Plans are afoot to keep arts thriving
CITYWIDE — With the highest concentration of creative employment in the United States, and quite possibly the world, Santa Monica continues to be both destination and haven for artists, as it has for more than 100 years. But that may be in jeopardy as the cost of living here continues to rise, pushing artists, musicians and other creative minds out in search of more reasonable rents.
To combat this possible exodus of talent, residents have suggested developing policies and laws that encourage, and even mandate, the creation of affordable artist live/work and day studio spaces in new residential and industrial developments, as well as enhancing current arts uses at the Santa Monica Pier, Bergamot Station, the Santa Monica Airport and the 18th Street Arts Complex — the largest housing complex for artists in the city.
“Being in La-La land, home of the movie and music industry, we’ve got a tremendous number of creative people and (those industries) are great revenue producers, making it so many people can afford to live in Santa Monica,”said Elena Allen,a member of the Arts Commission for the past eight years.“We have a great combination of people who love and support the arts, but the other side of that is we have to make sure we maintain a balance where we support artistic people in our community, in particular those who cannot make the kind of money that music and film provide.
To accomplish that, residents have been working with City Hall over the last year to create a community cultural plan called “Creative Capital: Culture, Community, Vision,” a blueprint for the city’s continued cultural development that is now before the Arts Commission and could come before the City Council for formal adoption in February or early March (the draft plan is available online at www.smgov.net/cre-ativesantamonica/).
Through a series of town hall and neighborhood meetings, a broad array of workshops, interviews and surveys, community members have expressed a desire to create a plan that interweaves the arts, cultural activities, entertainment and education throughout their lives, work, cityscape and neighborhoods, according to the draft plan.
“Santa Monicans clearly view culture as an inseparable component of what makes Santa Monica exceptional, desirable and economically competitive,” the draft plan states.
For many, culture literally sustains them, with 43 percent of residents making all or part of their living in arts-related fields. Residents also show high levels of participation in cultural activities and an understanding of their role in the community. Residents visited an art museum or gallery at a rate that is twice the national average and believe having public art in a community to be nearly as important as good public schools.
“We need to make sure we keep opportunities for those artists to live and work here.”
To ensure the arts are ever-present in the city for years to come, residents have suggested a wide range of ideas that include everything from a county-wide marketing program and enhanced collaboration with Santa Monica College and the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District to developing more arts and cultural festivals, such as the Santa Monica Festival and Jazz on the Lawn, which are free for the public.
“People really wanted to see more free cultural opportunities in parks, as well as smaller, more intimate venues, and better information on what’s going on in the community,” said Jessica Cusick, manager of the Cultural Affairs Division at City Hall. “Residents have really identified an incredibly exciting vision for the future. It’s dynamic and, of course, it will be an awful lot of work.”
Some other ideas being considered include establishing “Santa Monica Arts Alleys,” in which artists can create in under-utilized spaces along the city’s alleys, which have long been a source of frustration for merchants who have been begging City Hall to beautify the heavily-traveled arteries.
As part of the alley program, residents have suggested City Hall negotiate with downtown property owners and merchants to use space fronting the alleys in exchange for property tax abatements.
“I think the arts alleys idea is a unique organic opportunity because of the (Third Street) Promenade and the alleys flanking it,” said David Plettner of Cultural + Planning Group, the consultant hired by City Hall in February for $90,000 to help draft the plan. “When we were walking around (downtown), it just jumped out at us that the alleys could be a great space that could be claimed by artists and for artists and arts activity and be really accessible to the public.”
Residents have also suggested shrinking the Arts Commission from 13 members to seven members to make it more effective and flexible, as well as diversifying its membership to be more reflective of the community.
While the plan has not yet been finalized, the City Council has already moved forward with some of the recommendations by imposing a fee on developers; money which will be used to fund public art projects.
“That is a wonderful new development and very appropriate for Santa Monica,” Plettner said. “It’s a great step towards enhancing the arts.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 23, 2006. Read the original PDF.