San Diego has long been counted among the country’s cultural heavyweights, home to Balboa Park, the Jacobs Music Center and the California Center for the Arts in Escondido, plus a dense web of galleries, theaters and concert venues. But new research suggests that reputation is starting to fray, as public arts funding shrinks and the people who make the region’s creative economy run struggle to keep up with the cost of living.
A recent analysis from Southern Methodist University’s DataArts research center placed San Diego in the 90th percentile nationally for arts vibrancy, a measure that factors in the number of artists and arts organizations, spending on cultural programming, and government support. That’s a strong showing, putting San Diego among the top 100 communities out of nearly 1,000 studied. But it’s a step down from where the region stood in 2022, when it ranked in the 95th percentile.
“We see that big cities in general are really challenging places for arts and cultural organizations right now, with rising rents and inflation,” said Jen Benoit-Bryan, a professor of arts management and executive director of SMU DataArts.
The slide comes as San Diego’s peer cities — a group that includes Denver, Atlanta, Miami and Houston — are largely trending downward too, with the exception of Atlanta. Los Angeles ranked 12th nationally in the same study, and San Francisco came in second, helping California land eighth among states for arts investment and activity overall. New York held onto the top spot for a third consecutive year.
A separate study from the University of San Diego’s Nonprofit Institute paints an even starker picture locally. Researchers found that a third of San Diego arts nonprofits are in weak financial shape this year, and more than half have had to dip into reserve funds just to stay afloat.
That financial strain spilled into public view this spring when Mayor Todd Gloria proposed eliminating the city’s arts funding entirely as part of budget cuts. The move drew swift backlash from artists and cultural advocates. The City Council eventually restored a portion of that funding, and the Prebys Foundation stepped in with a $3 million commitment to help close the gap — but the arts sector still ended up with less support than before.
“We know San Diego is an arts-rich community, and arts and culture is very much a part of our fabric and our economic vitality,” said Christine Martinez, who manages Arts + Culture San Diego, a coalition representing roughly 150 organizations. “But looking at the report and seeing a slight decline over the last few years in our vibrancy is not a surprise.”
Martinez’s coalition is pushing a proposal to direct a share of local hotel tax revenue toward arts funding. San Diego County has already added $2 million in new arts money this year, a modest but notable counterpoint to the cuts happening elsewhere.
Behind the numbers is a workforce that’s increasingly stretched thin. Benoit-Bryan said the number of arts organizations per capita has been steadily declining across San Diego and its peer cities, and the region’s cultural workforce is shrinking too — likely, she said, because many workers simply can’t afford to stay in the field.
“We see that the compensation levels for the kind of workers in nonprofit cultural organizations are also lower than peers and have been declining over the last few years,” she said. “And federal dollars that are flowing into cultural organizations in San Diego are again lower than peers and in decline.”
The University of San Diego’s findings echo that concern. Tess Tinkler, director of research at the university’s Nonprofit Institute, said 80% of nonprofit leaders surveyed reported declining support from government sources, foundations, individual donors and corporate sponsors. Arts organizations in particular have seen wages stagnate for years.
“When we looked at wage gaps for arts organizations, they’re experiencing just no growth in wages over many years,” Tinkler said. “And that is worse than other nonprofits.”
Adjusted for inflation, wages for arts workers have essentially flatlined since 2012 — and have actually fallen in real terms, according to Tinkler. That’s happening even as San Diego remains one of the most expensive housing markets in the nation.
Healthcare costs add another layer of pressure for arts employers. “We are still able to cover the cost of healthcare for our employees, but we are stretched to the maximum to keep up,” said Jessica Hanson York, executive director of the Mingei International Museum in Balboa Park.
Advocates argue that arts funding shouldn’t be viewed as a luxury item in city budgets. The University of San Diego report pointed to research linking arts participation to stronger social connections, reduced anxiety and depression, and improved academic outcomes for young people. Nearly half of San Diegans surveyed said they had personally benefited from arts and culture nonprofits, and three-quarters said those organizations play an important role in the community. Supporters also note that the arts help drive tourism and local economic activity.
“When we have a loss of this kind of arts funding, it really does affect the community’s quality of life,” Tinkler said.
With traditional funding sources growing less reliable, some artists are building their own safety nets. Ramel Wallace, founder and CEO of the Holyfield, an organization supporting storytelling, music and education, said distrust of the nonprofit funding system has pushed many creatives toward alternative models — mutual aid networks, cooperatives, and lending circles where members pool money and take turns drawing from it.
Those systems can help cover the cost of art projects, Wallace said, but they’re just as often used to help artists cover rent, medical bills or other everyday expenses.
JerVae Anthony, a musician, performer and painter based in South San Diego, is building what she calls a solidarity fund to connect artists with technical, professional and financial support.
“I’m trying to build a program that seeks to use mutual aid and peer support to fill in those gaps, because some of us do require additional support, and it’s really important to make art-making accessible for all folks,” she said.
Through her network, Anthony has connected with hosts around the country willing to put up traveling artists free of charge. Fellow artists sometimes trade skills — a Photoshop tutorial over Zoom, for instance — or chip in to cover a month’s rent, groceries or a mobility device for someone in need.
Funding the effort requires a mix of grassroots hustle and traditional fundraising: grant applications, crowdfunding campaigns, and even a partnership with a church in North Carolina, Anthony said.
“It’s an important skill,” she said, “and I think networks are going to be how we get through these hard times.”
Original source: CalMatters
