EASTHAMPTON — A decade after Easthampton laid out a vision for arts and culture in the city’s 2008 Master Plan, city officials are inviting the public to assess its progress and develop its vision further into the future.
The Easthampton Futures Project, a series of community workshops, will host their first session on Saturday, May 18 in the ballroom at Eastworks from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Residents and community members of Easthampton, Westhampton and Southampton are invited to participate, event organizers said.
“As we look ahead and vision out the future of what we want for the arts and culture in Easthampton, it would be really short-sighted to proceed without acknowledging the history and culture that has created a strong foundation in Easthampton,” said Pasqualina Azzarello, the city’s arts coordinator.
Saturday’s session is called “Sensing & Discovery,” and Azzarello said part of the workshop will be dedicated to acknowledging the progress made in the city to reach the goals included in the 2008 Master Plan.
An annual street festival on Cottage Street was a specific goal in that plan, and Azzarello said it is important to acknowledge successful initiatives such as Cultural Chaos.
“That was a tangible goal and a tangible response,” Azzarello said. “It brings in not only local residents, but draws visitors throughout the region. It was an intentional effort to acknowledge Easthampton as a regional destination.”
In 2017, an estimated 10,000 people attended Cultural Chaos, and last year, over 12,000 people attended the festival, Azzarello said. This year’s festival will take place on June 8.
The goal of the Easthampton Futures Project is to update the master plan’s chapter on arts and culture, but Azzarello said sessions like the one on Saturday are an opportunity to have conversations about how to keep arts and culture relevant as the city continues to grow.
The project is a coordinated effort by Easthampton City Arts and the city’s Planning Department. Two other sessions are scheduled for June 1 and June 22. The Easthampton firm Dpict is partnering with the city to design and facilitate the public workshops.
Some concerns Azzarello is already aware of from artists in the community is their ability to promote and sell their art and the rising costs of rent and real estate within the city.
“We want to listen,” Azzarello said. “We are doing our best to thoughtfully engage as wide a population of our city as possible.”
Luis Fieldman can be reached at lfieldman@gazettenet.com.