Letter to The Editor

ART, CULTURE, AND CREATIVITY MONTH

RICH HEIMANN, Founder and President of The Alliance for San Juan Art, San Juan Capistrano

At their meeting on April 4, the San Juan Capistrano City Council declared April 2023—and every April thereafter—as Arts, Culture, & Creativity Month (ACCM). This proclamation was written to be in synch with a statewide celebration of ACCM, organized to uplift the intrinsic value of arts, culture, and creativity as a public good, and also as a driver of prosperity for the state and local economies. It was first declared by the California Senate in 2019 as a result of advocacy by Californians for the Arts and other art advocates across the state.

The California budget has changed from unprecedented opportunities for funding to a projected $25 billion-and-growing shortfall. Gov. Newsom has proposed that several arts-funded programs be cut a total of $49.5 million from the state budget.

This year, I will represent The Alliance for San Juan Art (TASJA) and join Californians for the Arts and other arts champions who will gather in Sacramento on Arts Advocacy Day in April to celebrate the significant impact that the arts and culture have in California and San Juan Capistrano, but also to advocate for the protection of arts and cultural infrastructure funding and to build for a creative future. While the state budget for the arts has not reached San Juan in a significant way, TASJA will continue to seek grants for art in the public square in San Juan Capistrano.

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