Members of the board of California Arts Advocates/Californians for the Arts and Executive Director Julie Baker met in Sacramento for a retreat on October 30th, 2018.

Dear Arts Advocacy Colleagues,

It’s a good day to celebrate after an historic election with many firsts across the nation and some victories in our state of California including the passage of Proposition E in San Francisco. We welcome Governor elect Newsom and look forward to working with his team to advance the arts in California and thank Governor Brown for his recognition of the value the arts, culture and creativity bring to California.

In fact, that is what this small but mighty all volunteer (until last month!) led organization has been doing since 1996. Building the case for support for the arts at the State and Federal level. Walking the halls of the Capitol during the lean years when arts funding was at historic lows of $1 million per year to this last budget cycle where we saw close to $26 million in total funding for the arts in California and over $21 million in grants from the California Arts Council. We are proud of our work here at California Arts Advocates and are grateful to the legislative champions, CAA members, our lobbyist and the advocates across the State who never give up because we know the difference the arts make socially, economically and spiritually.

Historically when we see success we tend to get complacent, we sit back and say but the arts are getting back to historic funding levels, we are good. But for those who fight from the trenches we know this is not true. We must continue to build awareness with new administrations, demonstrate our value, look for new funding opportunities and support equity in the arts for all Californians. There is still a lot of work to be done and we are here to make that happen.

Just last week our board met for a retreat. We set out a plan to bring back arts advocacy day but renamed as Arts, Culture and Creativity Month (ACCM) because one day to celebrate the power of the arts is simply not enough! ACCM will be a series of activities developed throughout California in April of 2019 with a soon to be determined date at the Capitol with legislative visits. Right now we are creating the materials to train delegates across the State to advocate for the arts in your local communities, and at the State and Federal levels.

If you are interested in a training in your area, please send Executive Director Julie Baker an email, membership@californiaartsadvocates.org Working together with a common message, our voice and our support grows stronger. We also identified other priorities for our partner organization Californians for the Arts including the creation of a cultural equity committee and professional development series, surveys of the field and more. We are here to represent your concerns and your voices, so please let us know your priorities too.

And although we’ve done an excellent job advocating for state funding for the arts, we’ve neglected to make our own organization’s sustainability a priority. We need your support to continue to build upon the great strides we have already made and to be the network of networks for arts advocacy in California. As the 5th largest economy in the world, California leads, as identified in the 2018 Otis Report, in the Creative economy output which totaled $407.1 billion (direct, indirect, and induced) and generated 1.6 million jobs (direct, indirect, and induced), and those wage and salary workers earned $141.5 billion in total labor income.

With 789,900 direct jobs in the creative economy, California surpasses New York State which has 477,300 jobs followed by Texas at 230,500. We are a force to be reckoned with, our mission has never been clearer and we are ready with your support to grow support for the arts in California. If you are not a member, please join or renew today! If you want to make a personal contribution, please donate to Californians for the Arts.

Thank you for your commitment to create a better California by advancing the arts, culture and creativity.

Proposition E passes by a 2/3 majority in San Francisco

Congratulations to CAA board members Jonathon Moscone and Brad Erickson for their tenacity and hard work to see Prop E pass by 74% in San Francisco. Proposition E will send a portion of the revenue from the city’s tax on hotel room stays to fund arts and cultural programs. Erickson provided this quote as he boarded a plane for NY this morning, “In San Francisco, Proposition E won and won big, with more than 3/4 of the vote. The measure was backed by an extraordinary coalition of arts and culture groups — large and small budget organizations, white-led companies and organizations of color, individual artists and fired-up citizens who understand the crucial role of the arts in making San Francisco the famously vibrant, open and creative city it is”.

For more information on Proposition E in San Francisco, Click HERE
Click HERE for a full report on California elections.