About partners for livable

PROVIDENCE DEPARTMENT OF ART, CULTURE, AND TOURISM
IMPORTANT LeSSONS
• Partnership structure
MISSION/VISION
The Providence Department of Art, Culture & Tourism ensures the continued development of a vibrant 
and creative city by integrating arts and culture into community life while showcasing Providence as an 
international cultural destination. Anecdotally, PDACT also said that their future goals would also include 
catalyzing artistic innovation and economic and human development across the city.
HISTORY
The Providence Department of Art, Culture, and Tourism (PDACT) is a nascent organization having 
only recently formed under the direction of Mayor David Cicilline in the fall of 2003. Spearheading 
the mayor’s campaign was his pursuit of establishing arts and culture as vital and important assets 
to Providence’s development. The initial phase included appointing a cabinet-level director whose 
responsibility entailed promotion of Providence art and culture both within and beyond the confines of 
Providence, Rhode Island cityscape at Waterplace Park. Photo credit: SeanPavonePhoto.

---

60
•
Cultural Heritage Tourism
city government. His next objective was to eliminate the disjointed relationship that existed between 
the city’s tourism resources by removing the Office of Cultural Affairs from the Parks and Recreation 
Department. Piloted by a professor from Northeastern University specializing in economic development 
and with input from the community on the department’s agenda, PDACT was developed.
STRUCTURe
PDACT operates within the City of Providence Mayor’s Office with a staff size of four led by an 
Executive Director. Collaborative partnerships exist among various organizations and city government 
departments that assist PDACT in achieving the mayor’s vision.
FUNDING
The department is allocated funding from the city’s annual budget. For the 2009 fiscal year PDACT has 
a total budget of $474, 361. PDACT receives $379,361 from the city and $95,000 from the Providence 
Tourism Council. Additional funding is generated through the department’s work with non-profit 
organizations in fundraising campaigns for special events throughout the year. Moreover, with the 
designation as the city’s local arts agency, the department will be able to foster new funding associations 
with the federal government and national foundations to access grants for cooperative programming.