CANVAS represents a groundbreaking 10-year cultural master plan born from collaboration between the City of Orlando and Orange County. This comprehensive roadmap emerges from 18 months of intensive community engagement involving over 1,500 residents, artists, cultural organizations, and civic leaders across all six council districts and 13 municipalities within Orange County. 

From Assessment to Action

In early 2020, during the depths of the COVID pandemic, the City of Orlando and Orange County joined together with a shared vision to plan for a stronger future through the power of arts and culture. This emerging partnership recognized that creative practices and expressions can dramatically strengthen communities even during challenging times—building economic vitality through jobs and spending, attracting visitors, and making places resilient, engaging, and welcoming for everyone.

As the City of Orlando and Orange County continue to evolve in population, diversity, and built environment, this 10-year horizon cultural master plan—CANVAS—represents a collective vision to elevate the county's arts and culture to a level befitting its creative community.  CANVAS provides an ambitious yet achievable roadmap for strengthening cultural life through 2035.

This section provides a comprehensive overview of the planning environment and the arts and cultural ecosystem that informed both the qualitative and quantitative research directions for CANVAS.

The CANVAS cultural planning process was a collaborative, 18-month effort initiated by the City of Orlando and Orange County to develop a comprehensive roadmap for elevating arts and culture throughout the county. The process was designed to be inclusive, data-driven, and responsive to the diverse needs and aspirations of the county's communities.

The comprehensive research approach was designed to capture both the aspirations and challenges facing the county's cultural ecosystem. The findings reveal a community that deeply values arts and culture, actively participates in creative activities, and strongly supports increased investment in cultural programming.

The goals, strategies, and actions outlined in CANVAS are grounded in the comprehensive research and analysis conducted throughout the planning process and presented in the findings section. The insights derived from this extensive research effort informed the development of the goals, strategies, and actions presented in this plan.  This plan is designed to serve as a roadmap for arts and culture over the next 10 years.

Downtown Orlando and Orlando Main Street District Recommendations.