2011 Otis Report on the Creative Economy of L.A.

Its that time of year again!  When I go see for myself what the business world, the philanthropic foundations, organizations & arms of major corporations is saying about the state of the arts industry in the Los Angeles and Orange County regions, what they are doing and not doing ... and figuring out what the rest of us are supposed to do about it.

First of all the report is posted here for everyone to download and read --> www.otis.edu/creative_economy  Last years report was downloaded by 598 cities in 36 different languages... so its good to know what the other people know.

For a quick review of the information go here -->  www.marketwatch.com/story/crea…

They talked about a lot of things.

Charts and graphs and numerical data that you can use to help argue the cause of the importance of art and art education for everyone.  Sammy Hoi said that the school tries to bring in the children of families who have never gone for higher education because bringing up that child pulls the whole family into higher social/economic levels. 

Everybody agrees that socially, culturally and politically an open attitude towards new ideas is what makes the Los Angeles region a robust creative economy that continually feeds on itself.  Art making, writing, music  is a democratic process, it is how we make sense of the world. It has value that transcends tax & job revenue which our industry also brings (at least for those who file their taxes of course! )

One of several things that was brought to my attention is the Pacific Standard Time project (PST at www.pacificstandardtime.org/ )  It is a behind the scene project to preserve the rich and deep archival history(which we are loosing as things age and the artists die) of the development of modern art from 1945-1980 by the Getty foundation.  They say the dominant idea/image being taught in schools of New York City as being THE birthplace of modern art is false because of more cultural freedom on the "Left" Coast perspective. Will New Yorkers come to defend their city's honor?

Tidbits of information heard...

The attitude expressed by one speaker is that a recovery of the manufacturing industries is an overly optimistic and a futile effort not worth trying.  Architecture, furniture and interior design is suffering because of the housing problem. China only allows 20% total a year of foreign films(U.S. films is only a part of that percentage) everything else they see is pirated. They talked about how a lot of money is being lost by not enforcing intellectual copyright laws, to pressure for better enforcement(good luck with that!).  Use celebrities to market the campaign... they already are doing a beautiful job of that, Ms. Kim Kardashian. <--- weak expression of sarcasm, sorry... to bring in the culturally curious with cash.  Do things to bring together the disconnected communities and not simply focus on business, recognize reality, spread the facts.  Don't leave things to political leadership, nothing will get done. LAX is the 2nd largest economic generator for Los Angeles, they should advertise arts venues there, expand the airport on land they already own... stand up to the noisy nimbly types. "Its not our fault you chose to live next to an airport" he snided.  Do it for the good of the region vs. personal discomfort of the residents. ??? HEY! I live there! They halted expansion to preserve open space for endangered wildlife!!! (>_<) Whatever... they grumble about political banter not helping, we grumble about political banter not helping either, meh.

They talked about L.A. as becoming more recognized as the center of the art world, how a well educated work force is much needed.  We have the best collection of art schools in the world they say. International students bring lots of money into the city/region too.  They want to make it easier for foreigners to come and spend money here.  But, when I asked in the one on one Q&A at the end about the state of the public arts education, the budget cuts to art programs in public schools, colleges and universities and finding work after graduating I got a bit of the run around. People representing the LA Arts programs admit that they only help a handful of people at a time and as a whole public art education is worse off than before. All the benefits of having a vibrant supportive arts culture is still being kept at a distance from those who need it the most.  If you want in on this robust art economy... you're going to have to find a high quality art teacher and pay for it on your own... good luck.