Search Great Leap Arts Advocacy Home News Programs Artists Booking Calendar About GL Community Site Map Contact us Mailing list Supporters Board Staff Photo Gallery Online Survey Message Board Rice, Frijoles, Greens Grain of Sand Grain Reunion Concert To All Relations Special Budget Update: 3/18/04 The following article will run in the April 1 issue of Senior Living, a free news supplement that is circulated in L.A. Metro, South Bay, San Fernando Valley, San Gabriel Valley, Inland Empire and Orange County. L.A. Arts Community Fights to Save Cultural Affairs Department By Julie Rosenberg 03/18/2004 Local arts professionals are up in arms over a proposal by Mayor Hahn's budget team to eliminate the Cultural Affairs Department (CAD) of Los Angeles. On March 9 over eighty artists, administrators and community advocates came together in a crowded theater of the L.A. Gay and Lesbian Center to form the Save the Cultural Affairs Department task force (SaveCAD). Speakers at the community action meeting argued that eliminating the CAD is a dangerously short-sighted decision by city officials who have little understanding of the significant contribution the arts make to the safety and economic stability of the city. The California Arts Council estimates that art and cultural programs and their affiliated institutions stimulate $16.75 billion in annual economic activity, and generate approximately $830 million in state income. Studies have also shown that local arts initiatives in economically unstable neighborhoods help lower crime and foster community pride and awareness. In an effort to close a $250 million gap in its annual spending budget, Mayor Hahn's budget team is recommending that the CAD be eliminated as a "stand-alone department," that many of its programs be reassigned to other departments (such as the Department of Parks and Recreation), and that a $3.5 million grant program for arts organizations be cut entirely. SaveCAD organizers are worried that without a municipal art agency, the city of Los Angeles will not have a proper channel through which to receive important funding from the state, nor will it have adequate staff to oversee essential community-based programming. During the March 9 meeting, Lee Wochner, Chairman of the Board of Directors for of the California Arts Advocates, likened the CAD to a small business association, which supports the needs of art and culture like any other industry and empowers the local art entities to bring in revenue and tourism. The CAD's current operating budget of $11 million makes up less than 1 percent of the city's $5 billion annual budget, and administers programs to 22 neighborhood cultural centers, a citywide youth arts education program, historic preservation initiatives and 170 public art projects. The proposed cut would also have serious ramifications for local museums that receive significant funding annually for educational programs, as well as 350 neighborhood cultural festivals. SaveCAD has formed several committees to raise awareness in the community about these issues, and more community action meetings are scheduled throughout the city. A full campaign of letter-writing and protests has been launched, and a delegation from the art community will visit City Council representatives and Neighborhood councils to defend the importance of keeping the CAD and its grant program intact. SaveCAD will appeal to the Mayor, his budget team leaders, Deputy Mayor Doane Lui and Executive Director, Office of Management and Budget Julia Kirwan, and key members of the Council who are known for supporting the arts, asking them to override the recommendation to eliminate the CAD before the final budget is presented to the City Council on April 20. The two most important committees involved in the future of Cultural Affairs Department are the City Council Arts, Parks, Health & Aging Committee, and the City Council Budget & Finance Committee. A website monitoring community efforts and meetings has been set up (www.art-for-a-change.com/cad.htm) as well as a "SAVE CULTURAL AFFAIRS" Yahoo newsgroup/list serve (to join simply send an e-mail to saveCAD-subscribe@yahoogroups.com ). Julie Rosenberg is a professional in the Los Angeles arts community, and currently works at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Updated: 31804

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