DEPARTMENT: Department of Arts & Culture
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Debbie Racca-Sittre
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: All Council Districts
SUBJECT:
Briefing on the Cul-Tú-Art Plan
SUMMARY:
The Department of Arts & Culture is beginning a public process to assess and plan how the City will invest its Public Art and Art Funding dollars to meet the community vision for implementation of future cultural programming while ensuring cultural equity is achieved. The planning process will include a kickoff meeting, surveys, and community workshops with oversight by the San Antonio Arts Commission. The draft plan is expected to be presented to the City Council Arts, Culture & Heritage Committee for feedback in December and recommended for adoption by City Council in January 2018.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The Department of Arts & Culture was first established by City Council in 1983 as the official agency to promote the arts and cultural development for the city of San Antonio.
On January 9, 2005, City Council adopted the Cultural Collaborative. The 10-year plan focused on arts and culture for the community as a whole and San Antonio’s creative economy.
In 2006, the City Council adopted a policy to fund arts using Hotel Occupancy Tax (HOT) revenues at 15% of the HOT collections which is the maximum level allowed by state law.
The department is comprised of several divisions including Public Art San Antonio and Arts Funding & Leadership. Public Art San Antonio manages public art projects and programs that express the vibrancy and diversity of our community through art and place-making. In 2011, City Council adopted a 1% for Public Art policy. San Antonio’s public art plan creates public art opportunities throughout the City, including integrated projects within capital improvements and stand-alone public art projects.
The goal of the Arts Funding & Leadership Division is to invest in arts and cultural programs that deliver excellence, innovation and engage audiences in the unique experience of San Antonio. In 2014, updated Arts Funding Guidelines were adopted by City Council which focused on five arts funding programs.
ISSUE:
The Cul-Tú-Art Plan is intended to guide the City of San Antonio’s investments in arts & culture delegate agencies and public art to provide equitable opportunities that encourage San Antonio’s arts community, residents and visitors to thrive in a culturally inclusive environment that celebrates San Antonio’s identity and vision for the future.
The department is partnering with the Mayor’s Office, Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the SABER Institute, and Texans for the Arts to kick-off the cultural planning process on October 11, 2017. The kickoff will include a review of the state of the current creative economy, a visioning session as well as a workshop on arts advocacy.
The planning process is already underway with staff and a consultant working on benchmarking with other cities and outlining a baseline of current art services. Staff is also partnering with San Antonio Area Foundation for data collection on community priorities. The planning process will include a professionally administered survey of a representative sample of three key stakeholder groups: residents, visitors and arts patrons. Additionally, the department will host four community workshops in different quadrants of the city to present the results of the survey and collect feedback on the draft plan and its proposed policy guidelines.
The department will use an equity consultant to ensure the process remains inclusive and follows these guiding principles:
1) Create a rich environment for sustainable arts and culture to thrive, where all cultural traditions and expressions are respected, celebrated, and equitably resourced.
2) Keep and attract artists to our community through our commitment to artistic vision and
talents by maintaining openness and transparency.
3) Enhance accessibility of the arts and cultural programs for residents and visitors to maintain the vibrancy of our 21st-Century city.
4) Encourage innovation and collaboration by practicing inclusiveness and emphasizing common goals.
5) Preserve and promote the unique cultural history, heritage, and authentic culture of San Antonio.
6) Enable greater collaboration among organizations to support and increase high-quality, sustainable experiences.
7) Provide an outlet to engage people in thought and form meaningful connections between people and place for past, present, and future generations.
The plan will be completed by the end of the calendar year in time for adoption by City Council in January 2018.
ALTERNATIVES:
City Council could choose to not move forward with this planning effort. As a result, the department would continue to operate under its current policy guidelines and following a plan that is outdated and does not have a focus on equity.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The FY 2017 and FY 2018 Department of Arts & Culture budget includes a total of $150,000.00, to support the Cul-Tú-Art Planning efforts. These funds will be used for research and data collection, hosting the kickoff and community/stakeholder meetings, technical review and oversight from the equity consultant, and some implementation.