HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 6505
City of Palo Alto (ID # 6505)
City Council Staff Report
Report Type: Study Session Meeting Date: 2/1/2016
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Summary Title: Study Session on National, State and Local Trends on the
Impact of Arts and Culture
Title: Study Session on National, State and Local Trends on the Impact of Arts
and Culture
From: City Manager
Lead Department: Community Services
Recommendation
This is a study session; no Council action is required.
Discussion
The City of Palo Alto’s support and sponsorship of the arts and culture ensures broad access to
culture in our community. The benefits, however, only begin there. The arts also improve the
City in terms of their impact on education, youth well-being, economic and community
development, and healthcare.
This study session will feature national arts leader, Randy Cohen, of Americans for the Arts, and
Craig Watson, Executive Director of the California Arts Council, for a presentation on national,
state and local trends regarding the impact of the creative sector in every fabric of the
community.
Biographies
Randy Cohen is Vice President of Research and Policy at Americans for the Arts, the
nation's advocacy organization for the arts. A member of the staff since 1991, Randy
stands out as one of the most noted experts in the field of arts funding, research, policy,
and using the arts to address community development issues. He publishes The
National Arts Index, the annual measure of the health and vitality of arts as well as the
two premier economic studies of the arts industry—Arts & Economic Prosperity, the
national impact study of nonprofit arts organizations and their audiences; and Creative
Industries, an annual mapping study of the nation’s 750,000 arts establishments and
their employees. Randy led the development of the National Arts Policy Roundtable, an
annual convening of leaders who focus on the advancement of American culture,
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launched in 2006 in partnership with Robert Redford and the Sundance Institute. In the
late 1990’s, Randy collaborated with the President’s Committee on the Arts and the
Humanities to create Coming Up Taller, the White House report on arts programs for
youth-at-risk; and the U.S. Department of Justice to produce the Youth ARTS Project, the
first national study to statistically document the impact of arts programs on at-risk
youth. A sought after speaker, Randy has given speeches in 49 states, and regularly
appears in the news media—including the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and
on C-SPAN, CNN, CNBC, and NPR.
The mission for the Americans for the Arts is: to serve, advance, and lead the network
of organizations and individuals who cultivate, promote, sustain, and support the arts in
America. Connecting your best ideas and leaders from the arts, communities, and
business, together we can work to ensure that every American has access to the
transformative power of the arts.
Craig Watson is the Executive Director of the California Arts Council, Sacramento, CA,
since 2011. As the director, he is the first in the agency’s history, after an extensive national
search, to be hired directly by the Council rather than by Gubernatorial appointment. He came
to the Council after serving as executive director of the Arts Council for Long Beach. Before that,
he enjoyed a long career in the telecommunications field and held senior executive positions in
Rhode Island, New York, and California. Earlier, his arts career included service at the Sonoma
County Arts Council, Rural Arts Services (Northern California), and Santa Barbara Arts Services.
Watson has experience as a visual artist as well. He studied fine arts at Occidental College,
trained as a sculptor, and worked with renowned artist Christo on Running Fence in Sonoma. He
has served on the board of the Western States Arts Foundation and currently sits on the
governance board for CREATE CA, California's "collective impact" model working to reverse
years of arts education cutbacks in public education. He also was the founding Board Chair of
the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, an international model for community-based arts
learning.
The mission of the California Arts Council is: Advancing California through the arts and
creativity.
Californians thrive from public belief in, and support for creativity and the arts. To that
end, we envision a California where:
the lives of all Californians are enriched by access to and participation in a diverse
spectrum of artists and arts and cultural experiences;
the arts are woven into the fabric of daily life—promoting civic engagement,
encouraging collective problem solving and building bridges across cultures;
the arts enjoy strong, sustained public support;
the arts ecosystem reflects contributions from all of California’s diverse populations;
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our students are provided with quality arts education so that they can reach their
full potential, including advanced education;
streets, neighborhoods, and communities are revitalized, enriched and enlivened by
art and culture;
creative industries are recognized as crucial to the economy;
public and private resources for the arts increase and are sustained to more
effectively serve the people of California;
Californians’ artistic contributions mark the long-term legacy of the state;
the California Arts Council is recognized as an innovative and cutting-edge agency
and known as a regional leader among state arts agencies for its exemplary work on
behalf of all Californians; and
the California Arts Council is a source for policy development and builds a strong
foundation for the arts in our state.