Art for Whose Sake? : MAYOR: Questions and Answers : Mayor Answers Questions on Soviet Arts Festival

Beginning Sept. 6, The Times made many requests for an interview with Mayor Maureen O’Connor to discuss her proposed Soviet Arts Festival. Paul Downey, the mayor’s press secretary, said she would grant the interview, but as each day passed she “was too busy.” An appointment for a face-to-face interview Thursday morning was canceled; instead, she agreed to a 10-minute telephone interview. It grew to 20. The following includes the questions that were asked by Times San Diego County Edition arts writer Hilliard Harper.

Question: Many of the arts people we’ve talked with have said that your Old Globe announcement about the festival took them by surprise, and that they haven’t been contacted yet. Did you attempt to talk to arts people before committing yourself to a festival?

Answer: Absolutely. The arts people knew about the festival prior to the State of the City Address. That’s why I had it at the Old Globe. During the process of coming up with the State of the City speech, I let the leading people know.

Q: Has your staff consulted with arts organizers from other cities?

A: I met with Sarah Caldwell in Boston. They had a similar experience. Talked with the organizers of the Seattle festival on the plane coming back from the Soviet Union.

Q: You’re on the record with the (Faberge) eggs, icons, opera and puppet show. Do you have any other specific events or artists committed, contingent on getting the festival funded, from the Soviets?

A: There are the amateur folk dancers (who are) 5-12 year olds, a muralist from Tbilisi. We’re committed to doing a film and photographic exhibit. It’s a matter of getting the experts together to decide specifics.

Q: We’ve been told by organizers and the USIA that major performance attractions are only available through consortiums and Russian impresarios and that they are booked long beyond your time frame. How do you expect to get them?

A: Through the (Soviet Ministry of Culture). Ian Campbell needed an opera singer who was already booked. The ministry got him for him. We’re not going to get 100% of what we want.

Q: A couple of council members have said they will want assurance that no tax money will end up in Russian hands. Do you intend to pay the Russian artists, and cover their expenses, or have Soviets suggested they will pay their own way?

A: This is the first of many festivals. First of all, none of this is local taxpayers’ money. It’s tourist tax, taxed on hotels in this town. What we’re going to do with the city’s money is take the $3 million we have and raise another $3 million from other sources. The bulk of the money goes to hotel and accommodations and per diem for the performers in San Diego. There will be 340 people in the opera. We’ll be hiring locals. Well over 60% of that will go to locals, and I don’t include the transportation cost in that 60%.

Q: Where do you stand on your search for a festival director and what experience are you looking for?

A: First, we have to get a festival. That’s Monday (when the city council votes on the funding). This is the first San Diego Festival, and we’ll have many more. Sarah Caldwell’s was a one-woman show. I see (the director position) as more of a coordinator. A lot of institutions here have their own ideas.

Q: There is an almost across-the-board feeling among arts leaders that to criticize the festival risks their share of city arts money. One person said there was almost an implied covenant that members support the festival to be on the committee. How do you respond to this?

A: No. I think that is an unfortunate statement. We asked everyone if they supported the festival. It did not make a difference in my appointees. They were picked for their talent and ability. I think (the accusation that critics may have their funding cut) may be a little bit unfounded. But, if you look at funding, the proof is in the pudding. The arts received $1 million more this year, plus $800,000 (due to the increase in the transient occupancy tax). This is a collaboration between two superpowers to create understanding. To throw obstacles in the way, sure, there will be hurdles. The bottom line is that the arts community . . . has won.

Q: You said when you returned from Russia that San Diego “was in competition with Seattle, the Smithsonian, New York, and we won. For once, San Diego is first.” What did you mean by that? One person expressed concern that we were leaping into something prematurely simply to win a race.

A: Oh, no. It was exciting for us that for once we were first. It’s the first time we’ve had an international festival where we had the first-time showing in this country, whether it’s icons, the Faberge eggs or the Tbilisi Marionettes Theatre.

Q: Boston attempted something similar last year, putting together a major festival with a similar budget and with a time frame almost identical to yours, and it ran into trouble. Are you concerned about a downside to the city, or to your career?

A: There’s always risk. We haven’t got the vote out of the City Council, and we’ve already raised more money than Boston did in the year it had. There’s Mrs. Kroc’s donation and others not yet announced. It’s in the bank.

Q: You said you want the best Soviet arts festival possible for San Diego. Critics of the festival point out that it has been pre-censored, that the Soviets determine what you can choose from, and that means no dissident or avant-garde art. Two people mentioned that the name itself is a misnomer, that the things you’ve announced are pre-Soviet,

A: We selected what we wanted. They didn’t tell us. As far as contemporary art, that hasn’t been resolved yet. What we have is enough right now to make a successful festival. The opera is pre-revolution certainly, but the performers are not. The icons and Faberge eggs, yes. The visual and performing arts and the film will not be, and there’s a mix of everything. There will be jazz.

Q: You’ve got $1 million from Joan Kroc. You’re asking for $3 million in TOT money. You’ve also talked of matching funds. Where would that money come from and how much do you ultimately see this festival costing?

A: I’m not at liberty to divulge that. We’re talking to major foundations and we’re in the preliminary discussions with the Port, and we’re talking with private individuals.

Q: Almost all of the leaders of the small- to medium-sized arts organizations say the money could be better spent locally. They are concerned that money you get from individual and corporate donors will siphon away funds that might have gone to them. They say they’re afraid a failed festival will reflect badly on all the arts here. And they are upset that no one has talked to them about any of this. What do you tell them?

A: If everybody is concerned about failure, then they should get behind it. The smaller groups got a bigger piece of the pie this year. If they have national and international programs, then they should put them forward, and the city council will listen.

Q: What happens if the council doesn’t approve the $3 million?

A: I’ll write a nice little note to the Soviets and thank them for their cooperation. But San Diego is not a corporate town. It’s difficult to sponsor these events without public and private sponsorship.

Q: There are rumors that the icon and egg exhibits have been pulled from the San Diego Museum of Art because of things the museum director said to the press. Is that so?

A: I haven’t decided where anything is going yet.

Q: The San Diego Museum of Art is the only logical place to display the icons or the eggs in terms of a controlled environment and security, according to the director of the La Jolla Museum (of Contemporary Art). Will they be exhibited there?

A: Frankly, it’s a large-scale exhibit and this city doesn’t have a large-sized convention center. Nobody will be left out.