Culture Key to Evolving Valley

The San Fernando Valley is a vibrant mixture of cultures, businesses, neighborhoods and interests. From suburban enclaves to urban areas, the Valley continues to evolve as its demographics change. And with this change and growth comes self-realization. The Valley is growing up. It’s looking at itself, asking questions and seeking self-identity, not only politically (as in the current secession drive), but also culturally and artistically.

The Valley, home to many working artists and television and film studios, has long enjoyed a diverse and active arts community. The time is now opportune for public agencies and private businesses to play an invaluable role in preserving and promoting the revitalized artistic nature of the area through a period of demographic upheaval and self-definition.

Valley organizations, particularly arts groups, have historically felt deprived of resources, as compared to their counterparts elsewhere in the region. In some cases, Valley-based arts organizations have not competed as successfully for public grants as those in the downtown, Hollywood and Westside areas.

But things have changed. Because the Valley is growing, we are seeing an incredible increase in community art projects, and public agencies are responding. In fact, many are leading the way in assisting Valley arts organizations to grow. The public sector is helping in several ways: by providing infrastructure / organizational support; by coming through with funding dollars and the knowledge of how to find funding; by establishing partnerships between public and private sectors to encourage growth in the arts community; and by working to provide venues.

The California Arts Council (CAC), the state agency charged with promoting and encouraging the arts, provides organizational support by granting funds to more than 25 arts organizations in the Valley area. The CAC’s grant dollars pack a big bang. Many CAC grantees take the council’s imprimatur and leverage it to find additional community support. A prime example is A Noise Within in Glendale. Started in 1991 as an experiment to gauge audience interest in classical theater, A Noise Within has proved wonderfully successful. Its CAC ranking, the highest possible in its funding applications, has given the organization much stature and produced a significant grant-money multiplier effect for the company. A Noise Within exemplifies the impact a public agency can have in assisting community artistic and economic development.

Partnerships among government organizations, nonprofit groups and the private sector dramatically affect the Valley arts community. An excellent example of this resulted from the leadership shown by Councilwoman Laura Chick, who worked with Mayor Richard Riordan’s office of economic development to secure $3.5 million for revitalization in the Canoga Park business district after the Northridge earthquake. More than half of that $3.5 million will fund transformation of a former adult-movie house into the new Madrid Theater. The 499-seat performing arts center will offer an array of arts programming and will become a focal point for new business activity in the Canoga Park area.

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The growth of the theater district, NoHo, is another vivid example of public agencies working on all fronts to revitalize a community through the arts. Through the collaborative effort of the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency, the Valley Theater League and Metropolitan Transportation Authority, NoHo is close to obtaining the critical mass it needs to make it an exciting destination for everyone.

The National State County Partnership grant program is another example of how public agencies are assisting the arts in the Valley. The partnership helps Los Angeles County resident arts organizations achieve long-range goals through direct funding and management-assistance services. The partnership is integrated into the county budget and is recognized nationally as a model grant-making program.

The Valley is asserting itself artistically and culturally. We are fortunate that local and state public agencies are working to assist the arts to evolve in this area. But it is not time to rest. We must continue to work at obtaining more local support for all of the Valley’s emerging arts groups. A Noise Within, the Madrid Theater and the exciting development of the NoHo theater district represent the power and potential of cooperative artistic endeavors. What better way to define who we are than through our creative enterprises? And what better way to assert our individuality as a region in Southern California than through the arts?