OAKLAND —The city is seeking ideas from residents on how to support its vast creative community and enhance cultural life.

“Culture is what defines Oakland. It is our heart and soul,” Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said in a statement.

Oakland’s Cultural Affairs Division, which oversees grant funding and public art, is holding a series of community workshops on strengthening the arts.

Like the Oakland Tribune Facebook page for more conversation and news coverage from Oakland and beyond.

“The launch of this comprehensive citywide planning process will provide a unique opportunity for the public to play a direct role in how we enliven, support and preserve our city’s diverse creative communities,” Schaaf said.

The first “Make It Yours” community dialogue to gather feedback from residents will be held Sept. 15 at the Rockridge library. Additional meetings will happen in each council district, culminating with a dialogue at the East Oakland Boxing Association on Oct. 14.

The information will help shape the city’s Cultural Development Plan, an ambitious document that’ll serve as a blueprint for how to support Oakland’s creative and at large communities, according to Roberto Bedoya, Oakland’s cultural affairs manager.

“The mission is to advance our cultural community and at the same time advance the quality of life for Oaklanders and visitors that come to Oakland,” Bedoya said.

A mecca for creatives of all stripes, the city has become an attractive, and until recently, relatively affordable home for visual artists, musicians, writers and makers, including those who have sought relief from San Francisco’s sky-high rents.

Stay up to date on East Bay news by downloading our mobile app for free. Get it from the Apple app store or the Google Play store.

Oakland has embraced that population and is seeking to retain it through measures such as a special task force Schaaf commissioned to study affordable housing and work spaces, Bedoya said. But it has been decades since the city had an up-to-date guiding document for the arts.

“The last time a cultural plan was done was 30 years ago,” she said. “It’s really kind of a major undertaking to chart how to proceed (on a) blueprint for further activities and how best to support the creative community and community at large,” she said.

Oakland currently earmarks about $2 million annually from its $2.6 billion biennial budget for cultural affairs, including a public arts program. Through a community process, the city awards about 70 grants each year to arts organizations to help with operations and project funding.

According to Bedoya, the city’s Cultural Development Plan also will address issues such as displacement and helping artists and arts organizations stay in Oakland. The city already partners with groups such as the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation through a community arts stabilization trust to help nonprofits buy buildings or bring buildings up to code.

In addition to the community dialogues, the city is holding ongoing informal “Cultural Conversations,” which target Oakland artists and grantees. The next conversation is 4-6 p.m. Saturday at RBA Creative, 3718 MacArthur Blvd.

After feedback is gathered from the community forums, the city will draft the plan and solicit additional community comments before it goes to the mayor and City Council next spring.

Get top headlines in your inbox every afternoon.

Sign up for the free PM Report newsletter.

“Everyone realizes on the council that the arts are a part of the soul of the city and it’s really, really important to feed that part of citizen life,” Bedoya said.

If you’re interested

For more information about Oakland’s Cultural Development Plan and times of upcoming meetings, go to http://bit.ly/2eImTJB.