Chamber of Commerce "Big 5" includes arts proposals

On Wednesday, the Chamber unveiled the ideas gathered during the past three months for the “Big 5” ­— or five strategic goals that will make Kansas City a place where people can live, work and play while creating strong foundations for families and businesses.

more at the Kansas City Business Journal

and here are the arts and culture proposals from the Chamber's "Big 5" pdf:

Celebrating and promoting the region’s rich offerings in arts and culture was a consistent theme throughout the “Big 5” process. A number of the ideas suggested involved creating new and expanding already-established festivals and events.

Specific ideas proposed include:

#35 – Endorse and support ArtsCopia, a regional celebration of the arts modeled after the Edinburgh Festival, currently under development by the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City.
#36 – Expand the successful KC Fringe Festival to establish it as one of the biggest Fringe Fests in the country.
#37 – Honor the 100 year anniversary of WWI in 2014 by seeking designation of Liberty Memorial as the location of the official celebration of the World War I Centennial through legislation currently before Congress, and assisting the WWI Centennial Commission in fundraising for and development of anniversary events.
#38 – Build on the already-successful Memorial Day “Celebration at the Station” with additional Memorial Day events maximizing usage of Liberty Memorial, the World War I Museum and other venues in the immediate area.
#39 – Expand “Kansas City Day” celebrating the Royals home-opener into a larger, regional celebration of the community.
#40 – Establish a Freedom Frontier National Heritage Area regionally, telling the story of the struggle for freedom and democratic rights of African-Americans and all peoples of color, providing both residents and visitors a setting in which to learn about the expansion of freedom.
#41 – Create a task force of business and community leaders to work in concert with stakeholders in the Historic 18th & Vine Jazz District to further develop and promote the district, turning the district into a pinnacle destination.
#42 – Develop a membership-based universal “arts and culture” ticket to promote local interest in the arts and cultural awareness among communities.
#43 – Enact a bistate tax or a three-county Missouri tax to support regional arts and arts organizations, using a grassroots, bottom-up approach.
#44 – Work with stakeholders to double Kansas City Art Institute enrollment within three to five years.
#45 – Establish an Arts & Sciences Alliance with a mission to (1) cross-pollinate the two and (2) foster creativity.
#46 – Relocate the UMKC Conservatory to a new downtown location.
#47 – Develop a regional arts plan, in collaboration with the Arts Council of Metropolitan Kansas City, local arts commissions, and others.