With the promising Riverwalk project under construction and the intriguing Artisan Avenue waiting in the wings, the Realize Bradenton juggernaut continues full speed ahead with a fresh challenge to the community.
Simply put, what’s the next big idea?
Monday’s luncheon gathering of 180 civic and cultural leaders and activists, diverse in both age and ethnicity, reflects the ongoing and deep community engagement in Bradenton’s future. The years’ long undertaking centers around the conviction that communities can parlay cultural assets and enhancements into economic development and growth, a proven concept around the country.
Monday’s luncheon and brainstorming session came courtesy of the Knight Foundation, long a partner in assisting -- if not actually pushing -- Bradenton toward this goal. From the very first public brainstorming sessions that led to the birth of Realize Bradenton, the Knight Foundation has been an invaluable partner to the city -- a fact acknowledged with great applause several times Monday at the Pier 22 restaurant ballroom.
Dennis Scholl, a Knight vice president in charge of the foundation’s national arts programs, issued the challenge, calling on the community to ramp up its cultural efforts in order to attain the goal of becoming known across the country as a place where the synergy between art and commerce creates a vibrant city.
That vibrancy, he stated, will become a magnet for entrepreneurs, artists and others who rate culture as a top priority in the community they chose for residency. Build it and they will come, as the saying goes.
But infrastructure like Riverwalk, Artisan Avenue and the Manatee Players theater, the latter still seeking donations, should only be the beginning. Scholl pointed out that “social offerings” are the key to connecting individuals to the community, a component that people rank as the highest priority of all for quality of life.
Simple things like “random acts of culture” amaze and delight people, as Scholl demonstrated with a video clip of a choir’s surprise performance at a shopping mall. People sang along and shot their own videos, quickly posting them on YouTube.
Dare Bradenton be a great place for the arts? And complementing, not rivaling, Sarasota?
By one measure, the Friendly City is already on the map -- at least among readers of AmericanStyle Magazine. Last year, those readers voted Bradenton as the 10th best small city arts destination in the country, quite a jump from 22nd the previous year.
While the community values the spotlight, we cannot rest on any laurels lest complacency set in and dull our appetite for progress. But gauging by the energy at Monday’s gathering, the city’s civic and cultural leaders are highly unlikely to let this already long-lasting momentum stall.
We credit the Realize Bradenton board and staff, especially Johnette Isham, the nonprofit’s director, and Vernon DeSear, board chair, with fueling that energy and leading this aggressive charge into a bright future. The underlying factor in the success to date lies with the unity among the city’s civic, arts, business and education leaders -- likely the envy of many communities.
Downtown already boasts the South Florida Museum, the Manatee Players, ArtCenter Manatee and Village of the Arts. Old Main Street is attracting new restaurants and nightspots.
Upon completion in the fall, the $6.2 million Riverwalk will add a pedestrian- and family-friendly array of participatory places -- “social offerings,” if you will -- including outdoor living rooms, a skateboard park, beach volleyball and an improved amphitheater.
Artisan Avenue is designed as a signature pedestrian corridor between the Manatee River and the Village of the Arts, via alleyways, parking lots and service drives enhanced with public art, gathering spots and retail shops.
The question, then, as posed during Monday’s brainstorming, is what can we strengthen? More quality events, greater youth involvement in community arts and neighborhood arts events to add diversity were just some of the ideas.
We challenge the entire community to join the discussion.
