​Cultural Asset Mapping & Creative Sector Development

​The Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance (SAACA) offers comprehensive Cultural Asset Mapping and Creative Sector Development services to help communities, municipalities, nonprofits, and partners understand and strengthen their local cultural ecosystems.

This work goes beyond identifying what already exists — it’s about catalyzing new connections, empowering creative voices, and building the infrastructure that supports long-term cultural vitality and economic resilience.

What is CULTURAL ASSET MAPPING

Cultural asset mapping is a collaborative process of identifying, documenting, and analyzing the cultural resources that define and shape a community’s identity. These assets may include artists, arts organizations, heritage sites, creative businesses, informal cultural networks, festivals, venues, educational programs, and more.
Cultural asset mapping helps communities:
  • Recognize and elevate the unique creative and cultural resources that already exist
  • Engage residents and stakeholders in participatory planning and storytelling
  • Inform public policy, grantmaking, zoning, tourism, and economic development strategies
  • Build stronger, more inclusive, and more resilient communities

WHAT IS CREATIVE SECTOR DEVELOPMENT

​Creative sector development refers to the strategic support and growth of the region’s arts, culture, and creative industries. This includes infrastructure for artists and makers, small business support, workforce development, investment in creative entrepreneurship, and capacity-building for cultural organizations.
Our work in this area builds a foundation for:
  • Sustainable careers in the arts
  • Innovation in cultural policy and community planning
  • Economic growth through cultural tourism and creative placemaking
  • Increased equity and access within the creative ecosystem

​SAACA’s Services in Cultural Asset Mapping and Creative Sector Development?

We offer a full suite of services for municipalities, tribal communities, community development agencies, tourism boards, education institutions, public health entities, and nonprofit partners.

Phase 1: Discovery & Community Outreach
  • Community stakeholder identification and engagement strategy
  • Public input planning and facilitation (focus groups, community forums, surveys, one-on-one interviews)
  • Asset identification criteria customized to regional needs and goals
  • Culturally responsive approaches to outreach and data collection
  • Mapping of both formal and informal cultural spaces, people, and programs
  • Relationship-building with local artists, culture bearers, and creative entrepreneurs

Phase 2: Cultural Asset Inventory & Research
  • Comprehensive audit of existing cultural and creative assets
  • Data collection across artistic disciplines, venues, heritage landmarks, creative industries, and informal cultural networks
  • Mapping, data visualization, and spatial analysis of creative infrastructure
  • Identification of underserved areas, demographic and geographic gaps, and opportunities for growth

Phase 3: Reporting & Analysis
  • Development of a customized, visually dynamic Cultural Asset Mapping Report
  • Analysis of cultural impact, accessibility, and alignment with community goals
  • Identification of creative sector clusters, economic development intersections, and growth potential
  • Comparative case studies and regional/national benchmarking
  • Recommendations for policy, funding, programming, and long-term planning

Phase 4: Strategic Development & Implementation Support
  • Strategic plans for creative sector growth and cultural planning
  • Arts and culture master plan development
  • Economic development strategy integration
  • Technical assistance for artist and organizational development
  • Recommendations for cultural tourism activation, marketing, and storytelling
  • Cross-sector partnership development (health, transportation, housing, education, etc.)

ADDITIONAL SERVICES

  • Design and facilitation of artist and stakeholder convenings
  • Creative economy data collection and analysis (employment, income, business impact)
  • Public art and creative placemaking integration
  • Arts and wellness ecosystem mapping
  • Equity audits of existing cultural programs and funding systems
  • Capacity-building for rural, BIPOC, and emerging creative organizations

WHY IT MATTERS

​In Arizona—where permanent public arts funding does not yet exist—this work provides communities with the data, vision, and voice they need to invest in themselves. Cultural asset mapping is a tool for empowerment. It connects people, place, and purpose. It is the foundation for building policy that values the arts not as a luxury—but as an essential part of community health, identity, and prosperity.

Whether you're a municipality looking to revitalize a downtown corridor, a healthcare provider seeking to integrate arts into wellness programming, or a tribal community preserving cultural heritage—SAACA is your partner in shaping a creative future.

Ready to map your community’s cultural power?
Contact us to begin a conversation.  Contact Kate Marquez [email protected] or Matt Rolland at [email protected]