Support for arts helps make a full-service city

On May 23, 1992, I announced the appointment of Greg Geissler as our first administrator of the new Office of Cultural Affairs.

Creating an office to assist and strengthen local arts programs and agencies was a big step in Columbia’s drive to become a full-service city. Columbia is the only city in Missouri to have a cultural affairs office as part of its municipal government, and the office has allocated more than $1 million to local arts organizations. These dollars return to our local economy and benefit countless Columbians and visitors, and the sale of goods and services is part of our local industry.

An even larger step came in 1997 with the “Percent for Art” program, which backed up the city’s support for the arts with a real funding commitment. The ordinance passed under the leadership of Mayor Darwin Hindman and the strong support of Councilman Rex Campbell. For any above-ground public building project costing more than $1 million, the city government would set aside 1 percent of the cost for art projects.

A committee selects the artists and makes recommendations about the projects. To date, nearly $500,000 has been committed to the program. Six large-scale works have been completed, and three more are under way.

Before moving the idea forward, I subjected the “1 percent” requirement to a sophisticated poll. At the National League of Cities meeting in Phoenix that year, while taking a bus tour to view local art projects, parks, and senior and recreation centers, I asked the nationwide array of city council members, mayors and city managers who were riding on the bus whether their cities had percent-for-arts programs. A surprisingly large number raised their hands. Interestingly, we were the first city in Missouri to start such a program.

But these two moves were merely part of a slowly developing recognition that our city needed to do more to support the arts. Historically, Columbia had been blessed with many artistic programs and resources, but efforts to support the arts were somewhat fragmented until 1992. In addition to programs operated independently by area schools under the direction of their own managers, two main organizations handled many of the local arts functions—the public Columbia Commission on the Arts (CCA) and the private Arts Resource Council (ARC). Many other groups of painters, sculptors, actors and musicians held their own events as well.

It was noted in 1985 that there were nearly 30 not-for-profit groups involved in the performing, visual and literary arts. Columbia was home to many professional artists, most of whom also taught classes at the university or at colleges in the community. At the time, there were about nine commercial galleries listed in CCA minutes that supplemented five not-for-profit and academic galleries.

As an exclusively advisory body, the CCA made recommendations for the use of budgeted funds for the arts. As such, it played an important role in the arts community by recommending how the city’s budgeted funds should be spent—after they were submitted by the city manager and adopted by the city council on the heels of a public hearing. Prior to 1992, the city budgeted about $30,000.

The conflict over Columbia’s arts funding started in a September 1990 budget hearing when the council rejected the Arts Commission budget proposal of $93,800 and approved $30,500. In January 1991, the commission proposed more specific uses of the money, and the council added $11,000, for a total of $41,500.

Many Columbians urged additional funding, including Jo Sapp, chairwoman of the Arts Commission; Betty Robbins, a founding member of the Columbia Art League; Bill Bondeson, a former Arts Commission chairman; and Nola Ruth, co-director of the Missouri Association of Community Arts Agencies. Ruth suggested that Columbia’s art climate was confused, lacking in focus and structure. Sapp suggested that appointing a city arts administrator could clean up the confusion.

In 1990, Mayor Mary Ann McCollum and the Columbia City Council appointed a task force chaired by Linda Cupp and Mort Sajadian to study new ways to promote and conduct arts programs for the city. The task force recommended creating a public arts agency that would assume the responsibilities then being handled by the CCA and the ARC—as well as a citizen commission, which the council appointed in 1994.

Under the Columbia City Charter, the city manager submits a budget to the council. I submitted a 1991-92 budget of $61,856 for the arts and a new cultural affairs office, of which about $30,000 was used for personal services and $20,000 was used to develop an arts and cultural affairs plan. About $15,000 of the planning funds was to come from Missouri Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts grants.

Questions arose during the budget-approval process, which entailed much council discussion and many public hearings. Two council motions to eliminate the proposed office were defeated on 4-to-3 votes. Should we create this office, or should we increase employee salaries or do more street work? Most concern came from people in the 1st, 3rd and 6th Wards. Some said the arts were “elitist.”

Eventually, the budget passed. City staff and private citizens assisted in evaluating candidates for the administrator position. Members of the committee included Jean Bertowitz of First National Bank; Jo Sapp of the Columbia Arts Commission; Richard Blomgren of Stephens College; and Nola Ruth of the Missouri Association of Community Arts Agencies.

Greg Geissler had the experience we wanted—10 years doing similar work for the cities of Tacoma, Wash., and Denver, Colo., and acting as a consultant to foundations. We placed a high priority on the economic-development aspects of the arts. We wanted to further develop community-wide festivals, art shows and major performances that would attract people to Columbia from throughout Missouri.

Working closely with then-Assistant City Manager Charles Hargrove, Geissler held public meetings to learn about Columbia and its wishes in developing a comprehensive arts program for the city. Following the hearings, he and a 25-member steering committee appointed by the council reviewed the comments and began to put together a vision for the arts in Columbia.

Suggestions included narrowing the gap between the haves and have-nots, creating a central arts district that would be taxed, increasing cooperation between the school district and local art agencies, and devoting a percentage of public building project costs to art. The meetings also addressed the overlap of services and representation on art agency boards and commissions, and attendees suggested reducing and consolidating local programs and encouraging cooperation among local art groups and agencies so that the limited funds could be better used. In 1994, the council established a Commission on Cultural Affairs, which replaced the Columbia Commission on the Arts.

The result was a new plan, “Creative Columbia: A Blueprint for Action,” which launched a comprehensive effort to develop Columbia’s artistic resources for the betterment of the entire community. Many of the plan’s recommendations have been implemented. And if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Springfield flattered us by using the plan as the model for its “Creative Springfield.”

Columbia has been blessed with excellent city staff and voluntary commission members who serve our city. Greg Geissler served as arts administrator from 1992 to 1995, followed by Martha Hill from 1995 to 2000 and our current manager, Marie Nau Hunter, who was promoted to direct the office in 2000. After Charles Hargrove retired, Bill Watkins, then assistant city manager, worked closely with the office.

In 2005, the Creative Columbia plan was updated and strengthened to emphasize art’s role in creating the culture of our city. The revised plan reflects more general approaches and recognizes the importance of planning for change. In recognition of our efforts, Columbia received the state’s first-ever “Creative Community” award from the Missouri Arts Council. Mayor Hindman and the city council have continued and expanded this vision of support for the arts in Columbia.

A milestone in Columbia’s cultural development, the plan notes, “The arts contribute profoundly to Columbia’s appearance, creating a community that is inviting, distinctive and memorable.” That community appearance affects our city’s economic health, bringing tourists to visit and attracting development. In fiscal year 2005 alone, about 125,000 citizens and visitors participated in the city-funded arts activities. In addition, the new office and plan have played an important role in our ability to obtain funding from the Missouri Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

So it’s not just about art; it’s about what art does for our full-service community.