Over the last week, multiple people have said, “I saw you on TV!” (Including a City Councilmember) My celebrity moment was really a coat tails moment as I spoke at San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders’ press conference release of our 2009 Arts and Culture Economic and Community Impact Report. And I know the people that saw it on TV were probably watching City TV – our local version of C-SPAN. Still, the press conference clearly achieved its goal of highlighting the many positive impacts arts and culture has on our region if its presence on TV was getting comment.
San Diego’s mayors have not always trumpeted the arts. In fact, Mayor Sanders claimed he didn’t know much about the arts when he ran for office in 2005. Through a steady effort to engage him on the part of arts and culture organizations and supporters as well as positive media attention during the intervening years, we have a mayor that proudly uses his position to speak of the arts as one of San Diego’s strengths.
All arts advocacy has the potential to achieve strong relationships with policy makers. As opposed to focusing solely on funding or specific issues, in San Deigo we focus our advocacy on a shared belief in the strength and potential for our city. In the arts community we highlight how our work is contributing to that strength and future vitality on a regular basis. The press conference is one of those times when we’re delighted to have our Mayor amplifying the message.
Unfortunately, I can’t embed the video so use this link to watch the latest 10 minutes of arts and culture fame at San Diego City Hall.