City Council member Elaine Spaull is convening a meeting of Rochester arts organizations on Friday, open to anyone who wants to attend. The broad purpose, she said this morning, is to discuss their needs and the contribution of the arts to the area’s quality of life, using a recent report as a starting point. The meeting will be held at the Arts and Cultural Council Center, 31 Prince Street, at 4 p.m.

Spaull had initially invited a small group of arts representatives who had attended previous meetings during the debate about a new theater for the Rochester Broadway Theatre League on Parcel 5. As word of Friday's meeting spread on social media, however, some arts representatives complained that they were being excluded, and Spaull opened the meeting to all arts groups and others who are interested.
The Friday event’s purpose, Spaull said in a press release issued last night, is to “review the AMS Study that was conducted in May 2018.” That study, commissioned by Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren, looked primarily at how new large performance venues in several other cities had affected the funding and audience for other arts organizations. But the AMS study also cited ways other cities had provided ongoing funding for a broader group of local arts organizations.

People who aren’t able to attend the Friday meeting but want to comment can email Spaull at [email protected]., her press release said.