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Community and Economic Development – Blog by UNC School of Government https://ced.sog.unc.edu What Makes Rural Art Parks Successful? Recommendations for CED Art LoversBy CED Program Interns & StudentsPublished September 14, 2022Using the arts as a community economic development (CED) strategy usually brings to mind urban settings. Recent examples include Cary, NC’s shimmer field featured this past winter and magical stick sculptures opened this spring. But over two million people currently live in rural North Carolina. Are rural areas forgotten in efforts to use the power of art as a CED tool? Not at all. In fact, there are a plethora of successful rural art parks across the country leading the way.  A year ago, this blog provided a series of three posts about an incredible public mural project in Kinston, NC. The first post focused on how the project got started, with information on the design, funding and selection process. The second focused on the artists’ role in the project. The third highlighted logistical and budget issues, and how the community was engaged even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. All featured valuable lessons learned. Rural art parks extend town-centered work into wide-open spaces, creating destinations. CED professionals looking at this development strategy need to know what the experienced ‘insiders’ consider keys to success. Officials at almost a dozen public art parks across the United States identified several success factors in interviews as part of a 2022 UNC MPA student study (links to all parks are found at the end of the blog). Each park’s official(s) mentioned a similar number of factors (6-9 factors per park), and all factors were relevant to the parks whether they were newly founded or fully established. Interacting with and engaging with the community was the most often referenced success factor and officials outlined several specific, intentional strategies to promote a sense of place and community engagement through public art.
Strategy 1 Multiple officials found their communities had developed deeper relationships since the art park’s founding. Once established, local citizens were proud of their art park, repeatedly bringing friends and relatives. One interviewee said, “it’s really, really been a good thing for the community. They love it. When friends come and visit, they have something to go do… they can kind of show [the park] off ….” The public art space helped community members find commonalities, process past hardships or disasters, and strengthen emotional ties to their towns.
Strategy 2 Nine parks highlighted connections for visitors between art and nature. Having art placed alongside working farm fields, beside a forest trail, or next to a river linked visitors’ artistic experiences with the land. People learned about where they were visiting and developed emotional connections to the land.  Strategy 3 Having free, public access was essential. Students, factory workers, hikers and art enthusiasts all visited. It encouraged more artists, local to international, to participate in programs from paint jams to residencies.
Strategy 4 All parks advocated actively working to increase park awareness through school field trips, tours for local hospitality staff, and newspaper and magazine articles. One official even passed out business cards on errands. All strategies built up local visitor attendance and increased word-of-mouth park reviews. 
Additional Considerations Having passionate founders with a strong work ethic and grit was required to make the art park a success. Officials mentioned how their founders multi-tasked, used multifaceted skills, and relied on their sheer determination. Some founders, but not all, were also large donors to the organizations, either through in-kind or financial donations, and those donations had significant impact on the on-going growth of the parks. As CED officials might expect, park supporters mentioned the struggle for adequate funding. Barriers to grant funding included organizational capacity, time, and ineligibility. But the experience was mixed. One official said, “There was a time where we were getting awarded unsolicited grants. I would open …our inbox and it would say such and such wants to give you $1,000!” Organizations were more likely to seek consistent local donors and regional grant opportunities than state or national-scale funding. This meant that funding was a continuous concern.  Many parks pointed to the public purpose motivations behind starting an art park. Each organization evaluated the need for a public art park in the community. For some it was critical that the community support the project from the beginning, while others formed and then worked to get community support. One organization said, “we were born fully fledged in a way… this was born out of city planners,” in that their vision for the organization started large and they worked to fund all components of the art park at once. In contrast, another organization took incremental steps toward becoming an official organization because they wanted to see if their public art park idea was of value to the community. They started with an advisory council and remained a private entity for multiple years to gauge the public’s reaction and build relationships. No matter how they engaged with community, the parks were motivated to provide a positive public service.
Free and accessible public art has the power to change rural communities. Whether the art is a mural on a building or a sculpture along a forest path, public art creates spaces for individual reflection, learning, and joy. On a community level, it builds relationships, increases tourism, and with it, promotes wider community and economic development. Rural areas can even use public art to highlight their creative identity and attract businesses and new community members following a place-based development strategy. Lauren Duncan is a student in the Master of Public Administration program at UNC–Chapel Hill. |
Published September 14, 2022 By CED Program Interns & Students
Using the arts as a community economic development (CED) strategy usually brings to mind urban settings. Recent examples include Cary, NC’s shimmer field featured this past winter and magical stick sculptures opened this spring. But over two million people currently live in rural North Carolina. Are rural areas forgotten in efforts to use the power of art as a CED tool? Not at all. In fact, there are a plethora of successful rural art parks across the country leading the way.
A year ago, this blog provided a series of three posts about an incredible public mural project in Kinston, NC. The first post focused on how the project got started, with information on the design, funding and selection process. The second focused on the artists’ role in the project. The third highlighted logistical and budget issues, and how the community was engaged even in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. All featured valuable lessons learned.
Rural art parks extend town-centered work into wide-open spaces, creating destinations. CED professionals looking at this development strategy need to know what the experienced ‘insiders’ consider keys to success. Officials at almost a dozen public art parks across the United States identified several success factors in interviews as part of a 2022 UNC MPA student study (links to all parks are found at the end of the blog).
Each park’s official(s) mentioned a similar number of factors (6-9 factors per park), and all factors were relevant to the parks whether they were newly founded or fully established. Interacting with and engaging with the community was the most often referenced success factor and officials outlined several specific, intentional strategies to promote a sense of place and community engagement through public art.
Strategy 1
Multiple officials found their communities had developed deeper relationships since the art park’s founding. Once established, local citizens were proud of their art park, repeatedly bringing friends and relatives. One interviewee said, “it’s really, really been a good thing for the community. They love it. When friends come and visit, they have something to go do… they can kind of show [the park] off ….” The public art space helped community members find commonalities, process past hardships or disasters, and strengthen emotional ties to their towns.
“It’s you and the art, set in this incredible nature setting where you’re not distracted by hundreds of cars or buildings… it’s just really you and your experience in nature with art.”
Strategy 2
Nine parks highlighted connections for visitors between art and nature. Having art placed alongside working farm fields, beside a forest trail, or next to a river linked visitors’ artistic experiences with the land. People learned about where they were visiting and developed emotional connections to the land.
Strategy 3
Having free, public access was essential. Students, factory workers, hikers and art enthusiasts all visited. It encouraged more artists, local to international, to participate in programs from paint jams to residencies.
“You shouldn’t have to pay to hear a bird sing or have art in your life.”
Strategy 4
All parks advocated actively working to increase park awareness through school field trips, tours for local hospitality staff, and newspaper and magazine articles. One official even passed out business cards on errands. All strategies built up local visitor attendance and increased word-of-mouth park reviews.
Additional Considerations
Having passionate founders with a strong work ethic and grit was required to make the art park a success. Officials mentioned how their founders multi-tasked, used multifaceted skills, and relied on their sheer determination. Some founders, but not all, were also large donors to the organizations, either through in-kind or financial donations, and those donations had significant impact on the on-going growth of the parks.
As CED officials might expect, park supporters mentioned the struggle for adequate funding. Barriers to grant funding included organizational capacity, time, and ineligibility. But the experience was mixed. One official said, “There was a time where we were getting awarded unsolicited grants. I would open …our inbox and it would say such and such wants to give you $1,000!” Organizations were more likely to seek consistent local donors and regional grant opportunities than state or national-scale funding. This meant that funding was a continuous concern.
Many parks pointed to the public purpose motivations behind starting an art park. Each organization evaluated the need for a public art park in the community. For some it was critical that the community support the project from the beginning, while others formed and then worked to get community support. One organization said, “we were born fully fledged in a way… this was born out of city planners,” in that their vision for the organization started large and they worked to fund all components of the art park at once. In contrast, another organization took incremental steps toward becoming an official organization because they wanted to see if their public art park idea was of value to the community. They started with an advisory council and remained a private entity for multiple years to gauge the public’s reaction and build relationships. No matter how they engaged with community, the parks were motivated to provide a positive public service.
“The public you are a part of recognizes the benefit of you being a public entity. You don’t want to become a nonprofit just for tax benefits, you want to become a nonprofit because you’re public.”
Free and accessible public art has the power to change rural communities. Whether the art is a mural on a building or a sculpture along a forest path, public art creates spaces for individual reflection, learning, and joy. On a community level, it builds relationships, increases tourism, and with it, promotes wider community and economic development. Rural areas can even use public art to highlight their creative identity and attract businesses and new community members following a place-based development strategy.
Lauren Duncan is a student in the Master of Public Administration program at UNC–Chapel Hill.
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