The arts district of Wooster is both a collaborative concept to inspire art, as well as a physical location, South of Liberty, affectionately known as "SoLi." The full area is shown in the map below. It includes both the downtown businesses as well as about 150 homes. This collaborative community engagement project, in partnership with Main Street Wooster, Wayne Center for the Arts, and the City of Wooster, has two main objectives:

• Grass-roots level of neighborhood engagement to develop and implement several public art installations throughout the arts district in Wooster, Ohio.
• Demonstrate that our growing arts district is intended for the people living within it, and that their stories matter.

We utilized a three-phase process.

Phase 1 involved getting to know the residents in this community and selecting a target audience for the engagement. The main target audience selected by the project team was residents living in the neighborhood from Liberty Street to Route 30, as designated in the Wooster Comprehensive Plan. The team also placed added emphasis on residents of Townview Terrace Assisted Living, as many of these residents have mobility issues and we wanted to ensure accessibility.

Part of getting to know the residents in this community was to learn more about their range of accessibility needs. In response to Phase 1 feedback, the team designed our community engagement such that:

• All locations were accessible to those with mobility issues
• All sessions had either a snack or light meal, as well as beverages
• In the first two sessions, residents were given a $25 gift card as a stipend to thank them for their time

Phase 2 involved three in-person engagement sessions and Phase 3 involved a community survey to continue to get input on what residents care about in public art for your community.