The Southeast Missouri Council on the Arts is one of 11 Missouri arts councils receiving federal and state money to conduct a survey on what type of programs a community arts council should sponsor.

A grant of $6,000 will enable the council to hire a consultant and complete the survey, said Beverly Strohmeyer, executive director of the Southeast Missouri Council of the Arts based in Cape Girardeau.

"We want to find out how much support there is in the community for the arts and find out what the community needs in relationship to the arts," Strohmeyer said.

Similar grants were handed out to arts organizations in Springfield, Sedalia, St. Joseph, Columbia, Kirksville, Hannibal, Jefferson City, Rolla, Moberly and St. Charles.

The grants are funded by the Nation Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the Missouri Association of Community Arts Agencies in Columbia.

The consultant, Cheryl Yuen of Chicago, will formulate a long-range plan for the arts council with the results of the survey. She will also conduct interviews with focus groups and individuals, Strohmeyer said.

"We want to know if the arts council should be offering more art programs for kids, or sponsoring more symphonies and concerts," she said.

The local arts council will spend from $1,000 to $1,500 on the surveys and consultant fees, she said. Some of that amount will be in the form of in-kind contributions, she said.

Anthony J. Radich, executive director of the Missouri Arts Council, said the surveys and interviews will help local arts councils develop a long-range plan.

"The agencies targeted for assistance are or will be the primary art delivery systems for their communities," Radich said.

"While many communities may have a community theater and a community orchestra, the local arts council is commonly the only available structure that has the potential to dramatically enrich the arts life in the community."

In addition to supporting planning efforts, the project will also investigate ways to encourage financial support of the arts from local governments.

Strohmeyer said the results of the survey should point the arts council in the right direction as far as serving the needs of Cape Girardeau and surrounding towns.

"Either it will show we need to be doing more art education programs in the schools, or it might develop that our real long-term goal is to have some sort of facility where we could provide classes throughout the day," she said.

The Southeast Missouri Council on the Arts sponsors concerts, children's art programs and several art exhibits throughout the year.

Yuen, the consultant, met with members of the arts council board of directors last week to plan the surveys, Strohmeyer said. She is also working with other arts councils in Missouri on the same project.

"We will be working on this project throughout the rest of the summer," Strohmeyer said. The focus group interviews will likely be conducted in the fall.

The arts council submitted a request for the grant in order to complete a long-range plan.

Strohmeyer said local arts councils will eventually be required to have a long-range plan in order to receive state and federal funding.

"It gives the agencies a focus and a direction," she said. "And it lets them know if they are meeting the needs of the community."