Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Committee Recommendations on Arts and Culture
September 27, 2011
Letter to Mayor Bob Foster: August, 2011
Dear Mayor Foster,
This year and last, several Long Beach cultural institutions reached or will reach important milestones. Their longevity...Symphony, 75 years; Playhouse, 82 years; MoLAA, 15 years; ICT, 25 years; LB Museum of Art, 75 years; Khmer Arts Academy, 20 years ...serves as concrete testimony to our civic passion and will for the development of the arts in our city. Further...when seen alongside the deep population of artists and outstanding small and mid-sized arts groups, the importance of a continuing investment in cultural expression by our City and community becomes all the more imperative.
Likewise, when on March 2, 2010, we saw the Long Beach City Council Chambers filled with arts supporters; it represented an expression of this historic community will...a desire and expectation to see our city embrace and nurture our creative assets and enterprises. That evening, the City Council did not disappoint the citizens present, voting unanimously to establish the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Committee on Arts and Culture Funding to look for additional sources of funding for the arts to replace or supplement General Fund investments by the City.
We, the members of the Blue Ribbon Committee, believe that Long Beach is at a "tipping point" in the development of an arts and culture investment strategy for our dynamic city. The years 2010 and 2011 have provided us examples of both "thriving" and "surviving" within the arts community. Our symphony has "survived" a crisis these past two years and remains the envy of cities larger than Long Beach. The Long Beach Opera experienced its most successful year in its history in 2010-2011 and was recently described by the Los Angeles Times as the "most artistically, healthy Opera in America". Truth be told, an entire county to our south covets our dynamic opera company. The Long Beach Museum of Art has persevered, even in the face of crippling cuts by the City.
The Museum of Latin American Art mounted a far-reaching show of the work of Mexican muralist, David Alfaro Siqueiros...and it was dubbed one of the "ten best" exhibitions of the year by the LA Times art critic. Our Khmer Arts Academy is led by an internationally recognized artist and maintains an acclaimed, international touring schedule. The Business Improvement Districts in Bixby Knolls, Downtown, 4th Street and Belmont Shore each grew their commitments to arts programming, believing that these investments are a draw for visitors and an engine for commerce.
Against this backdrop of challenge and achievement, we the members of the Blue Ribbon Committee, respectfully submit this report to you and City Council and ask for your enthusiastic support. Attached you will find a series of recommended actions. We would quickly point out that we have no single "solution" to the public funding investment picture for the arts or a specific way to entirely replace General Fund dollars as a source of that investment. Rather we present a "menu" of items that when taken as a whole or in substantial part, move Long Beach in a more sustainable direction. In many cases, the recommendations reflect the findings and suggestions of Create Long Beach, the City's Cultural Master Plan document. Some of the suggestions represent the introduction of well-tested policies or approaches found in other American cities. Others are more experimental or rely on public/private partnerships not yet in place. However, in all cases, they are thoughtfully submitted for serious consideration and your endorsement.
Sincerely,
Mayor's Blue Ribbon Committee on Arts Funding
Julie Heggeness, Chair
Blair Cohn, Vice Chair
Larry Black
Carina Cristiano
Antonio Ruiz
Jan van Dijs
Michele Wilson
Craig Watson, Staff to the Committee