Stop Driving
Save Oakland Arts… Strategy Meeting Tonight!
SAVE OAKLAND ARTS NOW! Stop the 50% Arts Cut!
Strategy & Info Meeting, Tuesday, March 30, 6:30 pm at Pro Arts, 150 Frank H Ogawa Plaza at Oakland Art Gallery
Learn about public comment at Council, sign-up for a speaker card, review talking points, and get your message to Oakland’s City Council!
A message from the Oakland Cultural Trust:
The Council needs to hear from us again! The community prevailed when we raised our voices against similar cuts in October 2008. WE CAN DO IT AGAIN!
The Oakland City Council considers a 50% Cut to Oakland Arts at a special budget session on Thursday, April 1, 2010, 7pm. This is one move closer towards the elimination of the Cultural Funding Program, the long-established, competitive City program to provide arts and cultural services with attendance over 1.4 million.
3 STEP CALL TO ACTION:
1. Get the Word Out! FORWARD this alert to constituents, colleagues, students, friends, families, neighbors, friends-of-friends– or Share Arts Action Facebook Alert
2. CALL, EMAIL or WRITE your Council Member NOW! You can make the difference- Cut & Paste sample text or write your own message (See Sample below); Remain Positive and Respectful in your communications. We need the Council’s support!
3. Be There April 1 at 7 pm! TAKE ACTION & MAKE A DIFFERENCE during the special City Council BUDGET MEETING at City Hall, Sign-up for speaker cards at the meeting or in advance online -Agenda Item tba.
What’s at Stake: The City Council faces an unprecedented budget challenge. The additional proposed 50% cut to the Arts 1) is disproportionate to other City program cuts, 2) stands to cripple the arts sector, and 3) significantly reduces City tax revenues. Oakland is currently 13th in the nation for Arts Businesses per capita.
For every $1 the City invests in arts and culture, the City gets back $4 in fees, licenses and taxes. Nonprofit Arts in Oakland generate over $103 million in total gross annual economic activity and provide more than 5,000 jobs. The proposed cut means less revenue, more arts organizations closing their doors, loss of jobs and irreversible damage to the sector’s infrastructure. The Arts are a means of economic investment and renewal for Oakland! STOP THE 50% ARTS CUT!
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Supporting Documentation & Resources:
A. SAMPLE Letter/Email:
Dear Council Member ________________,
Oakland Arts are the means to Oakland’s economic renewal and are fundamental to our quality of life. It has come to my attention that the City Council is considering a disastrous and disproportionate 50% cut to the Cultural Funding Program.
As a concerned citizen, I understand that difficult choices need to be made to ensure that essential services and infrastructure remain in place. I also understand that there are no easy solutions to our budget crisis. However, I believe a disproportionate cut to the arts exacerbates the crisis, cripples Oakland’s nationally ranked arts sector, and undermines our economic competitiveness, the compassion within our communities, and our investment in our future. I call upon you to mitigate the Arts cuts through a lens of equity and proportionality. Thank you for your leadership in investing in a better Oakland.
Sincerely,
B. Council Contacts:
District 1, Jane Brunner, jbrunner@oaklandnet.com, (510) 238-7001;
District 2, Pat Kernighan,pkernighan@oaklandnet.com, (510) 238-7002;
District 3, Nancy Nadel, nnadel@oaklandnet.com, (510) 238-7003;
District 4, Jean Quan, jquan@oaklandnet.com, (510) 238-7004;
District 5, Ignacio de la Fuente. idelafuente@oaklandnet.com, (510) 238-7005;
District 6, Desley Brooks, dbrooks@oaklandnet.com, (510) 238-7006;
District 7, Larry Reid, lreid@oaklandnet.com, (510) 238-7007
At-Large, Rebecca Kaplan, rkaplan@oaklandnet.com, (510) 238-7008
Not sure who your council member is? Click here to find out: http://gismaps.oaklandnet.com/councils/
C. Key Talking Points – Nonprofit Arts in Oakland:
- 13th in the nation for Arts Businesses per capita.
- Generates over $103 million in economic activity
- Provides more than 5,000 jobs.
- Produces more than $ 4 million in revenue to local government
- Arts funding is a Low Cost Investment with High Economic and Cultural Return
- Arts are a means of community and cultural development
- Art serves public safety, violence prevention and saves lives
- Arts education contributes to academic success and increased skill development for youth
- Art generates revenue; If the arts decline then other businesses decline in a ripple effect.
- Oakland benefits from one of the largest artist populations in the country
- Art Cuts = Bad press for the City and undermine national and regional marketing campaigns
Additional Resources and References available online: http://www.proartsgallery.org/oaklandCulturalTrust/artsAction20100401.php
Community Organizing is our best option for ensuring the survival and sustainability of Oakland Arts. Please forward this email to friends, colleagues and mailing lists; the arts have strength in numbers.
Thank you for your support,
Margo
Chair, Oakland Cultural Trust
Mission: The Oakland Cultural Trust advocates for a vibrant, safe and sustainable Oakland by policies and action that support and nurture the vitality of Oakland artists and cultural organizations. More Info: http://proartsgallery.org/oaklandCulturalTrust
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Margo Dunlap
Executive Director
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Pro Arts
New Gallery Location- 150 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Oakland CA 94612 (at Oakland Art Gallery)
510.763.4361
F510.763.9470
margo@proartsgallery.org
http://www.proartsgallery.org
Running Festival Recap
So did you check it out?!?
Hopefully you did because it was a lot of fun, and I have to say I’m feeling pretty blissed out on Oakland right now.
A ton of beautiful people were out… it was a picture perfect day with our typically warmer-and-sunnier-than-San-Fran-weather… and spirits were high! It’s hard to really recap the experience in words, so I’ll just share a few pictures and videos from the weekend…
Saturday was the Twilight 5k at Lake Merritt kickoff event. Here are a few pics… (more on Flickr).
I also put together a short video with folks talking about why they decided to participate…
Here are a few photos from the Marathon and Half-Marathon finishes on Sunday morning… (more on Flickr).
And one more video interview with a half-marathon participant…
Oakland Running Festival!
Did you know there’s a marathon in Oakland this weekend?!? It seems like big news, as this is the first marathon being held in our city in over 25 years, but I’m surprised by how many people have no idea this is happening.
So here’s a little plug for what is surely to be an amazing event…
Oakland Running Festival
There was a great article in the East Bay Express about this history of this event (and other marathons) called Can Oakland Go the Distance? by Dan Schoenholz.
Some highlights…
“Long time Oakland runners and race organizers… see the Oakland Running Festival as an opportunity to promote both Oakland and running, and as a way to unify a community that is often divided by racial, economic, and geographic differences. Marathons are big events in many cities – New York and Boston, famously, but also Baltimore, Cincinnati, Houston, and countless others – and serve as a source of civic pride and unity. Why not Oakland?”
The festival is based on a more modern, all-inclusive model, not just for hardcore athletes, but one in which a variety of races are provided so that folks can participate at any level they choose. It’s designed to be runner-friendly, walker-friendly, family-friendly, and most definitely, celebratory. There’s the marathon (26 miles!), half-marathon, a 5k, a kids fun run (two age categories & distances), and a four-person relay.
Strikingly different from the marathon course run in 1981 which was fast, flat, and through heavy industrial areas, this year’s course is designed to be scenic and show people what “Oakland has to offer.” The course starts at City Hall… the first high-rise government building in the U.S. and the tallest building West of the Mississippi at the time it was built. Runners then progress through the newly redeveloped Uptown section through to Temescal, and Rockridge. Then the route parallels the BART tracks heading up Keith & Broadway to Lake Temescal Park, and continues through the lovely hills of Montclair before entering the Dimond District to head back down towards the flats. Runners will then head down Fruitvale Avenue into the melting-pot district of Fruitvale, and continue along International Boulevard through the Arts district of Jingletown, and on to Jack London Square. Tired yet? There’s still much more. After Jack London, runners will pass the West Oakland BART station and through West Oakland, rich with African-American history. Then they’ll make their way up the lovely redeveloped greenway of the Mandela Parkway, just up to the border of Emeryville, where they’ll hang a right and head through my neighborhood of Ghosttown. This is so cool! They’re almost in the home stretch. Then on to 27th Street to hit Lake Merritt and make their way almost the full circumference around, branching off at 19th street to head back to City Hall… the finish line!
Here’s a link to the marathon map, and another link for the half-marathon map.
Here’s the schedule of various events:
- Saturday 6:00pm – Kick Off Party at Lake Merritt
- Saturday 6:30pm – Twilight 5K at Lake Merritt (starts at Lakeview Branch Library)
- Saturday 8:00pm – Twilight 5K Awards Ceremony
- Saturday 6 – 9pm – Celebration Village at Frank Ogawa Plaza (live music, merchandise, food & drinks, etc.)
- Sunday 7:15am – Opening Remarks and National Anthem at City Hall
- Sunday 7:30am – Marathon and Team Relay Races Start (14th & Broadway)
- Sunday 8:30am – Kids Fun Run Starts (Frank Ogawa Plaza)
- Sunday 9:00am – Half Marathon Start (14th & Broadway)
- Sunday 12:00pm – Awards Ceremonies (Frank Ogawa Plaza)
- Sunday 9 – 3pm – Celebration Village at Frank Ogawa Plaza (live music, merchandise, food & drinks, etc.)
I know I’ll be out both days. While picking up my Press Pass this morning I nearly bumped into the Mayor, the downtown unbelievably abuzz with activity. This weekend is a great moment to show the world what a beautiful and vibrant city Oakland truly is.
Please come out to support the runners and support our city!
City Hall - the starting point & finish line for the marathon & half-marathon
More reading…
Oakland Marathon a step in the right direction by Chip Johnson
Oakland marathon builds steam with charity donations by Sean Maher
Oaktown Art | Oakland Art, Public Art, Murals, Graffiti, Culture, Oakland 