton through the improvement of websites for the Town of Princeton, Princeton Arts Council and the Princeton Museum, she said.
A joint initiative between the Town of Princeton and community organizations has also begun to develop branded promotional materials including a new museum leaflet and an arts and culture pamphlet including a public art map, which will be out in the spring.
"Important progress was also made last year in developing partnerships within the community, including the relationship established with the Upper Similkameen Band," Jones said.
"This relationship continued throughout the year and has resulted in the second annual Upper Similkameen Spirit Festival taking place in April 2012."
The group has identified several items to focus on in 2012, including the continuation of an art in public places program, improving existing marketing materials, expanding accessible programming and developing resources to help organizations with their succession planning.
The culture plan is available for review on the Princeton Arts Council website or by dropping into the Sunflower Gallery at 105 Vermilion Ave.