Louisville is a city overflowing with art. From museums to murals, the beauty of Derby City is all around us. And now, the Louisville art scene is getting an inspection.

The Louisville Metro Office of Arts + Creative Industries has hired Designing Local, a Columbus, OH-based consulting firm, to draw up a Comprehensive Cultural Plan for Derby City.

Updating the Public Art Master Plan

The Comprehensive Cultural Plan will be a 10-year roadmap for Louisville's public art ecosystem, sketching out the future for arts + culture initiatives across town.

That roadmap will include an update to the Public Art Master Plan. Commissioned by Mayor Jerry Abramson in 2009, the 57-page document achieved several objectives, including:

Creating an archive of Louisville's public art
Identifying potential sites for new public art
Establishing the Commission on Public Art

This update will take stock of Louisville's public art assets, including cultural institutions, artist spaces + startups, and community groups.

The new plan will also assess the economic impact of Louisville's creative sector, including employment, salaries, sales data, andtax revenue.

The Statue of York was created by artist Ed Hamilton, and installed on the Belvedere in 2003. | Image via National Park Service

How you can help

Are you a local artist, patron, or stakeholder in Louisville's art scene? Designing Local wants to hear from you. Fill out this survey to let them know your thoughts on the process + how you would like to be involved.

As part of the process, Designing Local will host at least two community meetings. Details on those meetings are TBD, but we'll keep you in the loop.

The entire development of the plan is expected to take around a year. At the end, Designing Local will produce a 10-year roadmap for Louisville's public art ecosystem, including goals + strategies, as well as metrics to measure their success.