ARTS COMMISSION
RECOMMENDED RED LINE REVISIONS
City of Santa Clarita Arts Master Plan 2035: Vision and Action Executive Summary
Themes: 5 – Goals: 16
Theme 1. Cultivate the Arts Throughout Santa Clarita
Goal 1.1. Continue to develop Old Town Newhall as a premier Arts and Entertainment District • Advocating for opportunities for new businesses, nonprofits, community groups and individual creatives to bring arts and culture offerings to the area; • Promoting the district year-round and throughout the week, such as through signature annual events, ample weekday dining and activity options, and multiple ongoing arts and entertainment opportunities;
• Activating William S. Hart Park (Hart Park), which may include a future arts and culture center, as an asset for residents and visitors; and
• Meeting regularly with the Old Town Newhall Association to increase impact through public-private partnerships.
Goal 1.2. Introduce resources in areas without arts and cultural assets • Working with communities across Santa Clarita, including any future annexed areas, to identify arts and cultural needs;
• Exploring opportunities to repurpose existing buildings into community arts resources; • Supporting existing community spaces in incubating arts and culture programming; • Ensuring that diverse and underrepresented residents are invited to provide input so that programming reflects the needs of Santa Clarita’s changing demographics; and • Incorporating public art in parks, on City trails, or in open space areas with limited arts and cultural resources.
Goal 1.3. Elevate the arts as a valued City service and key quality of life resource • Highlighting arts and culture more in City marketing, such as elevating Santa Clarita’s role in the history of the film industry, western heritage, and community cultures; • Identifying opportunities where the arts can be integrated with other City services, such as engaging artists in beautification efforts and including arts programs at City venues; and • Conducting a study to measure how the arts impact quality of life and the economy in Santa Clarita, as well as share and act on study findings.
Goal 1.4. Explore supporting the development of additional arts and cultural hubs beyond the Old Town Newhall Arts and Entertainment District
• Approaching arts development holistically and acting on opportunities as new resources, community-led efforts, and businesses emerge in an area; • Encouraging clustering of resources, such as incentivizing local businesses to feature neighborhood creatives and community events; and
• Promoting neighborhood arts and cultural hubs in City marketing materials, as well as through themed travel itineraries for new residents and visitors.
Theme 2. Serve as a Cross-Pollinator of Facilitate Community Arts Efforts Goal 2.1. Advocate for higher education institutions to connect with Santa Clarita residents and stakeholders
• Facilitating regular meetings with representatives from each university arts institution and community leaders to share information, encourage resource sharing, and spark collaboration; • Encouraging local higher education institutions to pursue grant opportunities for faculty and student projects that have a positive impact on the Santa Clarita community; and • Highlighting Santa Clarita as a desired place of residency for full-time and visiting university arts faculty and students to further support these institutions in attracting and retaining talent.
Goal 2.2. Encourage arts education and cultural experiences in the Santa Clarita Valley • Explore the development of arts education programs and reducing barriers to access; • Continuing to facilitate collaboration in arts education across the Santa Clarita Valley, including university and community collaborators, through regular meetings to encourage local partnerships and sharing of resources;
• Adjusting City arts education programming in response to community needs; and • Researching existing arts education programs offered by both for-profit and nonprofit organizations.
Goal 2.3. Partner with local historical organizations on preservation efforts of Santa Clarita Valley cultural attractions
• Encouraging local nonprofit organizations to pursue grants for preservation efforts across the Santa Clarita Valley; and
• Coordinating future historical and cultural collections and programming development with local historical organizations and stakeholders.
Goal 2.4. Track the growth of creative industries
• Conducting a study of Santa Clarita’s creative industries and comparing those findings to the 2021 City of Santa Clarita Creative Economy Report; and
• Regularly revising who is included and excluded from the category of a “creative industry” to account for new media and technological innovation.
Theme 3. Support Artists and Arts Nonprofits
Goal 3.1. Promote Santa Clarita as a preferred place for creatives to live and work • Inviting area creatives to participate in the City’s annual Business for Artists Conference and connecting individuals with business incubation programs and resources; • Highlighting existing business-friendly opportunities to local and regional creatives in partnership with the Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Cooperation; • Continuing to explore grant funding opportunities and resources for creatives at all stages of their career; and
• Supporting creative cradle-to-career pathway efforts.
Goal 3.2. Support the development and sustainability of local nonprofits • Convening local nonprofit leadership to encourage information and resource sharing, as well as workshopping of shared issues;
• Encouraging Arts Commissioners to actively engage with artists, arts organizations, and residents to gather feedback and strengthen community connections;
• Encouraging mentorship opportunities between prospective nonprofit leaders and established organizations;
• Highlighting existing City, County, State and National resources for nonprofit development on the Santa Clarita Arts website; and
• Continuing to offer programs that support the growth of arts and cultural organizations; and. • Evaluating the City of Santa Clarita Arts Grants program to consider increasing funding levels to be on par with communities of a similar size and resources.
Theme 4. Review Arts Governance, Policies, and Procedures Goal 4.1. Continue to update the municipal code to reflect best practices • Reviewing the committee structure of the Arts Commission to align with the future of arts and culture in the community; and
• Exploring expanding the Arts Commission’s scope to include culture.
Goal 4.2. Review the guiding vision statement for the arts and measure progress • Promoting the City’s vision for the arts; and
• Asking residents to rate the City’s fulfillment of its vision for the arts through its Community Opinion Survey; and.
• Reviewing arts-related plans and feasibility studies to evaluate their continued relevance and identify opportunities for updating.
Goal 4.3. Promote opportunities for civic engagement in City arts processes to ensure diversity of input, transparency, and equity
• Conducting targeted and intentional outreach to communities who have either been underserved and/or who are not currently involved in City arts decision-making, such as developing outreach information in Spanish;
• Evaluating processes and procedures for efficiency and accessibility in civic engagement on a regular basis, including by considering resident feedback; and • Developing clear guidelines for initiating arts and culture programming.
Goal 4.4. Review public art documents
• Reviewing decision-making processes related to civic art that is part of capital improvement projects;
• Developing sustainable policies around public art conservation and maintenance that will then inform contracts;
• Exploring a programs that supports new arts experiences, such as visual and performing pop-up experiences; and
• Expanding targeted professional development to staff to ensure the implementation of public art best practices.
Theme 5. Plan for Arts Venues, Spaces, and Resources
Goal 5.1. Integrate arts development throughout City planning • Working with City departments to identify initiatives where the arts are especially relevant and highlight the role of arts and culture within those efforts; • Exploring gateway projects that attract regional visitors to explore Santa Clarita; • Using this plan to support existing and future City plans; and • Responding to any research resulting from the implementation of this plan, such as measuring the growth of the creative industries in Santa Clarita.
Goal 5.2. Examine the feasibility of renovating or building new arts spaces • Repurposing warehouse or developing spaces, such as the Santa Clarita Elementary site, as multi-use community arts centers and creative hubs, such as for artist studios, rehearsal space, exhibition galleries, makerspace, and/or a black box theatercoffee house; • Activating unused storefronts through pop-up programming that introduces arts and culture to locations lacking resources;
• Encouraging the expansion of local arts organizations to better accommodate community needs, such as through mixed-use classroom and gathering spaces; • Exploring public gathering spaces accessible to the community in new development projects; • Involving diverse voices in programming development;
• Conducting a feasibility study for a children’s museums; and • Exploring future development of a theatre center, including an outdoor theater venue, oriented towards the needs of the performing arts community.