Harford County (Map, News) - Many of Harford County’s artists, preservationists, performers and art lovers came to Harford Community College to share their vision Wednesday evening of what they would like the county’s cultural scene to look like in the future.

Consultant Janis Barlow, hired to develop a “cultural plan” for the county, led a question-and-answer session to help her develop the plan, which in turn will be used to decide what sort of visual and performing arts venues the county could use as it grows.

“Right now, we’re looking at the big picture, and how you see the future of the county,” said Barlow, who broke the audience into smaller groups to discuss the county’s best attributes, biggest needs, and ideal future.

Though there are many within the county who are pushing for the creation of a Center for the Visual and Performing Arts as a performance space, gallery and classroom center, the county must first plan what it wants and determine if it can be done, said Bill Price, chairman of the Cultural Arts Board.

“We all know there is this jungle drum beating in Harford County to create a performing arts center,” Price said. “Tonight is not necessarily about that, but tonight could potentially lead us to that.”

Though the county’s growth could potentially lead to a broader audience and more supporters of the arts, some attendees were concerned that art education would dwindle in overcrowded schools, and historical preservation would fall by the wayside.

“We’re blowing up Victorian buildings in Havre de Grace to make way for crap,” Price said when discussing the county’s needs.

Participants agreed that ideally the county would establish an arts center and make cultural concerns a high priority — perhaps even creating a cabinet-level post in the county government. Youth outreach programs would be strong, and the “town/gown” relationship between the arts communities and the schools would be thriving, they said.

msantoni@baltimoreexaminer.com