\u00a0The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal Wednesday to use millions of dollars in county funding to bolster the region\u2019s arts and culture scene, with a focus on diverse and underserved communities.<\/p>\n
Key components of the initiative include:<\/p>\n
Proponents Terra Lawson-Remer and Monica Montgomery Steppe, along with Paloma Aguirre, were in favor, while Jim Desmond was opposed. Their colleague Joel Anderson was absent.<\/p>\n
Before voting, board Chair Lawson-Remer said the funding initiative \u201chas really been a labor of love,\u201d with participation by many community members. She cited Chicano Park in the Barrio Logan neighborhood and the county Administration Center \u2014 a New Deal-era building lauded for its architectural beauty, as examples of why arts funding matters, and \u201ccan (happen) at a time when people are divided and feel hopeless \u2014 and uplift the best in ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Board Vice Chair Montgomery Steppe said the investments \u201care not solely cultural in nature \u2014 they are economic drivers, that enhance tourism, workforce development and the county\u2019s overall quality of life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Desmond said he strongly supports artistic programs, adding that the city of San Marcos had one when he was its mayor \u2014 but said the county needs to focus on its unincorporated regions. Desmond noted that many of those speaking in favor during a public comment period live in the city of San Diego, and the county should not have to rescue city programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are some major flaws with this initiative as it is,\u201d he said, adding that it didn\u2019t seem to feature metrics, accountability or guardrails.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s hard to deliver on something that sometimes is abstract,\u201d Desmond said. \u201cThis is how fraud starts \u2014government dollars go out the door.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lawson-Remer responded that the program will have specific guidelines, including reports from the chief administrative officer.<\/p>\n
Aguirre said she was really excited to support more funding. \u201cArts and culture are part of who we are,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Most public input on Wednesday, including from the county\u2019s Arts & Culture Commission members, was favorable.<\/p>\n
An Encanto neighborhood resident and barbershop owner said arts are transformative and \u201c(take) us places that nothing else can besides traveling.\u201d<\/p>\n
One critic said it made no sense for the county to spend money on arts with so many San Diegans struggling financially.<\/p>\n
County arts support comes as the city of San Diego continues its budget process. Mayor Todd Gloria\u2019s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget would slash all arts and culture grants to the tune of nearly $12 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur residents are hungry for these arts programs in so many communities,\u201d Lawson-Remer said earlier. \u201cThe proposal includes up to $2.75 million in total funding, with $2.25 million in ongoing annual investments, to launch and sustain everything from an artist grant program, to investments in the Black Arts and Culture District, to an artist space grant program and a binational creative economy investment and artist in residence program.\u201d<\/p>\n
San Diego isn\u2019t the only government entity proposing to roll back arts funding as grants and other sources from Washington, D.C. begin to dry up.<\/p>\n
\u201cToo often our Black, brown and immigrant neighborhoods have been overlooked,\u201d Montgomery Steppe said. \u201cArts and culture are not optional \u2014 they are foundational to a thriving, inclusive San Diego County. Today, we are making the choice to move that vision forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNew staff. New grant programs. New designations. And a sizable chunk of it headed straight into the city of San Diego,\u201d Desmond wrote to supporters. \u201cLet me remind you what the city of San Diego looks like right now. Streets that flood because storm drains went uncleaned for years. A budget deficit so deep they\u2019re closing libraries and rec centers. Homeless encampments the city refuses to enforce against. A downtown most families won\u2019t visit after dark.\u201d<\/p>\n
Desmond said colleagues are using general fund money \u201cthat pays for our deputies, fire prep, mental health beds, and roads in North County.\u201d<\/p>\n
Arts leaders, however, said the funding could be the step needed to preserve programs.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday\u2019s investment signals that the county recognizes and values the power of diverse voices across the arts sector,\u201d said Gaidi Finnie, executive director of the African American Museum of Fine Arts. \u201cThe Black Arts and Culture District stands as a vital hub for cultural expression and creative enterprise, and this investment affirms the county\u2019s commitment to advancing arts and culture in an inclusive and meaningful way.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to the supervisors, the proposal also includes efforts to work with philanthropies, advocate for expanded arts funding and establish the county as a designated Local Arts Agency through the California Arts Council.<\/p>\n
\u201cSan Diego ART Matters and the broader artist community commend the county\u2019s long-overdue historic investment in the arts,\u201d said Bob Lehman, executive director of San Diego ART Matters. \u201cThis initiative transforms passion into purposeful, strategic action \u2014 placing the creative economy at the table of our region\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u00a0The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal Wednesday to use millions of dollars in county…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":778391,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,648,12043,1582,276,93260,392,1258,3549,12051,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-778390","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-arts","10":"tag-arts-and-culture","11":"tag-ca","12":"tag-california","13":"tag-county-budget","14":"tag-culture","15":"tag-funding","16":"tag-san-diego","17":"tag-san-diego-county-board-of-supervisors","18":"tag-sandiego","19":"tag-united-states","20":"tag-united-states-of-america","21":"tag-unitedstates","22":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","23":"tag-us","24":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116530375977008913","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778390","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=778390"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/778390\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/778391"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=778390"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=778390"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=778390"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}