Oakland Tribune Outtakes

Back in February, a group of artists, curators, gallery operators and commentators gathered in an empty Old Oakland storefront to discuss the state of the arts. The central question was how government (at all levels) can influence and support the local arts. On the agenda was the $50 million in arts funding included in the stimulus bill, which was still in the jello stage six months ago.  I wrote a story about the town hall style meeting, but I don’t know what concrete steps were taken after the meeting. I think they are planning another forum. In the meantime, and this goes back to many of the comments made during the discussion, the National Endowment for the Arts has a new chairman, Broadway producer Rocco Landesman. In an NYT article about Obama’s appointment of the tough and evidently wealthy producer, Landesman said the arts are an economic engine and called the current appropriation of $155 million pathetic and embarassing, which is still less than agency’s 1992 budget of $176 million — before a Congress bent on destroying the agency got a hold of the federal pursestrings. So it sounds like more money might pour (or at least drip) from the federal faucets, but: ”Mr. Landesman said he expected to focus on financing the best art, regardless of location…There is going to be some push-back from me about democratizing arts grants to the point where you really have to answer some questions about artistic merit.” (Another art-scene story I seem to do about every 6 months – this time about Art Murmur and First Fridays – will be online shortly and in the Trib tomorrow.)

Kelly Rayburn wrote in today’s Trib that, “…the council — after hearing loudly from the city’s arts community — seemed prepared to restore some funding to the city’s Cultural Arts Program after council President Ignacio De La Fuente (Glenview-Fruitvale) and Councilmember Jean Quan (Montclair-Laurel) suggested last week that the program get the hatchet. Brunner, De La Fuente, Quan and Councilmember Patricia Kernighan (Grand Lake-Chinatown) put up a proposal Tuesday to restore $1.1 million in arts grants funding [1% of the budget], while still eliminating some jobs in Oakland’s cultural arts and public art programs. ” So there’s money but no one to spend it? Anyway, a lot of work goes into program by non-paid commissioners. Or at least I think they are unpaid.

The city council is talking about cutting Oakland’s Cultural Arts program, acc. to the Friday story by the Trib’s Kelly Rayburn. The proposed move, on the agenda for Tuesday’s City Council meeting (doors open 6 p.m.), is tantamount to self-mutilation if we’re supposed to be betting the revival of Oakland on entertainment, art, dining and the like…in other words, giving people a reason for moving here and giving the ones who did something to do when the sun sets. I don’t know how many complaints I’ve heard about the city’s inability to communicate across the various departments. So the head doesn’t know what its ass is doing, but the head is supposed to be capable of giving people information about its various body parts. So let me spell it out to Ignacio De La Fuente and Jean Quan, the two councilmember geniuses who put the suspension idea out there along with some other brilliant proposals. I’ll try to go slowly. Artists and the art they create need money, which the program helps provide based on qualified people making qualified judgments. The artists create a buzz that draws more people, which draws restaurants, cafes, bars, clubs to feed and water them. That means more money for the city and safer streets etc. In short, it creates a cool city. Here is a more thorough description of what the program does and the future plans, including Illuminated Oakland.  I’m no schill for the city folks but my job will get a lot duller if Quan and De La Fuente have their way (Dellums and three other members are opposing).
I don’t care how many high-rise office buildings go up, without Cultural Arts support, the city won’t be worth hanging out in and the SF shadow will just loom darker and heavier, proving the theory that Oakland survives DESPITE its leadership. Here is a link to an online petition drive and more about it all. Read the rest of this entry »

Oaklandish is offering two different arts funding grants. Due November 21, 2008:

OAKLAND INNOVATORS AWARD… Read the rest of this entry »