Personal Impact of Arts and Culture
In what significant way has an experience with arts and culture influenced your life or thinking?
Baltimore is home to thousands of voters who are also artists, theatre, concert, and museum-goers, and creative workers. They care about core civic issues like public safety and education but their votes will also be strongly influenced by candidates’ positions on arts and culture. Citizen Artist Baltimore (CAB), a broad-based, nonpartisan get-out-the-vote coalition, is communicating these voters’ concerns to the candidates, and plans to mobilize thousands of arts supporters ahead of the Primary Election Day. In January, CAB conducted a series of listening sessions and an online survey with hundreds of voters around Baltimore. The questionnaire below is based on the powerful input shared by listening session participants. The responses featured belong to the new mayor, Catherine Pugh (Democrat). Click here to see the answers provided by other candidates.
Click here to learn more about the listening sessions and the top priorities shared by Baltimore’s diverse Citizen Artist.
Arts Education
The Maryland State Board of Education has adopted the goal that 100 percent of Maryland’s students will participate in fine arts programs. While many Maryland schools have excellent arts education programs, this is not the case in high poverty areas of Baltimore City, where programs are often non-existent (a violation of State regulation COMAR 13A,04.16.01). A substantial body of research links arts involvement with improved cognitive development, stronger academic performance, and lower dropout rates.
What will you do to ensure equitable access to consistent education in music, visual arts, as well as theater and dance, taught by qualified professionals in all Baltimore City Public Schools?
Leadership & Decision Making
The arts and culture industry in Baltimore generates $388.2 million in total economic activity, supports 9,505 full-time equivalent jobs, generates $260.4 million in household income to local residents, and delivers $33.9 million in local and state government revenue. (Arts and Economic Prosperity IV/Americans for the Arts 2010)
How will you include a range of artists and arts organizations in setting policy for the arts and culture sector? Will you develop a cultural plan for the arts, and if so, what strategies will it deploy?
Equitable Funding
The Baltimore arts ecosystem is home to a wide array of important organizations – from large to small.
How will you ensure that your annual budget results in stable and equitable funding fairly benefiting communities of color?
Community Vibrancy
Our post-industrial city has many assets that could be utilized to further the work of the cultural community.
What actions will you take to help artists and neighborhood organizations enhance community vibrancy on a block-by-block level? How will you make city-controlled resources, such as under-utilized buildings, available to arts groups? How will you streamline the permitting process for neighborhood arts programming and events?
City Promotion
Even before the April uprising, the narrative of Baltimore was significantly different from that experienced by its residents. In addition to the great work happening in neighborhoods throughout the city, event-related spending by arts and culture attendees totaled $121.9 million in 2010. (Arts and Economic Prosperity IV/Americans for the Arts 2010)
In what ways will you leverage Baltimore’s many arts communities and cultural traditions to improve the image of our city and better market our people, places and events?
Strong Communities and Employment Opportunities
The arts and culture sector provides unique and powerful opportunities for healing, change, and building community. Such resources are critically needed to address Baltimore’s current challenges.
How will you look to partner with the artists and organizations in your administration to create employment opportunities for artists, cultural organizers, and/or cultural groups across Baltimore city government and to address community needs?