Photo courtesy of Ken Jacques
Innovation through the Arts is a multi-faceted, multi-year initiative developed to respond to growing needs in the San Diego region for people to engage more deeply in the arts – to become more creative in how they think, work and play so that we can adapt to the changing world around us. The result of this creative activity will be innovation,
which will have the power to transform the way we live.
The initiative is driven by the following issues identified by the Arts and Culture Working Group:
- Cuts to arts education are undermining our ability to educate our children;
- While the need for innovation increases, creativity is decreasing, due in part to the lack of arts education in our schools;
- San Diego artists produce economic dividends for the region; yet, there is no coherent strategy for celebrating and nourishing their artistic talent;
- The leadership of our cultural institutions is aging and a new generation of arts leaders must be cultivated to advocate the value of the arts; and
- Both donors and audiences seek to active and meaningful engagement in the arts, inside and outside the walls.
These opportunities and challenges, buttressed by a climate of change, have established a new agenda for the arts at the Foundation and enabled the launch of a new initiative, Innovation through the Arts. The following are the three primary programs that form the nucleus of the initiative:
>> Creativity in the Classroom
>> Creative Catalyst Fund: Individual Artist Fellowship Program
>> Business of the Arts Program