♪♪ Scott: It has been observed that a city's essence reveals itself through its arts and culture.

Sacramento's Creative Edge arts and cultural plan is elevating longstanding conversations on the role of the arts in education and in our communities.

Joining us today are Sacramento's cultural and creative economy manager, Megan Van Voorhis, and Allison Cagley of Friends of Sacramento Arts.

Megan, what is the importance of the arts to a city and its identity?

Megan: Thanks, Scott, for having me.

Um, that's a great question.

To be honest, my experience in working in the arts over 20 years, and actually growing up as an arts kid, um, in Flint, Michigan, is that it's really-— It is the expression of the culture of a people.

It is the expression of a place's identity in a unique way, and has a lot, really, to contribute to everyone's individual and community development.

So, we see it, um, in terms of how people are able to deal with mental health issues, how they're able to embrace and engage with other people.

Um, and then we see it economically, in terms of, uh, how people learn those skills of prototyping and iterating at a very early stage, that then translate into almost every aspect of life.

So, it's really, critically important to a region's growth and development.

Scott: Allison, you have been in this community and a leader in the arts world within this region for decades.

How would you describe the heartbeat of the role that arts plays within the Sacramento region?

Allison: Well, you know, Sacramento, even though it's, you know, it's grown quite a bit, it still has that small town feel.

And when you come together, whether it's, uh, a performance of a live performance, or you're in a gallery, or you're out enjoying an arts experience outside, it's a sense of community and family that you're joining together in a joyful, unifying experience.

And it also brings together the diversity of our cultures in our region.

So, Sacramento is one of the most diverse cities in the country, um, that it also can celebrate that diversity of cultural expression.

Scott: Uh, I-— When you talk about the joy that arts brings, and it knitting together the community, I...

I go back to something that Megan said a few moments ago about the role of the arts and and all of the different dimensions that it touches.

There's another conversation that goes on about competing priorities.

Our community has issues related to things like housing, homelessness, income inequality, access to healthcare, all of that... that type of stuff.

What is it that makes the arts and culture important enough to demand our attention, when we're talking about the allocation of resources, when we've got all of these other important priorities, as well?

Allison: So, I will toss that to Megan because I know that she's worked a lot with the various areas of the city's budget and the priorities.

So, go ahead Megan.

Megan: I'm happy to answer that.

Uh, you know, a lot of times, we see, or people... people like to see the arts as sort of an ancillary thing.

It's the thing that we do when all other needs are met.

Um, but there's a... there's a huge body of research that really talks about the role, touching on so many different things.

So, take an issue like homelessness and the social isolation that comes with that, the mental health issues that come with that, the trauma that people experience.

Um, there's good data out there that really talks about how the arts engages a certain part of the brain that allows you to overcome some of those things that you've experienced.

Um, we know that, um, social isolation is one of the contributing factors, um, to early death among people of color.

And so, you know, when you think about something like that, and then you weave in the... the important role that the arts can play, relative to resolving some of those issues and concerns-— about when we come together, we feel less isolated, when we have an opportunity to over... overcome those issues, and get around a block-— that some arts therapists would say, "The bridge is out," sometimes.

And the arts create that opportunity for us to create a new bridge in a place that didn't exist anymore.

And so, you know, and you think about that, and then you think about every issue, as a community, that we're trying to address.

You're then positioning the arts as a centerpiece and, also, as a partner, in beginning to address those issues.

If we want good opportunities for people, in terms of job opportunities, the skills that we're building with youth, um, and with everyone, frankly, when they engage in the arts, is their ability to have all of those skills that... that employers are really looking for.

Right?

They're looking for creativity.

They want people to be able to work, and have empathy, with others.

Those skills are established by engagement in the arts.

And so, I think that's my big message to everyone is that it's time for us to stop thinking about the arts as being on the periphery, but what happens when we really think about these are the issues that we're trying to solve and what is the unique contribution that the arts can make to solving that issue?

That's why I believe good investments in the arts are important.

Scott: Well, when we talk about investments, one of the places that, at least, as someone who has lived in Sacramento since I was a... a small boy, that I'm not aware of is a consistent investment with regards to arts education, Allison.

Allison: Yes.

Scott: And when I was a child, I not only learned how to play the violin, the cello, and the bass at a City of Sacramento public school, or Sacramento City Unified School District public school, but they actually gave me the instruments.

I had to return them, of course.

But, post-Prop 13, you know, I...

I don't hear much about arts education as a really core component of our educational system, but maybe that's a wrong impression.

Where do we stand?

Allison: Well, yes, the-— Since Prop 13, the arts have been decimated in education.

And a-— an example of that-— I...

I grew up in Sacramento, as well, and went to a San Juan Unified School District high school.

And when I was in high school, we had full-time choir teacher, full-time drama, full-time band.

In nine years, when my sister went to high school, the choir teacher was now a part-time math teacher, just in, you know-— And... and then... then, it was completely eliminated.

And, you know, you and I both, you know, growing up in Sacramento, it started in, you know, elementary school, which is the most important starting point because you create that hunger and that desire and that engagement at the younger ages.

So, as they go through middle and high school, both they and their families demand and want a sta-— you know, sta-— um, consistent arts education program.

And so, it... it's-— Less than 20% of our 240,000 K-12 public school children in Sacramento County are receiving any kind of arts education.

And it's even worse when you're thinking about the underserved and the Title 1 schools that don't have that extra resources.

So-— And it's a systemic change that's needed, not just, you know, ha-— go to a field trip and you can check off the box and say you've fulfilled your requirement, but it needs to be as important as all the other curricular areas.

Scott: Richard Florida, who's written extensively on the creative economy, and how creative economies, and the skills that come with people being creative, are going to be the skills that are in high demand as our economy continues to evolve, and we want to remain competitive with the rest of the world.

Where is it that-— What is it that our kids are missing out on, based on the environment of absence of arts that we have in our schools locally, today?

Allison: Well, I often say that not every kid can be an athlete or a mathlete, and that the arts-— if the arts connect them with each other and in confidence building, then that's going to translate into how the... the grades are improved, how their attendance improves, how they're, um, they're more likely to attend school on a regular basis and... and not have a, uh, suspension, or attendance problems.

And then, it will carry forth into the economy because, more and more-— as Megan mentioned, more and more businesses are looking for problem-solving, creativity, and team building.

And so, you think about, with choir, and bands, and theater, that also creates that sense of working together for a common goal.

Scott: Megan, this seems so simple.

And if so many people-— As a matter of fact, in your report from 2017, it says that there is broad agreement on the needs for increased arts education.

And we're connecting it up in this conversation to how it affects us, not just in terms of our own growth, but in terms of its connection to the broader economy.

If this is such a no-brainer, why haven't we done anything about this?

Megan: I think a lot of reasons.

There are a lot of pressures on schools to perform in a lot of different areas.

And measurement, I think, is a big piece of the puzzle.

Um, you know, in... in the experience that I've had in terms of advocating and talking with folks, so much of this is really about understanding what schools are trying to achieve, and helping them translate what we do, relative to that.

Um, you know, as I said before, you know, sometimes they just see it as an add-on, not as a fundamental way in which people can actually translate information.

When you think about arts integration, when you think about a teacher that's actively integrating the arts into what they're doing, the way in which a student, then, can maybe interpret science-based information that they might not have, you know, clicked with immediately when it was... was transferred another way, um, I think some of this is lost in translation, and a lot of pressure.

And, I think, we just-— we need to do a better job of, really-— You know, whenever you want change, you need some... you need some help.

Right?

You need... you need the folks You need a champion on the internal side of things.

You need the folks on the outside to say, "This is really important," and you need a sense of urgency around it.

And Ithink, particularly, when you look at today, and the two years of schooling that we've had-— right?

alongside a lot of other long-standing pressures, particularly for... for urban schools, you know, in terms of the access to resources they have, we have to ask a question about how we are going to, you know, kind of come together at this point and say, "What do you need?"

You know, they've been living in iso-— many of them, for a long time, living in isolation, you know, some of them not having good access.

If we want good SEL skills, we want them to be able to establish those, this is one of the ways to do it and bring folks back together.

So, good messaging, good information, good urgency, um, and good data, frankly.

And that's one of the things that we've been working on, as a team, is, really, to get a picture of what actually is going on out there, so that we can say, "Who is being served, and who isn't being served by programs?

How is the arts interfacing?

What's being provided by the schools?"

so that we, as a community, can make good decisions about where our resources need to go.

Scott: Allison, what is the community doing about this?

Uh, wha... what's going on to create some change?

Allison: So, there's several things.

So, um, we are part of the consortium.

So, Friends of Sacramento Arts, along with the Sacramento County Office of Education and Sacramento City's Office of Arts and Culture, are working together in bringing that culture plan goal of restoring arts education for K-12.

And so, a couple things that we're doing-— We're working with a program called "“Artlook,"” that is a national program that started in Chicago, um, about 10 years ago, and it is measuring and gathering the data, both at a district level-— uh, and we have 14 different school districts in Sacramento County so, that's a lot of different bodies to... to work with.

So, we're collecting that data at the district level and at the individual school level, so we can have a baseline.

And then, we're going to be advocating with those 14 school districts and their stakeholders and their boards, and then also building a creative fund-— schools fund that will allow us to provide funding to schools for arts education programs.

Scott: Where's the money gonna come from?

Allison: Well, philanthropy.

That's, uh-— Part of it is philanthropy and grants.

Uh, the city is, um, seeding some of that fund for the beginning of it.

We, also, in terms of the advocacy, the Creative Schools Fund is not the be-all-end-all of funding.

So, that's where the advocacy comes in, to educate and inform the school boards to fund it from the district level, as well.

Scott: Well, I was just about to ask about that because, as a taxpayer, we are all paying for our schools.

I think it's wonderful that philanthropy and... and private donations are stepping up, but if we're already paying taxes for this stuff, how come some of the money we're already paying isn't going to bring us back to, I mean, 1976 levels?

Allison: Right.

Right.

Well, and again, it's... it's the allocation of resources with the budgets.

And, of course, since Prop 13, that's really changed the landscape of how schools are forming their budgeting.

What's interesting is the schools are not necessarily embracing-— The California Department of Education, years ago, put together a mandate of what the-— needs to be provided for arts education at ave-— every grade level.

It's a requirement, but it's not a mandate, which means it can be on the chopping block.

So, when schools are looking-— Scott: Wait... wait... wait a minute.... wait a minute.

Allison: Sure.

Scott: You... you... you're going to have to translate that for me.

Allison: Sure.

Scott: It's a requirement, but not a mandate.

Aren't those words kind of the same?

Allison: Well, in... in the education community, they're not necessarily.

So, a contrast with that is that physical education is a requirement from CDE-— from California Department of Education-— and a mandate, which means it can't be as easily put on the chopping block.

When it's a requirement and not a mandate, then it's a little fuzzier in terms of how they keep it in the budget.

So, part of our advocacy is how do we educate the school boards and their stakeholders to relook at their budgets?

And how does arts education answer their problems?

-—whether it's... it's suspensions, it's dropout rates, it's grade issues, because, again, it's looking at the statistics of... of success.

Scott: Megan, I want to connect this to the greater, uh, creative and cultural economy.

If we are not investing in our young people from the beginning of their educational journey, all the way up, where do the new artists and where do the new patrons come from, ultimately?

Megan: It's a... it's a great question.

I mean, I think that that's a-— I mean, one of the things that I will say is I...

I do think that the engagement in the arts, in terms of personal human development-— right?

Like, a lot of times-— There was a period of time when we were looking at arts... arts organiza-— arts education, and really looking at those are the audiences of tomorrow, and that's absolutely true.

But these are the human beings of tomorrow that we're creating, and by engaging in the arts, we are creating people that are much more concerned with their communities, that are engaged, that can bring them together, that can contribute in all of these ways.

That's what's at stake here.

Right?

You know, I was talking about prototyping and iterating.

When you are in the arts-— right?

-— So, we're talking-— In... in Sacramento, we're talking about diversifying the economy.

Right?

We're talking about getting-— You know, we know how it's... how it's constructed.

Now, how do we build those new businesses of tomorrow?

Well, the ideas for those businesses come from the process of prototyping and iterating.

And that's one of the things that we do very well in the arts.

Right?

If you'’re... if you're writing a poem, if you are drawing a piece of work, if you are making music, you're creating your own music, you're doing that.

And you're evaluating it.

And so, that's becoming natural, in terms of the way that you... the way that you work.

That is... that is so critical for us, as we hope to advance as, you know, an economic body here, beyond our traditional forms.

And I think that-— It's... it's really-— It's-— Yes, it has to be foundational.

We're going to get it-— Right now, it has to come from outside of the school.

That's how they're getting it.

And I guess one of my concerns is if we're not-— if that's not equitable, if you don't have easy access to the arts in your neighborhoods either, and you don't have it in schools, the long run impact could be pretty problematic for us.

Scott: It just seems astounding to me that these connections have not already taken place, and we're having this conversation.

Uh, recently, I was reading Walter Isas-— Isaacson's book on Steve Jobs, and the whole look and feel of the Macintosh, and, sort of, the transformation that all of those products from Apple came from... came from Steve Jobs, in part, learning calligraphy and being involved in very non, uh, tech related creative activities, that inspired the creation of things that we rely on and... and just think of as, you know, part of our environment, every single day.

It just really shocks me.

I want to turn the conversation, though, to another area.

Megan, how does Sacramento compare to other cities of comparable size-— you... you just-— you came here from Cleveland-— regarding its offerings, and the... the... the range of offerings that we have in the arts for-— and culture in our community?

Megan: Yeah, it's... it's different.

You know, I came from-— In, I guess, some contexts, you know, Cleveland is a place just like-— much like many in the industrial Midwest.

Um, much of the arts and cultural asset base was developed coming right out of that industrial revolution.

All of the big... the big players, the big money, the philanthropy that exists there, all wanted to have what they saw on the East-— you know, on the East Coast, et cetera.

And so, they built those assets there.

What happened as our economy shifted was, then, we were faced with how do we maintain those assets?

Right?

Like, how do we... how do we preserve and protect them?

What's interesting-— So... so, you have, like, a hundred-plus years of investment, you know, placed in some of those cities, um, whether it's Detroit, whether it's Indiana, you know, like-— And... and I'm-— I was a Midwest girl.

It's where I grew up.

So, that's what I saw.

And in some other places-— You know, you've got Sacramento where, you know, I understand, I'm be-— uh, being new to Sacramento, this is a city that's changed dramatically in the last 20 years.

And so, it's at a different stage of its development, and building what's new.

For me, I find that very exciting, given a lot of the conversations we're having around race and equity in the arts, um, and the opportunity that, in a... in a... a city that is evolving in the way that it is, that we have to build an arts and cultural sector that looks, like, more like the people in the community.

And, um, that was a conversation that we were having in Cleveland.

I think there's a really significant opportunity for that in Sacramento.

And that's what... that's what excited me and, frankly, that's what drew me here is how we help serve and support that group.

Scott: Allison, there's always been a assumption in Sacramento that you have the few major arts organizations who attract the most attention, receive the most funding, and have the greatest prominence within the community.

Given the conversation that we've been having for the past few minutes, how is it that we, in addition to education, project out more opportunities for arts into more areas, neighborhoods, communities-— however you define those-— so that everyone can participate in enjoying the... the... the creative expression that takes place all throughout this region?

Allison: Well, one of the aspects that our consortium is also focusing on is how to bring up some of those artists that are from a lot of different-— individual teaching artists that represent a lot of different cultural expressions, and providing training and professional development for them so that they can not only, economically, be self-supporting and successful, but also be able to come into the schools and be a part of that teaching program.

So, we would have artists and residents coming into the schools to provide that enrichment, that the artists then look like the children that they are teaching.

And so, it's... it's not just about the big organizations coming in and doing something, but it's... it's all sizes of arts and culture and all different expressions-— whether it's spoken word, or dance, uh, instrumental, choir, um, dancing of different cultural amenities-— so, um-— to really provide that training and that professional development for those teaching artists.

Megan: And Scott, if I can, I'd like to add to that.

I do think that, um, you know, because of where Cleveland was-— and we had a very robust community development field.

I spent about a decade working with those folks.

Those were the folks that were the organizers in the neighborhoods that were coming together, that they were building and developing, you know, what those specific districts were going to look like.

And what I learned from talking with those organizers is so much about this-— the idea of an asset-based approach to community development.

A lot of times, we look at it and we say, "This is what we don't have.

We don't have this, compared to Cleveland.

We don't have this, compared to Chicago.

We don't have this, compared to L.A." And, you know, the-— What we really need to do is say, "Well, what... what, really, do we have?

What is deep embedded in these communities that really isn't necessarily having the support that it maybe deserves?"

And that's actually one of the things that I'm really excited about as we move forward into... into next year, is beginning to look at how we very-— support that grassroots arts and cultural activity that is an expression-— It's... it's the people that are playing music in the neighborhoods, you know, in... in Del Paso.

You know, it's... it's-— There's so much to it.

It's the culture and flavor along Stockton Boulevard.

Those are the kinds of things where, you know, when we create the resources and the opportunity and to connect to those folks, that flavor of this city will come to life.

Scott: It's interesting you raise that about, you know, playing along Stockton Boulevard and all that community stuff, because there is a notion among some that arts and culture is an elitist activity that, uh, is exclusive.

And what you're describing sounds exactly the opposite of that.

How is it that we better need to communicate that message, so that people understand that arts is for them in their communities?

Megan: I think, um, validating the art that is their communities, to be honest.

I think that-— and creating opportunities for them to elevate that.

I mean, we know-— I-— You know, in... in the last few months, I've had an opportunity to discuss-— or, to talk with many people from the Latino community here, people from, you know, the Royal Chicano Air Force.

It's such a rooted thing, here in Sacramento, and, I mean, an expression of a culture that is so unique to place.

And, I think, it's validation of that.

I think those are the things that we need to... we need to look for.

Um, they... they are there, and, um, we just need to acknowledge and validate that.

It's not creating something for, it's really elevating and supporting what is.

And that's... that's what I hope, with our team, to begin to just, um, put front and center in our work.

There's a lot of that activity here, Scott.

All we need to do is just elevate it.

Scott: Right.

And Allison, in our final moments, uh, I want to ask you-— You've been on the scene for a very long time and participated in a lot, uh, of arts and cultural-related activities, speak to all of us in the community and tell us what role can each one of us play in helping to support a more vibrant and healthy arts and cultural community within our region?

Allison: Well, when we first start with a K-12 education, I'd say whether or not you currently have children in school or not, it's get involved.

It's find out from your local school districts what they're doing for arts education.

You can find out what does their budget look like?

It's getting up and speaking and making it a priority with those school district stakeholders.

The other part is to support the arts and... and when you see things happening in your neighborhood, go out and support it.

Go to the theater.

Go to the galleries.

Um, they've been having some mural experiences recently in neighborhoods.

Get involved with that and bring your children and grandchildren to experience that, as, uh, a sense of community and celebration of diversity.

But it's also being-— Scott: And I think we're gonna-— Allison: Go ahead.

Scott: I think we're gonna have to leave it there, Allison.

Allison: Okay.

Scott: But thank you.

That's good advice.

Allison: All right.

Thank you.

Thank you very much, Scott.

Scott: And that's our show.

Thanks to our guests, and thanks to you for watching Studio Sacramento.

I'm Scott Syphax.

See you next time right here on KVIE.

♪♪ ♪♪ Scott Syphax: All episodes of Studio Sacramento, along with other KVIE programs, are available to watch online at kvie.org/video.