Focus Area: Collaborate and partner with public and private entities as measured by:

CURRENT YEAR: (FY 2007-08) ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

•The Arts Commission released in July 2007 the results of the Economic Impact of Nonprofit Arts and Cultural Organizations and Their Audiences in Santa Barbara County study completed in partnership with the Americans for the Arts Arts & Economic Prosperity III study. That study found that nonprofit arts and culture are a $77.6 million industry in Santa Barbara County---one that supports 2,288 full-time equivalent jobs and generates $7.62 million in local and state government revenue. This information was made available to arts and cultural organizations and nonprofits in the County.

• The Arts Commission organized a countywide Arts Symposium in April 2008 on the topic of “Finding Sustainable Funding Solutions for the Arts and Improving Access and Youth Participation in the Arts”. More than 100+ attended including arts advocates, educators, artists, students, arts administrators, and foundation representatives as well as representatives from county and city governments.

• The Arts Commission organized, and promoted its second annual Poetry Out Loud student poetry recitation competition was held February 21, 2008 in partnership with the California Poets in the School, the California Arts Council, The National Endowment for the Arts and the National Poetry Foundation. The Santa Barbara student winner competed in the Statewide Competition in Sacramento March 14th in Sacramento.

• The Arts Commission created, developed, produced and promoted In Plain Sight: Public Art in Santa Barbara a DVD focusing on the role and history of Public Art in partnership with City TV and funding support from the City of Santa Barbara Redevelopment Agency, Santa Barbara Beautiful and the Jacoby Family Trust. The film debuted on June 24, 2007. The film was accepted into the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in January and has aired on City and County Public access channels this last year. A Public Art tour in partnership with City of Santa Barbara Parks & Recreation Department and Santa Barbara Beautiful, Inc. took place on Saturday, October 20, 2007.

• The Arts Commission, in partnership with Santa Barbara’s City Arts Advisory Committee and Santa Barbara Beautiful presented its Annual “Business in Art Award” in September to the Santa Barbara Downtown Organization in recognition of the significant contribution to the visual and performing arts and added cultural vitality of its monthly 1st Thursday art and culture nights program in the Historic Cultural District.


PROPOSED STRATEGIC ACTIONS:

• The Arts Commission works collaboratively with county departments, government agencies, educational institutions, non-profit organizations, and civic groups to provide and facilitate art exhibitions and art education programs, and serve as an informational and referral resource for county arts activities and encourage increased access to the arts for residents.

• The Arts Commission organize, promote and facilitate a series of “Brown Bag Art Lunches” in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria to address emerging arts issues, encourage collaboration among arts groups and provide networking opportunities to share information and resources.

• The Arts Commission collaborates with the County Government Access channel, and other downtown cultural organizations to provide film coverage for exhibitions and related activities, resulting in short films which are shown on public access television and provided for viewing in the Channing Peake Gallery.

• Develop programs and projects that address and promote the cultural development of individuals, families and children and explore ways to increase participation in the arts.


PROPOSED KEY PROJECTS: ARTS COMMISSION

• Biennial Art Exhibition: The County Art in Public Places Committee (CAPP), in conjunction with the Arts Commission, developed and distributed a call for proposals for a biennial exhibition EDGE that will focus on contemporary art by emerging and mid-career County residents. The exhibition will be part of Off-Axis 2008, a month-long celebration of contemporary art in the greater Santa Barbara Art.

• State of the Art Gallery 2008: Staff organized and promoted a call for proposals for artists in the Tri-Counties for a public sculpture display on State Street in Santa Barbara to be included as part of Off-Axis. This month long community-wide event focusing on contemporary art is a biennial event in partnership with contemporary visual and performing arts institutions throughout the county as well as the Santa Barbara Conference and Visitors Bureau and Film Commission.

• Granada Theatre and Garage Paseo Murals: Organize conservation and installation of the three-panel Celebrate Santa Barbara Murals in collaboration with the City of Santa Barbara Redevelopment Agency, estimated to be installed in June of 2008.

• The Arts Commission continues to expand its contract list for Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and Requests for Qualifications (RFQs) for One Percent for Art projects that are now available online, and sent electronically. The Percent for Art projects currently on the books are the CARES Center Remodel and Agricultural Commissioner’s Office addition in Santa Maria, the Child and Family Services Resource Room, the Fire Station 11 remodel project in Isla Vista, and the Betteravia Government Center Expansion.

Promote programs and projects that enhance the quality of life of County residents measured by:

• Through a Council Proclamation and a public recognition event the Arts Commission recognized artist, arts advocate and past Arts Commissioner, Nat G. Fast as the recipient of this year’s Leadership in the Arts Award for his significant contribution for “exemplary support for the artistic and creative community throughout the County.”

• This year the Arts Commission received gifts of art to its permanent exhibition including works by Dara Marks, Ray Strong, Dug Uyesaka, Marge Dunlap, Dorothy Churchill Johnson and Michael Gonzales valued at approximately $70,500.

• The Arts Commission continues to operate and program two public exhibition galleries: The Betteravia Gallery in Santa Maria and the Channing Peake Gallery in Santa Barbara. Seven exhibitions were mounted this year at these galleries. Exhibitions included: Farm Securities Administration photos from the Commission’s collection, Continuing the Latino Tradition; Traditions and Transitions: California Missions, an exhibition of two collection of California Missions etchings; and The Essential Worker a photographic exhibition of ten Santa Barbara County photographers focusing on the contributions of trades and service sector. This year the Commission renovated the hallways at City Hall in Santa Barbara to provide an additional public exhibition space.

• Using funds received from the City of Santa Barbara, the Arts Commission regranted over $378,000 to city-based cultural arts programs through three grant categories: Community Arts Grants, Organizational Development Grants, and Community Events & Festivals Grants. The Commission in partnership with the City Arts Advisory Group hosted a grant award public recognition event in October 2007 to focus greater attention on the grant program and the work of this year’s grantees.

• The Arts Commission expanded programming in the galleries providing increased receptions in the galleries and promoting a series of free lunchtime gallery talks in the Channing Peake Gallery that included artists, art historians and the Curator of Collections. In partnership with the Downtown Organization the Channing Peake Gallery has included free entertainment, presentations and performances monthly as part of 1st Thursday monthly cultural nights. This program has increased opportunities for visual and performing artists.

• The Arts Commission in partnership with the County Art in Public Places Committee and support from the Santa Barbara Museum of Art completed the Percent for Art project at the La Morada Youth Center in Santa Barbara. The project included portraits of the residents drawn by Santa Barbara based artist Colin Gray, a painting by Rafael Perea de la Cabada, Nuestras Palabras son Caminos,Our Words are Pathways and a large mural created by teens as part of the SBMA Teen Mural Project. The works were presented at the Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on November 26, 2007.

• The Arts Commission completed a call for proposals and awarded the contract for the One Percent for Art project for the Resource Room at the Child and Family Services Building scheduled for completion on April 25, 2008.

• Utilizing City of Santa Barbara Redevelopment Agency funding, the Arts Commission in collaboration with City Arts Advisory will open the Community Arts Workshop, in conjunction with a local nonprofit organization. The facility is scheduled for completion in Spring 2009 and will include two public art elements. When completed, this central space will provide a place for set construction, operate community arts programs, organize festivals and function as a hub for area artists. This site will be used prior to renovation for the Summer Solstice Workshop in May and June 2008.

The Arts Commission received a major collection of the over 70 contemporary works created by Santa Barbara based artists over the last 25 years. An archive of the collection has been created and a space renovated in the Courthouse to house the collection with appropriate security and archival storage conditions. The Barry Berkus and Family Art Collection, in memory of Gail Berkus inaugural exhibition in the Channing Peake Gallery will include gallery talks and a catalogue of works in the collection.

Partnering with the Santa Barbara News-Press and the S.B. Museum of Art, the Arts Commission implemented a $20,000 California Council for the Humanities grant – The New Okies. This photojournalism project resulted in exhibits and public receptions in both galleries, and a regional symposium about Santa Barbara County’s Mixtec farm workers. A bilingual brochure was produced in 2006 linking this exhibition to the Taking Root exhibition at the SB Museum of Art.

The Arts Commission in partnership with the Redevelopment Agency and the State of the Art Gallery Curatorial Committee will organize and mount an exhibition of public art on State Street for September of 2006. The exhibition will include the work of Tri-County artists selected from a Call for Proposals. The exhibition is part of a regional collaboration focusing on Santa Barbara contemporary art during the entire month of September.

The Arts Commission provided technical assistance and partnered with the Community Environmental Council (CEC) and the Downtown Organization to organize and mount the an exhibition of public art on State Street created by Santa Barbara based artists as part of a State wide conference. The Steelhead Festival focused public attention on creek cleaning and restoration of steelhead habitat.

In partnership with the Central Coast Filipino-American community the Commission has implemented a large scale mural in downtown Lompoc with local artists.

The Arts Commission has organized and scheduled two “Brown Bag” lunches in 2006 to be hosted by Supervisor Susan Rose. These lunches provide for informal discussions and updates with visual and performing arts community members.

The Arts Commission continues to operate and program two exhibition galleries – the Channing Peake in Santa Barbara and the Betteravia Gallery in Santa Maria. At least seven exhibits will be mounted in 2006 to 2007.

The Arts Commission continues its partnership with the Community Action Commission to mount two public exhibits Reflections on Poverty in the Faulkner Gallery at the Santa Barbara Public Library and at the Betteravia Gallery in Santa Maria.

The Arts Commission continues its partnership with the S.B. Museum of Art in producing StreetSmART, an annual workshop on public art involving area high school students, UCSB graduate students and local visual artists.

With private funding the Arts Commission in partnership with City TV is in production of a virtual public art tour utilizing a DVD and brochure to highlight the public art collection.

The Arts Commission will conserve and install the three-panel Celebrate Santa Barbara mural on the Granada Parking Garage upon completion.

• The Arts Commission organize, promote and facilitate a series of “Brown Bag Art Lunches” in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria to address emerging arts issues, encourage collaboration among arts groups and provide networking opportunities to share information and resources.

• The Arts Commission collaborates with the County Government Access channel, and other downtown cultural organizations to provide film coverage for exhibitions and related activities, resulting in short films which are shown on public access television and provided for viewing in the Channing Peake Gallery.


CULTURAL ARTS DISTRICT PLAN:
The Arts Advisory Committee continues to partner with the Downtown Organization and the City of Santa Barbara Redevelopment Agency to implement the programming element of the Historic Arts District Plan.


CULTURAL TOURISM:
The Arts Commission continues its partnership with the Santa Barbara Conference and Visitors Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce, Visitors Bureaus throughout the County, the Santa Barbara Performing Arts League, and Santa Barbara Visual Arts to promote Santa Barbara County as a cultural destination.


ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES:
The Arts Commission processes over 60 contracts each year with area artists and art organizations to implement special projects and programs.

Arts Commission staff are responsible for 4 monthly meetings, agendas and minutes. Commission staff sit on over a dozen non profit boards, committees and task forces.

Commission staff provides technical assistance to non profits arts groups, local government and the general public on an ongoing daily basis.

Rafael Perea de la Cabada & Matthew Woodford, Persistance of the Unnecessary