The San Marcos City Council renewed its support for the creation of the Dunbar Arts, Cultural and Innovation District on Tuesday night.
The council approved a resolution supporting an application to the Texas Commission on the Arts seeking the designation. The Texas State University Department of Occupational, Workforce and Leadership Studies (OWLS) is submitting the application. Dr. Shetay Ashford-Hanserd, a professor in the OWLS department, proposes that the department work with a Dunbar Arts SMTX Advisory Council to manage the district if approved. The council would include Texas State researchers, minority arts and cultural organizations and representatives from the city. Ashford-Hanserd also hopes that a representative from the city’s parks department will serve on the council because of the number of city-owned and operated facilities in the Dunbar area.
“This is a unique model that we’re utilizing,” Ashford-Hanserd told council on Tuesday night when speaking about the partnership between the OWLS department and the community. She noted that the collaboration would be able to “leverage some of the assets at Texas State that are already active in the community.”
