Times of San Diego - Opinion: Fostering art and culture must be considered a basic city service
As the City of San Diego weighs devastating cuts to arts and culture funding, local civic leaders Michael Stepner, a longtime Space 4 Art board member, and Mary Lydon are asking a larger question: What kind of city do we want to be?
In their recent Op-Ed, they trace how artists and cultural investment helped shape some of San Diego’s most recognizable neighborhoods— from the Gaslamp Quarter to East Village, North Park, Barrio Logan, and beyond. Their argument is clear: Art is not a luxury. It is a catalyst for community identity, economic reinvestment, public space, and civic life.
“The impact of the arts cannot be commodified on a spreadsheet.”
As an organization forced to downsize in 2017 due to gentrification in a neighborhood it helped define and develop, Space 4 Art has witnessed firsthand both the transformative power of artists and the challenges artists face when cultural investment is not sustained equitably. What path will our city’s leaders choose?
Longtime Space 4 Art Board Member Mike Stepner is a former San Diego city architect and taught at the New School of Architecture and Design.