Located in California's fertile central valley just south of Fresno, the city of Visalia may be best known as the gateway to Sequoia and King's Canyon National Parks, about an hour's drive east into the Sierra mountain range. The city has traditionally had an ad hoc approach to arts funding and programming; capital and sometimes operating grants were made with few guiding policies or procedures. Several arts and cultural groups, and educational institutions such as the College of the Sequoias, formed a loose knit arts consortium and worked with the city government to spearhead the planning process.

Extensive public input for the plan focused on ways the city could spearhead more collaboration among arts groups and other sectors, linking arts and culture with downtown revitalization. The plan benefited from the involvement of dozens of young volunteers with the city's two community radio stations who proposed utilizing the broadcast media as ways to encourage a "new localism." Other aspects of the plan emphasized employing the arts as a tool in community building efforts, and to aid in the city's gang prevention and youth-at-risk strategies. Community access to city-owned performance and conference facilities, as well as co-promotions between non-profits and local government, are also focal areas of the plan. Another major priority of the plan is the development of cultural and heritage tourism programs capitalizing on the community's location and eco-tourism infrastructure (e.g., free shuttles to National Parks).