The Santa Maria City Council needs to think about the big picture when it comes to the Public Art Master Plan ordinance, rather than the instant gratification of pleasing out-of-town developers.
Besides, public art is more beneficial to developers than they might realize. Public art is free advertising for them. People will post photos of themselves in a space that contains public art, and that in turn will draw other people to that space.
Public art creates landmarks in the community and those spaces. It connects people to those places and creates brand identity specific to where that art is located. If the art is located in or near a shopping mall or a retail neighborhood, then that piece of public art is now associated with that location.
Public art also improves employee and tenant working environments. It can increase leasing interest that will translate into higher rents and more desirable office locations. More public art equals more pedestrians, more foot traffic, more money. It can help in the revitalization of the local economy.
This ordinance also gives developers an opportunity to demonstrate how committed they are to Santa Maria’s residents and the local economy. This ordinance will hire local artists to create public art.
When an artist gets commissioned for a project, they spend money and put it back into the local economy. Hire a sculptor, and that sculptor will buy the clay for the statue, they will hire local models to pose for them if the art is figurative, they will buy the bronze or stone for the finished statue. More than likely the statue will need a base to be perched on and the artist will need to hire contractors and specialists to create that base and have it installed on the site where the artwork will be placed. They will also hire welders to put it all together. They will also need to rent trucks to ship everything.
Hire a muralist, and they will spend money on paints, and supplies from the local hardware store and the art supply store. They will rent out scaffolding or lifts if needed. They will go to print shops to print out templates needed for signage.
There is community value in public art. Public art makes better thinkers, workers and doers when it is around to stimulate the senses. Public art invites you to interpret it, it asks you to judge it, and it allows you to feel something without shame. All of these exercises engage the viewers’ minds to problem solve what they see before them and society and business benefit from that engagement.
People who are challenged by public art tend to make the most significant contributions as employees in fields outside the arts. Public art is also a proven deterrent to involvement in gangs, drugs, and violence. I’m proof of that.
Now let’s talk solutions. I am three years into my return to Santa Maria, and in those three years there have been more gang-related murders than in the entirety of my first 25 years living in Santa Maria before leaving.
It’s been reported that the Mayor’s Task Force on Youth Safety program has been met with criticism, and no major changes have come from it since its inception. This ordinance would be the perfect opportunity to keep the youth active by involving them in public art through a mentorship program. If developers want to contribute to something that will truly last, they should invest in our youth and the Public Arts Master Plan and ordinance. What could be more lasting than investing in the community?
How do I know it will work? Well, I’m a product of art making a difference in the lives of troubled youth. I was raised in the northwest side of Santa Maria, you know, the one everyone now avoids.
Because of public art, I didn’t join a gang or get hooked on drugs, even though those short-term opportunities were constantly in my neighborhood. Because of public art, I stayed indoors drawing and painting, instead of being out on the streets. Whenever I was out on the streets, it was so I could learn how to paint murals while participating in public art-related events. Because of public art, I now paint for a living and contribute in making Santa Maria a better place to live in. What a shame we can’t pass an ordinance to do the same for the rest of our youth.
You know what, let’s compromise.
I’ve noticed that most of these large developments that are being constructed are by developers from outside of Santa Maria. They proudly display billboards that state their companies are from San Luis Obispo. It’s a shame that these developers take our money without contributing to the city, besides leaving their plain and unattractive buildings.
If the mayor and Santa Maria City Council really care about local business, they will at the very least impose the half percent fee on any out-of-town developers. This fee will bring in more revenue to fund the Public Arts Master Plan while helping to level the playing field so that smaller local developers have a chance to bid on large projects.
If developers want to maintain this healthy economy that has benefited them so well, then they must invest in the arts. Santa Maria is growing and changing very quickly, and the developers are the ones that have the most influence on what our city will end up looking like. That is a luxury most of us don’t have. Those luxuries should come with social responsibilities, and I hope the developers see this ordinance fee as an extension of the influence they wield.
Ruben Espinoza is an artist, activist, and Santa Maria native. Send your thoughts to letters@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Oct 26 – Nov 2, 2017.
