Correspondence - Agenda Item No. 1

Home Browse Search

Alcala, Abigail From:Debra Russell <debragomezrussell@gmail.com> Sent:Thursday, May To:eComment Subject:Advocating for a robust and equitable arts budget Attention: This email originated from outside of City of Santa Ana. Use caution when opening attachments or links. Dear Mayor Amezcua and City Council, I am writing to you as both a lifelong Santa Ana resident and as one of your Arts & Culture Commissioners in support of robust and equitable funding for the arts in our city. Shortly after I joined the Commission, you all made an important decision to substantially increase the existing budget for arts grants and event sponsorships. As a result we saw an expansion of incredible and unique arts opportunities grow across all the Wards of our City. Neighborhood organizations applied to host reunions and chalk festivals. Cultural groups and nonprofits applied to celebrate important holidays and events with the broader community. Artists of all genres offered free workshops for drawing, mural painting, mosaic projects, for learning how to DJ. Our downtown pulsed with a panoply of arts experiences from the monthly Artwalk to the widely-recognized Noche de Altares, multiple-venue and youth-oriented Boca de Oro literary festival, Tamal Fest which brings many of our small businesses together, a Vietnamese Film Festival at the beloved arthouse Frida Cinema—over fifty ways for local residents to have rich, interactive, creative experiences, together, in the span of a single year. This relatively small infusion of funding made all of this possible. It inspired Santa Ana residents who had never considered applying to develop plans and dream bigger. It encouraged artists who call other cities home, to create art and arts experiences here in Santa Ana instead. It showed all of SoCal that Santa Ana is a dynamic and exciting place for the arts all year round. You made the claim that Santa Ana is a “city of the arts” a reality. As a Commissioner, I try to engage with local artists and arts organizations as often as I can to experience what they create but also to learn how we can best support them. The number one issue they raise is funding. For them to continue making art here in our Santa Ana, and offering such rich and unique arts experiences to all the residents of our city, they need to know that we see their contributions and value them. The best way we can do this is by funding the arts in robust and equitable ways. Without these kinds of guarantees—they tell me, over and over—they are much more likely to focus their efforts in other places and cities where they feel valued and can afford to create. When that happens, we and all the residents of Santa Ana lose out. It has come to my attention that much of our budget for arts and culture goes to one single arts institution. And that the funding for this institution is even increasing next year, while the funding for our local artists and small arts organizations is not. This is not fair to the individuals and communities who have worked so hard to bring the many events and festivals and workshops and celebrations to our City. It is not fair that our youth and residents and seniors will now lose opportunities to learn and connect with the arts that they had access to just last year. It is not fair that we direct the majority of our arts funding to one institution that cannot claim this same diversity of offerings and community connection. Not only is it unfair, but it is inequitable. I urge you, as our Council, to show the local artists and small arts organizations of our City that you see them and value them. Increase funding for arts—not for one solitary institution. Yours, Debra Russell Ward 6 Resident 1