From 2019–2020, Two Tigers consulted with the Arts Division of the City of West Hollywood to generate an arts festival feasibility study.Our approach to the arts festival feasibility study was rooted in the five principles delineated in Weho Arts: The Plan: space, engagement, support, visibility, and experimentation. We intended for the study to serve as an exploration of how this “Creative City” can galvanize its stakeholders and constituents to use art as a vehicle for building community and celebrating its unique values.This study looked to answer the following major questions:

• Does the recommendation in WeHo Arts: The Plan still ring true? Are the constituents and stakeholders of West Hollywood interested in a large-scale civic led arts festival?

• How are the constituents and stakeholders of West Hollywood defining “arts festival”?

• Are the constituents and stakeholders of West Hollywood interested in participating in the festival?What shape could this participation take?

• How could a festival benefit the City of West Hollywood, and more specifically the artists, business owners, and residents?

• What festival models exist that could provide insight and direction for a potential arts festival in the City of West Hollywood?

• What additional capacity–staff and funding–would be required to create a successful arts festival?

Our work began by conducting informational interviews with the Arts Division staff, to assess the staffing and economic resources available for an arts festival. We also performed a calendar assessment to understand the resources available in terms of municipal and alternative venues in the City, the robust slate of arts programming already undertaken by the Division, and competing regional events with an eye towards budgets and partnerships.

To reach a wide array of West Hollywood community members, the consultants created a short online survey, open for two months. The survey was also available in analogue format at the West Hollywood Library and multiple arts programs in the City of West Hollywood in both English and Russian languages.

We supplemented the survey data with further in-person engagement, attending community meetings with targeted stakeholder groups to gain insight into what the community wants and needs from an arts festival, and to elicit further participation.

Before making recommendations, we conducted a comparative study of three successful festivals, with the goal of identifying potential partnership and funding models that could be applied in West Hollywood. The final report and recommendations presented herein were endorsed by the City of West Hollywood Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission in early 2020 and presented to the City Council in March 2020. Excerpts of the final report and comprehensive digital index featured below.