BANGOR, Maine — The City of Bangor is hoping to attract more people to its arts and culture destinations through its new Bangor Culture and Arts Collective initiative.
Downtown Bangor Partnership launched the project Tuesday after receiving grants from the city and Maine Office of Tourism.
Public art, museums, historical sites, theaters, music venues, and more can now all be found online, featured on the Bangor Culture and Arts Collective website.
"It created kind of an umbrella to put all of the arts and cultural organizations under," Downtown Bangor Partnership Executive Director Betsy Lundy said.
The project aims to bring more people to Bangor and boost its economy by combining the marketing efforts of dozens of organizations.
"You have the person who buys their ticket to a concert, but then they're also going out to dinner, they're possibly spending the night in a hotel," Lundy said. "So, we have millions and millions of dollars and hundreds, possibly thousands, of jobs that are created with our arts and culture community, but all of them could use more help."
Leaders at arts and culture destinations in Bangor are excited about the new initiative and are hopeful it will help boost business.
"With more online resources for people, and more places for people to get information when they're visiting, it will certainly have an impact on the Zillman Art Museum's visitation," Zillman Art Museum Executive Director and Curator George Kinghorn said.
Kinghorn is hopeful this project will help get the word out about their new summer exhibitions.
"It's just going to be a wonderful thing for both the organizations and the consumer," Kinghorn said.
The Penobscot Theatre Company recently opened up about the financial struggles it has been facing. Artistic Director Jonathan Berry believes the Bangor Culture and Arts Collective can help.
"Anything that helps direct attention this way, let people know of the fantastic art resources in the community, I think that's absolutely going to help our situation," Berry said.
The program will help bring more people through the doors to support local work.
"There's not a better thing for me that builds community than the joint viewing of an arts and culture celebration," Berry said.
You can find the full list of attractions on the Bangor Culture and Arts Collective website.