Breathitt County CES

Title:

Promoting Breathitt County through Arts & Tourism Initiative

MAP:

Arts and Creativity

Agents Involved:

Reed Graham & Kayla Watts

MAJOR PROGRAM 1:

4-H Communications and Expressive Arts Core Curriculum

MAJOR PROGRAM 2:

Trail Design

MAJOR PROGRAM 3:

Community Design/Creative Placemaking

Situation:

With recent budget cuts from business and government, the Breathitt County community has lost businesses, jobs and morale. More so, our local schools have lost various core programming, including music and the arts. There has been a need and interest expressed in engaging our community in arts and tourism programming.

According to a report from "American's for the Arts," "Every day, the 100,000 nonprofit arts and culture organizations that populate the nation’s cities and towns are making their communities more desirable places to live and work. They provide inspiration and enjoyment to residents, beautify shared public places, and strengthen the social fabric." More so, the study demonstrates that "arts and culture industry is also an economic driver in these communities—a growth industry that supports jobs, generates government revenue, and is the cornerstone of tourism." (www.americansforthearts.org)

Arts and tourism programming will enhance creative capacity for Kentucky's communities and encourage and support the inclusion of creative placemaking as an economic development strategy.

Long-Term Outcomes:

Communities are more diverse and resilient due to arts inclusion and creative placemaking, extension agents are confident in arts-related community development practices, communities entice arts entrepreneurs; communities are designated as Cultural Districts

Intermediate Outcomes:

Creative placemaking is incorporated within economic development strategies; arts are identified in more county plan-of-work reports; Kentucky communities engage in creative asset mapping; communities develop pride in local culture; communities collectively increase skill- set within the arts

Initial Outcomes:

Increase awareness of existing arts initiatives, agents understand creative placemaking and apply to their local communities; artisan entrepreneurs develop enhanced business practices

Evaluation:

Initial Outcome:  Community members will learn about various trail, tourism, expressive arts, and design opportunities in Breathitt County

Indicator:  Increase in participation in programs provided by the Extension Office related to Arts and Arts Development

Method: Extension record-keeping/Program Evaluations

Timeline: 2019-2020

Intermediate Outcome:  Community members will implement things learned at Extension Arts/Tourism programming in daily living; Expressive Arts students will practice public speaking skills

Indicator:  Participants will share what they have learned and how they are using those skills as community members

Method:  Follow-Up Evaluations, Extension record-keeping

Timeline:  2019-2020

Long-term Outcome:  Community members will help maintain trails, raised beds and other expressive arts areas; Expressive Arts students will use public speaking skills in every-day life

Indicator:  Maintenance of trails, implement/maintenance of raised-bed designs, youth using public speaking skills as they grow as students

Method:  Observation, Evaluation, Participation of youth in advanced competitions and leadership positions

Timeline:  2019-2020

Learning Opportunities:

Audience:  Youth (9-18)

Project or Activity:  Speeches and Demonstrations

Content or Curriculum:  Communications & Expressive Arts, Leadership

Inputs:  Agents, Educators, Volunteers

Date:  2019-2020

Audience:  Youth & Adults

Project or Activity:  Annual Canoe Trip

Content or Curriculum:  Environmental Science/Water Quality Science, Teamwork

Inputs:  Agents, Specialists, Parks and Recreation of Jackson, Breathitt County Tourism Committee, & Agriculture Development Board

Date:  Summer, 2019

Audience:  Youth & Adults

Project or Activity:  Raised-Bed development and maintenance programs as a part of parking lot design

Content or Curriculum:  Horticulture, Nurturing Families, Public Space Design

Inputs:  Agents, Specialists, Volunteers, Breathitt County Health Planning Council

Date:  2019-2020