Coastal arts organizations fear sting of proposed budget cuts to the arts

SAN DIEGO – Deep arts cuts proposed to balance this year’s city budget will negatively impact San Diego’s cultural landscape for some time to come, say local arts organizations in La Jolla and Pacific Beach.

Impacts to arts organizations in La Jolla and Pacific Beach vary from hardly at all for a few, to severe for most.

Jennifer Nowak, chair of PB Arts Center, said the proposed cuts could seriously curtail the community’s ongoing effort to turn a former YMCA into an arts center constituting “much-needed space for our community, by the community. We envision a safe, neighborhood arts space that would open minds and inspire wonder for children.”

She went on, adding that the plan is to “encourage the mayor and city council to continue to support the arts and help our community grow from within.  A united community is a strong one and we will forge on.”

Chris Olson, of Beautiful PB, said the cuts may have unforeseen consequences.

“Arts programs like the PB Arts Center provide a powerful alternative to screen time giving youth confidence, purpose and a place to belong,” he said.

The La Jolla Community Center at 6811 La Jolla Blvd. is one of the lucky ones, thanks to other sources of funding, including sponsorships and partnerships and generous individual donors.

“While we are always grateful to be considered for public funding — and have been fortunate to receive support for the arts in the past — it has not been a consistent or reliable source of funding for LJCC,” said its executive director, Nancy Walters. “As a result, we have built our arts programming, including our concert series, to operate independently of city funding.”

The Museum of Contemporary San Diego in La Jolla said it is deeply concerned by the mayor’s proposed cuts to organizational funding due to what Scott Anderson, MCASD’s chief advancement officer, called the “lasting impact not only on arts organizations, but on the communities they serve and the cultural life of our region.”

The cuts “would weaken a sector that drives the region’s cultural and economic vitality and employs thousands of San Diegans,” noted Anderson. “More than that, they (cuts) would potentially reduce access to exhibitions and education programs for tens of thousands of residents each year.”

While noting it’s a “difficult choice,” Mayor Todd Gloria claimed arts cuts in this year’s budget are a necessity. He compared what the city must do now to address its current $118 million budget shortfall to what a household must do in a similar situation.

“You take care of your mortgage, your utilities, your gasoline — the things your daily life cannot function without. Everything else waits until you’re back on solid ground,” Gloria said.  

The mayor noted the proposed draft city budget “does not eliminate arts and culture funding. The city will still invest about $2 million in operations and continue funding cultural planning and our public art program with an existing $8 million fund.” 

Gloria said what’s being paused in the city’s draft budget proposal are grants to outside arts organizations. “Before this city writes $11 million in grant checks to outside organizations, I have to make sure fire stations stay open, 911 calls get answered, roads are being repaired, and homelessness is being addressed,” he said.

Concluded Gloria: “These cuts are not a permanent decision, and it is not a statement about the value of arts and culture to San Diego. Unfortunately, it is a recognition that right now, our limited taxpayer dollars have to go to the city’s most fundamental obligations first. Supporting the arts will take a broader effort, with the private sector, philanthropy, the community, and the city all playing a role in sustaining San Diego’s arts ecosystem.”

“The city is required by law to pass a balanced budget—we can’t run a deficit,” noted Kinsee Morlan, the mayor’s deputy director of communications/digital director. “So if there’s interest in restoring funding in one area, those dollars would need to come from reductions elsewhere or from identifying new revenue.”

Morlan added the city’s May revision of its draft budget “may look different in some areas,” as new financial information comes in and numbers are updated.