City of Cambridge Participatory Budgeting

Citywide

Spread the love and joy of arts and music in the city of Cambridge! Residents can bring world-class arts and musical performances to any city street, any time, regardless of age, race, or background.

To satisfy the high need for both indoor and outdoor public places to display art and performance venues in Cambridge, a mobile performance truck is proposed to address the outdoor but also temporarily compensate for limited indoor space availability. The proposed project will have a high impact on the community in terms of uniting and strengthening communities, improving communication and promoting artistic expressions especially among the low-income youth and elderly community residents. The performance stage truck is intended for multi-functional roles as proposed by residents that include:

• Mobile Art Gallery & Exhibitions

• Mobile Venue to host Events: festivals, cultural events, street/block parties.

• Performance stage for music/concerts, theater etc.

• Recording/Production Studio

• Mobile Amphitheater

• Multi-Purpose Role

• As demonstrated in its successful implementation in the City of Las Vegas, “these all-in-one mobile performance systems are suitable for all outdoor performance events. The trailer design allows for transportation to and use at any outdoor and even some indoor locations. The Showmobile in performance position, features a full-scale thrust-style stage, state of the art acoustical shell and cantilevered roof and canopy. The professional appearance makes these mobile stages appropriate for a complete range of events, from ribbon cutting ceremonies to full symphony orchestra concerts.” http://www.lasvegasnevada.gov/cs/groups/public/documents/document/chjk/mda5/~edisp/prd009427.pdf

In addition, this all-in-one performance unit will further enhance our City:

• The advantage of having a "mobile" music recording & production studio is that it will reach underserved areas, accessible to young adults, flexibility in usage time, its visibility will reduce the risk otherwise associated with using music studio equipment located in personal basement/areas that could possibly foster crime/illegal activities.

• Arts Council Events & Individual Exposure for Small Businesses/Start-Up: Artist Mobile Gallery; Performance Stage; Cultural Exchange; Youth Involvement.

• Accessible to Seniors & Residents with limited mobility.

• Parks & Recreation events (See http://www.mobilestagetruck.com.au/big-red.html )

• Community development & education, signage, tool for communication, speaker platform/forum for the underrepresented; education: cultural & historical; interactive media/broadcast to increase residents’ participation.

The City’s cost estimate of $98,000 should cover a custom trailer that can be pulled by a Public Works vehicle.