San Diego County addresses growing gaps in arts funding

Key Takeaways

San Diego County, Calif. is investing millions of dollars into arts and culture programming for diverse and underserved communities. 

The county funding comes as the city of San Diego prepares to slash $11.8 million in arts and culture grants. The county initiative has been in the works for roughly a year, so it’s not a direct response to the proposed city cuts but is instead an overdue recognition of how essential the arts are to creating a thriving community, said San Diego County Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe. 

“In our arts and culture community, there has always been a lack of investment,” Montgomery Steppe said. “I think the community has not been recognized for what it actually contributes to our region, as far as being connected to mental health services, creating economic drivers, so we’re really taking a broader and more holistic approach.”

On May 6, the San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved up to $2.75 million in total funding, with $2.25 million in ongoing annual investments, for arts and culture programming. Some of the funding will go directly to local artists and expanding access to affordable creative spaces, such as county-owned properties for public arts programming. 

Investing in arts and culture “strengthens neighborhoods and provides safe and meaningful community spaces,” Montgomery Steppe said. “These are things that we can see being erased and removed from our communities, and I think the arts and culture community brings all of these important facets of our neighborhoods together.”

San Diego Black Arts and Culture District, which encompasses nine blocks within the community of Encanto, is receiving a one-time funding allocation of $500,000 through the initiative. In 2022, Montgomery Steppe led San Diego City Council’s vote to approve the establishment of the Black Arts and Culture District.

The funding will go toward building a community space for workshops, youth programs, speakers and more events centered around arts and culture, according to Denise Rogers, a San Diego Mesa College art history professor who is a member of the San Diego Black Arts and Culture District committee. The decision came from community input on how an influx of funding could be best used, she noted. 

“Instead of people having to scatter throughout the county to find places to interact with artists, specifically Black artists, there'll be a designated spot in the nine blocks,” Rogers said. “… It creates this place for creativity, for community, for education, for enjoyment, for networking.”

The “transformative” initiative will be the first time San Diego County is providing public investment in arts and culture for the entire county, according to San Diego County Chair Terra Lawson-Remer.

“This funding is intended to reach all of the residents of San Diego County,” Montgomery Steppe said. “And particularly exposing and continuing programs that are in the unincorporated community.”

The arts and culture funding will support historically “culturally rich areas” and underfunded communities across the county and strengthen cross-border arts and cultural collaboration in the San Diego-Baja California region.

“This means that communities where San Diegans have been underserved in, marginalized in the arts for too long, will have support and resources,” Lawson-Remer said at an April meeting where the proposal was announced. 

“We’re expanding opportunities for artists, increasing public access and cultural experiences and strengthening connections across our entire diverse, incredible region.”

The initiative also establishes an Artist-in-Residence Program, which will place local artists within county departments to address public challenges through “creative, community-informed approaches.”

“Bringing different perspectives, lived experience, into the halls of government helps us create better solutions,” Montgomery Steppe said. “… Artists bring a different lens to problem-solving.”

San Diego County investing in the arts will not only strengthen community and enrich local culture but it will also benefit the economy, Montgomery Steppe said. Arts and culture initiatives enhance tourism and workforce development, she noted.   

“We have to change the way that we look at how government has siloed different areas or funding mechanisms,” Montgomery Steppe said. “And that’s the beauty of this investment, is that we are recognizing that arts and culture create connection with our residents, which we need more than ever right now.”