Stockton Arts Commission to open 2023 grant cycle amid transition of Collide event to Visit Stockton

The Stockton Arts Commission agreed March 6 to move forward with its 2023 artist grant cycle under the same criteria used in previous years, even as Visit Stockton assumes administration of the Collide/Stockton Flavor Fest event and seeks California Arts Council grants to support that festival.

Commission staff said the decision is intended to protect grant funding that would otherwise lapse if the commission waited for possible ordinance changes now under review by the city—s legislative committee. "My fear is if [the legislative committee] sends it back to us and it's a while to get to commission, once June 30 happens, we're not gonna get this money back," a city staff member said during the meeting.

Why it matters: Stockton artists and small arts organizations rely on the commission—s artist grants for project funding. At the meeting Visit Stockton—s representative, Amy Alpers, said Visit Stockton has administered artist grants tied to Collide in recent years and is prepared to apply directly for California Arts Council funding. "We were asked by the community services department to help do the event planning and execution for Collide," Alpers said. "We had over 13,000 people at Stockton Flavor Fest in May, and we just thought it was a really good opportunity to get more eyes and more artists involved."

What the commission decided: Staff will publish the 2023 artist grant application and deadlines under the commission—s existing criteria so applications can be accepted on the calendar the commission has used, with the goal of publishing details at the next meeting. Staff said they will form a subcommittee to perform the initial application review. The commission did not record a formal roll-call vote on this administrative decision; discussion and staff updates indicate consensus to proceed.

Context and next steps: Staff and commissioners discussed outreach plans for the grant round: flyers to libraries and community centers, posts on the city website and social media, and direct outreach to college programs. Staff also said Visit Stockton may apply as the fiscal grantee for California Arts Council grants to support Collide/Flavor Fest programming; if Visit Stockton cannot qualify, staff said the city would reconsider options. The commission asked staff to provide application timelines and to circulate lists of past Collide artists so marketing can target likely applicants.

Quotes from the meeting are verbatim and attributed to speakers recorded in the transcript: "The programs are still to be determined, but over the last couple of years, 501(c)(3) arts organizations with a history of 2 years of arts programming... If you are not a 501(c)(3), if you have a fiscal sponsorship..." ——————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— ————————————————————————————————————— "We had over 13,000 people at Stockton Flavor Fest in May... we're interested in trying to keep this arts program alive at the Stockton Flavor Festival." ———————————————————————————— —————————————————————————————————————

Ending: Staff will publish the 2023 application materials and return to the commission with deadlines and a subcommittee membership plan at the next meeting; Visit Stockton and staff will continue discussions about California Arts Council funding for Collide/Stockton Flavor Fest.