Just $21,250 was allocated to Arts and Culture funding by Twentynine Palms in 2021-2022, almost as paltry as the number of women represented in the City's list of public artworks
Great points Cindy, I hope that the powers that be will be able to piece it together. 29 Palms also buys a sponsorship ad in the Art Tour catalog, which is just wonderful, they are one of our biggest local sponsors. Our county doesn’t do any arts funding to speak of either, but that may change, thanks to work by Arts Connection, the arts council for San Bernardino county. For now though, I look at LA and Riverside counties who have big line items in their budgets for the arts, and drool. Many transplants from LA who are active in the arts are dumbfounded when they discover that we do it all ourselves out here as individuals and organizations, with little local or county government support.
Thank you for reminding us of the hypocrisy of these people. It's depressing to know this. I'm unable to vote for or against any of these people because I don't live in their "districts". This is also depressing.
Thank you for devoting an entire issue to this topic. Local governments around here seem to have a pretty myopic view when it comes to arts programs and funding, if it doesn't somehow also promote them in the process, they don't seem interested. In the meantime people like Vickie Waite, Gretchen Grunt, and Laurel Siedel and countless others have given so much over the years to maintain a robust arts community in 29 Palms, for little if any financial gain. Does the city not know what cultural and historic gems they have in the Glass Outhouse, the 29 Palms Creative Center and the historic 29 Palms Art Gallery? The Sibleys out at The Palms have been providing music, a sharing library and book club venue for years. This only scratches the surface! There is a wealth of arts and culture in 29 Palms, if only the city council would consider that not all riches come in the form of cash.
Cindy here - you make some great points. I feel the City doesn’t have experience working with arts professionals such as artists, curators, producers etc, who expect to be paid for their work and expertise, because the arts are their job. Instead the City relies on residents who are dedicated to the arts but who don’t expect to be paid because the arts aren’t their primary profession or job. And some of these residents do amazing things as you point out!!!
If you think about it, our City Council are not professionals themselves, so they have little understanding of the difference between residents who love the arts and arts professionals. They seem to comprehend that professional engineers are needed for physical infrastructure but can’t make the jump to arts infrastructure.
This reliance on art loving City employees and volunteers is what sometimes gets the City into debacles like what I described at Project Phoenix. Arts professionals are familiar with contemporary issues in the arts such as representation of native people and others who have been marginalized in the past. Community Development Directors, City Managers, and volunteer boards may be well meaning but aren’t necessarily aware of contemporary issues nor are they obligated to have this expertise.
BTW speaking of the Sibleys, wouldn’t it be amazing if the City invited them to curate a concert series at Project Phoenix and PAID them to do it? And paid everyone involved: a producer to work out the logistics, the artists and musicians who perform, the techs who run the sound board and lights and a graphic designer to create great promotional materials. If the City is so money focused and wants to increase tourism and put “heads in beds” as Frank put it - a great concert series is one way of doing it.
Now the City will answer that with ‘we’re disadvantaged - we can’t afford that” - but they can by simply dedicating a percentage of TOT to arts programming. The City charges a "voluntary" 1.5% TOT assessment for tourism promotion but sets aside almost nothing for the content the TBID is promoting. Improve the content, and tourism will increase. That’s how to satisfy those in the City who only see $$$.
Side note — to be clear the City did give $3500 to the Joshua Tree National Park Exposition at the 29 Palms Art Gallery. A complete list of what was funded by TBD is below….it’s sad that funding for sponsored and new projects has been cut back this year.
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Arts / Culture (financial support: $2,750)
Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours: $2,000 contribution + promotional support
Joshua Tree National Park Art Exposition: Promotional partner (sponsorship funding comes from the city’s budget
Joshua Tree Music Festival: $750 contribution + promotional support
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Education (financial support: $10,000)
Desert Institute 2021 Fall Season: $10,000 contribution + promotional support
Archaeopalooza: Promotional partner (grouped in with fall season sponsorship agreement)
---
---
Outdoor Recreation (financial support: $2,000)
Night Sky Festival: $2,000 contribution + promotional support
---
---
Special Events (financial support: $12,500)
Party at the Plaza / Freedom Plaza Grand Opening: $12,500 contribution + promotional support
---
---
Sports / Fitness (financial support: $2,650)
Vacation Races ½ Marathon: $1,500 contribution + promotional support
Climb Smart: $400 contribution + promotional support
Joshua Tree 55: $750 contribution + promotional support
Great points Cindy, I hope that the powers that be will be able to piece it together. 29 Palms also buys a sponsorship ad in the Art Tour catalog, which is just wonderful, they are one of our biggest local sponsors. Our county doesn’t do any arts funding to speak of either, but that may change, thanks to work by Arts Connection, the arts council for San Bernardino county. For now though, I look at LA and Riverside counties who have big line items in their budgets for the arts, and drool. Many transplants from LA who are active in the arts are dumbfounded when they discover that we do it all ourselves out here as individuals and organizations, with little local or county government support.
Thank you for reminding us of the hypocrisy of these people. It's depressing to know this. I'm unable to vote for or against any of these people because I don't live in their "districts". This is also depressing.
Cindy here - And I'm with you. Imagine how depressed I was after doing the research and then writing it!
Thank you for devoting an entire issue to this topic. Local governments around here seem to have a pretty myopic view when it comes to arts programs and funding, if it doesn't somehow also promote them in the process, they don't seem interested. In the meantime people like Vickie Waite, Gretchen Grunt, and Laurel Siedel and countless others have given so much over the years to maintain a robust arts community in 29 Palms, for little if any financial gain. Does the city not know what cultural and historic gems they have in the Glass Outhouse, the 29 Palms Creative Center and the historic 29 Palms Art Gallery? The Sibleys out at The Palms have been providing music, a sharing library and book club venue for years. This only scratches the surface! There is a wealth of arts and culture in 29 Palms, if only the city council would consider that not all riches come in the form of cash.
Cindy here - you make some great points. I feel the City doesn’t have experience working with arts professionals such as artists, curators, producers etc, who expect to be paid for their work and expertise, because the arts are their job. Instead the City relies on residents who are dedicated to the arts but who don’t expect to be paid because the arts aren’t their primary profession or job. And some of these residents do amazing things as you point out!!!
If you think about it, our City Council are not professionals themselves, so they have little understanding of the difference between residents who love the arts and arts professionals. They seem to comprehend that professional engineers are needed for physical infrastructure but can’t make the jump to arts infrastructure.
This reliance on art loving City employees and volunteers is what sometimes gets the City into debacles like what I described at Project Phoenix. Arts professionals are familiar with contemporary issues in the arts such as representation of native people and others who have been marginalized in the past. Community Development Directors, City Managers, and volunteer boards may be well meaning but aren’t necessarily aware of contemporary issues nor are they obligated to have this expertise.
BTW speaking of the Sibleys, wouldn’t it be amazing if the City invited them to curate a concert series at Project Phoenix and PAID them to do it? And paid everyone involved: a producer to work out the logistics, the artists and musicians who perform, the techs who run the sound board and lights and a graphic designer to create great promotional materials. If the City is so money focused and wants to increase tourism and put “heads in beds” as Frank put it - a great concert series is one way of doing it.
Now the City will answer that with ‘we’re disadvantaged - we can’t afford that” - but they can by simply dedicating a percentage of TOT to arts programming. The City charges a "voluntary" 1.5% TOT assessment for tourism promotion but sets aside almost nothing for the content the TBID is promoting. Improve the content, and tourism will increase. That’s how to satisfy those in the City who only see $$$.
Side note — to be clear the City did give $3500 to the Joshua Tree National Park Exposition at the 29 Palms Art Gallery. A complete list of what was funded by TBD is below….it’s sad that funding for sponsored and new projects has been cut back this year.
---
Arts / Culture (financial support: $2,750)
Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours: $2,000 contribution + promotional support
Joshua Tree National Park Art Exposition: Promotional partner (sponsorship funding comes from the city’s budget
Joshua Tree Music Festival: $750 contribution + promotional support
---
---
Education (financial support: $10,000)
Desert Institute 2021 Fall Season: $10,000 contribution + promotional support
Archaeopalooza: Promotional partner (grouped in with fall season sponsorship agreement)
---
---
Outdoor Recreation (financial support: $2,000)
Night Sky Festival: $2,000 contribution + promotional support
---
---
Special Events (financial support: $12,500)
Party at the Plaza / Freedom Plaza Grand Opening: $12,500 contribution + promotional support
---
---
Sports / Fitness (financial support: $2,650)
Vacation Races ½ Marathon: $1,500 contribution + promotional support
Climb Smart: $400 contribution + promotional support
Joshua Tree 55: $750 contribution + promotional support