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Long Beach council moves to expand percent-for-arts program to boost public art and live performance
Summary
The City Council voted to begin a process to expand Long Beach's percent-for-arts program, directing the city manager to work with departments and the Arts Council to develop options for increasing funds and program scope for public art and live music.
The Long Beach City Council voted March 18 to initiate a review of the city’s percent-for-arts program and directed the city manager to work with impacted departments and the Arts Council for Long Beach to explore expanding the program’s funding and scope to support more public art installations and live performance.
The move, advanced by Mayor Robert Garcia and co-sponsored by Councilmember Mary Zendejas as chair of the Arts, Culture, and Tourism Committee, is intended to raise resources for public murals, artist fellowships and live music tied to the city’s economic development and tourism strategies.
"This proposal is asking us to explore options for broadening the resources that we capture through the percent for the arts program, but also, can we expand the scope to really focus on more public art and live entertainment," Mayor Garcia said during the presentation. Zendejas noted the program already generated roughly $1.3 million and asked staff to return with specific implementation options.
Griselda Suarez, executive director of the Arts Council for Long Beach, told the council the policy update is a "crucial step toward continuing our investment in our creative community" and stressed the arts’ economic role: "Every time someone purchases a ticket here to attend an event in Long Beach, dollars go back into the economy," Suarez said.
Other speakers representing arts organizations and local cultural institutions told the council the expansion would help pay artists, sustain programming in underserved neighborhoods and support jobs tied to arts events. Greg Johnson, immediate past board president of the Arts Council for Long Beach, urged the council to define how funds will flow so artists can be paid for live performances and public projects.
Council members voted to refer the item to the Arts, Culture, and Tourism committee and directed city staff to work with the Arts Council on options for expanding resources and scope. The council did not adopt a specific ordinance or rate increase at the meeting; staff will return with proposals and details for how additional revenue would be allocated.
The council and Arts Council executives said the review is timed ahead of large visitor events and that other West Coast cities have expanded similar programs as part of arts-driven economic development efforts.
Next steps: staff will prepare options for committee review and follow-up reports to the City Council on recommended changes to program funding and eligible uses.
