The City of Mount Vernon is a culturally diverse, 4 square mile city just north of New York City. Though small, Mount Vernon lays claim as the home of several arts and cultural pioneers including Denzel Washington, Dick Clark, Children’s Author EB White, and Hip-Hop artists DMX and Dwight Myers (Heavy D). Many called Mount Vernon their home or birthplace, but the City’s cultural capital overall was diffuse, “underground” and unaccounted for. In 2018, leadership within City Hall wanted to change this paradigm. The City did not have a definitive understanding of its current arts and cultural landscape and yearned to establish its own identity in the shadow of the Big Apple.

The City of Mount Vernon Department of Planning and Community Development engaged CJAM to develop an Arts, Culture and Heritage Master Plan that took stock of existing assets and highlighted opportunities for growth and development, in concert with the City’s various existing plans and frameworks. Over six months, CJAM worked closely with the Planning Department, funding partners, local businesses, and community constituents to research the landscape and outline 23 key strategies for developing arts, culture and heritage in Mount Vernon.