Economic Development, Placemaking and Branding/Marketing Committee TO: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, DATE: March 24, 2022
PLACEMAKING AND BRANDING/MARKETING
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
FROM: COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WARDS: ALL
DEPARTMENT
SUBJECT: ARTS & CULTURE PROGRAM UPDATE
ISSUE:
Receive, review, and provide input on the City’s Arts & Culture programming.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
That the Economic Development, Placemaking and Branding/Marketing Committee recommend that the City Council:
Receive, review, and provide input on the City’s Arts & Culture programming; Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute any necessary, financial, or legal documents with the approved organizations and/or artists, including making minor and non-substantive changes, to implement the City’s Arts & Culture programming.
BACKGROUND:
The overarching document and foundation for the Arts & Cultural Affairs Division has been the Arts and Culture Element of the General Plan 2025, created in 2007. The document is based on a shared community belief that the arts are an essential part of Riverside, both intrinsically and economically, and that the arts make significant contributions to the quality of life in Riverside. That arts and culture help to create a more livable city, stimulate the local economy, enhance the urban environment, celebrate the natural environment, engage a wide spectrum of citizens, and empower neighborhoods. The arts are part of the social fabric of our City, helping to define and express who we are as a community - historically, today, and in the future. Art brings the community together creating situations not merely for enjoyment and beauty, but also for dialogue, thought, and growth. The Arts and Culture Element of the General Plan continues to be the guiding document for the work that the Arts & Cultural Affairs Division has done in the past and continues today.
The Arts and Culture Element is categorized by the four (4) subheadings:
Arts in Education;
Art and Culture in our Neighborhoods;
Celebrating our Cultural Diversity; and
Arts, Culture and the Economy.
Creative placemaking integrates arts, culture, and design activities into efforts that strengthen communities. Creative placemaking requires partnership across sectors, deeply engages the community, involves artists, designers, and culture bearers, and helps to advance local economic, physical, and/or social change, ultimately laying the groundwork for systems change.
The Arts & Cultural Affairs Division subscribes to this definition because it is intentionally open and broad because creative placemaking draws on all artistic disciplines and can be deployed as a strategy to address a wide range of community issues or challenges from public health to safety, economic development to housing. It allows for flexibility, growth, change, and opportunities when they arise.
Arts, culture, and design can help to strengthen communities by:
Bringing new attention to or elevating key community assets and issues, voices of residents, local history, or cultural infrastructure; Injecting new or additional energy, resources, activity, people, community issue, or local economy, or enthusiasm into a place; Envisioning new possibilities for a community or place - a new future, a new way of overcoming a challenge, or approaching problem-solving; and Connecting communities, people, places, and economic opportunity through physical spaces or new relationships.
DISCUSSION:
The Arts & Cultural Affairs Division is the catalyst for arts, entertainment, programs, artists, and experiences that cultivate arts and culture in Riverside. Staff, through the Arts & Culture mission statement, provide programming through dynamic and diverse arts, culture, and entertainment; they enrich, elevate, and motivate our community and its visitors. In the City’s FY 2021/22 budget, the following programs were approved:
Arts & Culture Grants: To support eligible non-profit arts and cultural organizations within our community. The level of City of Riverside Arts & Culture Grant award amounts may vary from year to year based on funding allocations, as well as the number of eligible applicants. The budget request for FY 2022/23 is $291,369 and FY 2023/24 is $294,283.
Programmatic Support: Annual agreement with the Mission Inn Foundation. The budget request for FY 2022/23 is $68,442 and FY 2023/24 is $70,495.
City Sponsorship Program: 70+ sponsorships to 501c non-profit organizations for events and programs. The budget request for FY 2022/23 is $143,351 and FY 2023/24 is $147,652.
Special Events: City developed and supported programming such as the Insect Fair. The budget request for FY 2022/23 is $38,760 and FY 2023/24 is $39,923.
Arts Programs: Emerging Artist Grants, Public Art (temporary and permanent); resources and opportunities. The budget request for FY 2022/23 is $95,054 and FY 2023/24 is $97,906.
Festival of Lights: Annual program that includes but is not limited to logistics, program elements, security, décor, advertising, and entertainment for the event. The budget request for FY 2022/23 is $650,000 and FY 2023/24 is $669,500.
Arts Grants
The Arts & Culture Grant Program offers general operating support to established City of Riverside artistic and cultural non-profit organizations that have developed a broad range of programming and have contributed substantially to the cultural life of the community. This program is reviewed by the Economic Development, Placemaking and Branding/Marketing Committee and approved by City Council annually or biennially, based upon the budget cycle.
Programmatic Support
An agreement with the Mission Inn Foundation for operational support has been approved annually by City Council since FY 2008/09. The Mission Inn Foundation continues to preserve and promote the history of the Mission Inn in its role of operating a non-profit museum and facilitating arts-related programs and projects that serve the community and visitors.
City Sponsorship Program
The City recognizes that sponsorships play an important role in supporting our community. The City Sponsorship Program provides local non-profit organizations with the opportunity to apply for City funds and/or in-kind services twice each fiscal year. The winter application process provides support for charitable, community events produced between July 1st and December 31st. The summer application process provides support for charitable, community events produced between January 1st and June 30th.
The granting of City funds or in-kind support is evaluated according to the effectiveness and impact that the special event, community project, or program has on the community. The special event, program, or project that is considered for sponsorship must meet the goals and objectives of the program.
Special Events
City developed and supported events such as:
Chalkfests: Partnerships with Neighborhood Engagement and Riverside Unified School District Doors Open: Access to captivating historical sites that are often closed to the public Insect Fair: Collaboration with University California, Riverside Entomology Department, and Graduate Student groups Día de los Muertos: Community Altar
Movies, Arts & Innovation
Take Your Child to Work Day
Go Human Event at Festival of Lights
Heritage House Christmas Open House
Riverside Police Department Trunk or Treat
Arts Programs
Arts programming over the years and in the budget has been diverse. Below are examples of programming, art, and public art:
Emerging Artist Grants
Purchasing Art for City-owned facilities:
Libraries
Community Centers
City Hall
The Box, Fox Performing Arts Center and Riverside Municipal Auditorium Public Art:
Mariposa Alley
RISE! Mural
The Gift: Corner of La Sierra and Hole
Mariposa Y Alvord: Butterflies for Foothill Elementary (Mariposa Alley 2.0) and Orenmaa for school beautification Magnolia Train Underpass
Communitrees Installation
Programming:
Cultural Mapping
Arts Plan
Better Together Training
Grier Pavilion
Arts Honoree
Filming Permits and Promotions
Resources and Opportunities
Trainings for community and staff
Kindness programming and resources
Framing and matting of artwork to local businesses
Creative placemaking
Books from local artists for libraries
Explore App – public art, Riverside Landmark App and Book Smithsonian affiliation
Advocacy at the local, state, and federal level
Arts Now
Riverside County Poet Laureate
Festival of LightsFestival of Lights
Festival of Lights
Festival of Lights
COVID-19 Programming and Funds
Little Free Library Book Distribution: Purchased and Distributed to neighborhood little libraries in all seven wards.
Art in a Box: Holiday Art program for distribution through Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Department mobile programs.
Shuttered Venue Operator Grant: Promoted to production organizations and applied and received funding for the Fox Performing Arts Center.
Mask Up Artwork: Artist designed postcards to promote mask wearing; disseminated through Parks, Recreation and Community Services, libraries, and non-profit organizations.
Non-Profit Grants:
Community Support
Staff support community programming, resources, events, and organizations by attending, marketing, supporting, advocating and education.
Some examples are shown below:
Live Tech Workshop for High School Students
RUSD Honors Musical
Artswalk
First Sundays
Career and Technical Education Pathways Game Design; Digital Film Production, Media, and the Arts Riverside Arts Academy
120+ Special Event permits
Heal Zone Mural Paintings
Spotlights in Explore Magazine and Riverside TV
Presentations and Conferences
Diversity of Programming at the Fox Performing Arts Center and Riverside Municipal Auditorium California Air Resources Board
Preservation of Artwork
Public Art throughout the City by non-profits, outside funding and/or grants; neighborhoods Through these and other programs, the Arts & Cultural Affairs Division provides support and access by cultivating experiences, funding services by arts & cultural partners, and recognizing the value of arts in the community. The programming, decisions, community work and direction has had to be flexible and nimble over the years to address as much work as we can within the parameters of staffing, funding, support, and direction. Over the last two years of COVID-19, staff, non-profits, and artists have pivoted quickly, strengthened programming, implemented new programming, discontinued programming and working for and with the community to help with public health, artistic expression, economic development, and support. In reviewing processes, programs and funding, staff recommends changes and/or updates to current programs, processes, and funding.
Over the next year, the Community & Economic Development Department will be bringing additional documents/programs to either and/or both the Economic Development, Placemaking and Branding/Marketing Committee and to City Council, policies, and procedures to strengthen arts & culture for the community, addressing the changing environment, creative placemaking and community engagement. They will include but not be limited to:
Additional Policies;
General Plan Update(s);
Municipal Code(s);
Percentage for Arts Program updates, process and policies; and Updates and/or new programs.
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT:
The Arts and Grant Programs support Strategic Priority 1 – Arts, Culture and Recreation and Goals 1.1 and 1.2: learning, arts, culture, recreation, senior programs, and partnerships, as well as facilitation of requests for in-kind sponsorship related to various City amenities. Because of the diversity of the programs Strategic Priority 2 – Community Well-Being and Goals 2.3 – 2.5 are also addressed through programs related to developing a sense of community, community engagement, neighborhoods, and partnerships.
This item aligns with each of the Cross-cutting Threads as follows:
Community Trust:
Grants are fully documented in the staff reports that are presented to City Council.
The continued communication and trainings to the non-profit organizations ensure they are informed about opportunities.
Equity:
As applications are evaluated, there is particular attention to organizations that seek to serve populations representing the diversity of Riverside.
Programs and services are directed and supported in all Wards.
Fiscal Responsibility:
The grant programs are included in the Arts & Cultural Affairs Division operating budget, placing it directly within the sphere of accountability that encompasses each staff member’s work, through the supervision of City Management, to the City Council.
Additionally, these grant monies are leveraged through the organizations to provide community-enhancing activities throughout the calendar year, which multiply the value and impact of those dollars.
On average, the non-profit organizations that spend the grant funds utilize about one City dollar per person who receives services, based on the estimated number of individuals served through these grant-funded organizations and across a broad spectrum of causes.
Innovation:
The programs operate through each budget cycle; there is a broad opportunity for applicants and programs to be innovative in response to community needs, new trends, and inspiration.
The frequency of the applications and cycles encourages innovation because it mitigates risk in a way that a project of longer duration cannot, and that frequency also allows for flexibility in response to emerging needs of the community and arts & culture.
Sustainability & Resiliency:
Funded programs promote the health of our non-profit, arts & culture community, which makes this an investment in the capacity of the non-profit community, as well as an investment in each life served by that community.
The non-profit organizations and artists in our community represent such broad and diverse areas of interest that they serve as a barometer of our community.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact with this report.
Prepared by: Chris Christopoulos, Acting Community & Economic Development Director
Certified as to
availability of funds: Edward Enriquez, Chief Financial Officer/City Treasurer Approved by: Rafael Guzman, Assistant City Manager
Approved as to form: Phaedra A. Norton, City Attorney
Attachments:
Arts and Culture Element of General Plan of 2021
Arts & Economic Prosperity Study IV – City of Riverside Presentation
Arts & Culture Programming Page 9