The San Francisco Bay Area, California Photograph by Phil Coblentz, courtesy of the Convention and Visitors Bureau San Francisco. hen we left off with the San Other institutions were not as successful, Francisco Bay Area in 1998, it was however. Our 1999 report noted that the Jewish W a region struggling to come to Museum and the Mexican Museum both terms with its success. Like no planned to move to flashy new buildings in other zone in the United States, the Bay Area downtown’s growing Yerba Buena Center arts “The strategies personified the rise and fall of the dot-com econ- district in the near future. Those projects are these artists omy, and the region and its arts scene emerged now languishing. Meanwhile both the San from the 1990s more than a little punch-drunk. Francisco Opera and the San Francisco use remind me The razzle-dazzle of the new economy seduced Symphony finished 2003 with a deficit. And in many; this was especially true at the large arts 2002, San Jose lost its 123-year-old namesake of the strategies institutions that filled their coffers with dot-com symphony to money problems. everyone’s using donations and cash from plentiful ticket sales. The local economy was hard hit. From 2000 Ambitious expansion plans were announced, to 2003, the Bay Area lost 378,000 jobs—a to survive in while inflated rents exiled city artists. decline of 10 percent in its labor force—while Many groups were thus shocked by the harsh between 2001 and 2002, San Francisco shed this economy.” realities of the post-bubble years. Some organiza- population faster than any other large city in the Susan Gerhard tions were able to hold on to the momentum of country. Even so, the city’s residents are firm in arts editor the nineties and complete big-time projects. The their advocacy of the arts. In the shadow of San Francisco Asian Art Museum plumbed a combination of California Gov. Gray Davis’ “total recall” and Bay Guardian city and private support to fashion a gorgeous Arnold Schwarzenegger’s rise, San Francisco new home that opened its doors in 2003; Gae ushered in a new era by electing Gavin Newsom Aulenti’s conversion of the Civic Center’s main mayor to replace Willie Brown. An arts-themed library for the Asian Art Museum made an ardu- mayoral debate in October 2003 attracted a ous eight-year, $160.5 million journey. A city standing-room-only crowd. As Pam Rorke Levy, bond and a $15 million gift from Silicon Valley producer of Spark, a new Bay Area public-televi- businessman Chong-Moon Lee allowed the proj- sion arts show on KQED, notes, “One thing that ect to break through the finish line. And the surprised all the candidates is the kind of people M.H. de Young museum is on track to open a who advocate for the arts. They are vocal, they newly upgraded building in 2005. vote, they have jobs in the city and they pay taxes 98 REPORTING THE ARTS II in the city. Gavin Newsom is on notice in a way that past mayors haven’t been.” Newsom seems to be responding. While campaigning, the mayor-to-be released a policy paper titled “Art for the City, City for the Arts,” pushing the belief that a strong art scene attracts a robust business climate. He called for city enterprise zones, started a cultural-affairs office to market San Francisco’s arts offerings and beefed up the film office to attract business. One of the more important items on Newsom’s arts to-do list is to fight for more fund- ing from the California Arts Council (CAC). The state dropped its contributions from $32 million in 2000-01 to a scant $1 million in 2003-04. Smaller arts organizations such as Los Cenzontles Mexican Arts Center were the most affected. The center reports that it lost 25 per- cent of its budget when the CAC went on a crash diet. On the city level, San Francisco’s Grants for the Arts is having to contend with the decreased tourist trade that fills that fund’s coffers. “There’s more reliance on city support here, so when the economy tanks and the funding goes down, it’s really felt,” says Richard Newirth, director of cul- tural affairs for the San Francisco Arts Commission. To lessen the impact of reduced funds, in May 2004 Newsom announced a con- troversial proposal to cut 25 percent of the Grants for the Arts’ funding for the city’s large institutions like the symphony, ballet and opera in order to create some padding for smaller arts organizations. The Berkeley Repertory Theatre might be said to personify the challenges and triumphs of the Bay Area scene over the past five years. With its two theaters—a 400-seat thrust stage and the 600-seat Roda Theatre—the Rep is the center- San Francisco Chronicle piece of Berkeley’s urban renewal. Its site, on Addison Street, is framed by a freshly poured walk engraved with 123 city-themed poems. Flanking the Roda are an affiliated theater school Likewise, Intersection for the Arts, an alter- and other culture organizations, all of which have native-arts organization and space that is home turned the street into an arts district. Things were to theater, literary readings, visual-arts exhibi- going great for the Rep in the spring of 2001, tions and jazz performances, has actually grown when it cut the ribbon on the Roda. With the since 1999 by cultivating collaborations. It is decline in the economy, though, the Rep was therefore not surprising that Taccone calls those shouldering a $300,000 deficit by 2003. in the trenches of the Bay Area’s arts scene “stal- But Rep Artistic Director Tony Taccone still wart warriors,” and he’s on to something. True sees the bright side for arts organizations in this San Franciscans—not these Web-site-come-late- environment. “It’s made us all clever,” he says, ly types—are hardy. This is a city that survived noting how in 2003 the Rep paired with the the original gold rush, the earthquakes, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival to produce David Summer of Love and the onset of the AIDS epi- Edgar’s sprawling political play Continental demic. Many, such as San Francisco-based novel- Divide. By joining forces, both companies were ist Sylvia Brownrigg, point to the Bay Area’s able to save money by splitting rehearsal time, yeasty literary scene as a sign of the city’s resur- set-design costs and commission fees. gence. Dave Eggers’ encampment with his liter- NATIONAL ARTS JOURNALISM PROGRAM 99 Though hard to quantify, “One thing that ethnic arts in the Bay Area are flourishing. So is the eth- surprised all nic population, especially in outlying areas. “One proof is the candidates the Ethnic Dance Festival, is the kinds of which auditions more than 100 Bay Area groups—some- people who times a lot more—every year for 25 spots,” reports San advocate for the Jose Mercury News dance arts. They are critic Anita Amirrezvani. “The festival runs for three vocal, they vote, weekends. That’s a lot of eth- nic dance for one area.” they have jobs Oakland meanwhile is an in the city and incubator for a nascent underground music scene, they pay taxes with unadvertised warehouse shows that provide a stage in the city. for genre-fusing music. “I’ve Gavin Newsom heard people compare Oakland to Williamsburg, is on notice in Brooklyn,” says SF Weekly music editor Garrett Kamps a way that of the once-unlikely hive of past mayors arts activity outside Man- hattan. Also undeterred is haven’t been.” the visual-arts scene, accord- Pam Rorke Levy ing to Susan Gerhard, an arts producer editor at the alt-weekly San Spark Francisco Bay Guardian. In 2002 the Guardian ran a cover story entitled “The Mission School,” which out- lined the verve of the city’s scrappy Dumpster-diving street artists, who have syn- thesized their passion for the underground languages of rock, hip-hop, skateboarding, San Jose Mercury News graffiti, comic books and political activism into work that’s been getting interna- tional notice. Gerhard sees this community-minded and ary magazine, The Believer, and the Francis Ford collaboratively based movement as a true reflec- Coppola-funded publication Zoetrope, among tion of the state of the city. “The strategies these others, are contributing what Brownrigg calls “a artists use,” she says, “remind me of the strategies great boon” to the scene. everyone’s using to survive in this economy.” By Caryn Brooks 100 REPORTING THE ARTS II A major trend discovered by Reporting the Arts II was the realloca- monitored except for the Contra Costa Times. The Mercury News also tion of arts and culture coverage away from articles toward listings. In increased by one third its volume of listings in its daily arts and all, six of the 15 metropolitan newspapers we tracked simultaneously lifestyles section entitled A&E. Its A&E’s listings were unsurpassed by shrank their newsholes for articles while increasing their newsholes any other newspaper’s A&L section and almost twice the average for listings. None of those other five performed as extreme a transfor- volume. Besides the Mercury News’s editorial listings, 10 percent of mation as what was observed at the San Jose Mercury News. The the A&E section consisted of full-page advertising, a much higher paper’s volume of movie listings almost tripled over the last five years.