Independent artists thrive year-round in our vibrant county – Marin Independent Journal

Artist Kay Carlson of San Rafael applies a glaze to her painting Sausalito Horizon at her studio in Sausalito, Calif. on Friday, Sept. 22, 2023. The 30” x 40” oil on canvas has been chosen for the Art2Life annual online exhibition. (Sherry LaVars/Marin Independent Journal)

In 2019, the legislature passed a bill naming April as California’s Arts Month celebrating arts, culture and creativity. In 2023, the Marin County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution joining the rest of California in designating April as Arts Month.

I would argue that every month is Arts Month in Marin County. According to the most recent Arts Vibrancy Index map published by SMU Data Arts, Marin County recorded the same number of independent artists per capita as Los Angeles County.

California is home to more artists than anywhere else in the nation.  Our state’s creative sector accounts for $18.67 billion in assets and 15.4% of California’s total employment. According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the arts represent a larger share of the gross domestic product than transportation, tourism and agriculture.

In Marin County alone, the arts contribute $76 million to our local economy, employing over 1,700 people in 162 arts organizations. Marin County has drawn and inspired a rich concentration of creative talent: painters and poets, musicians and filmmakers, actors, writers, dancers, comedians — innovators of every discipline. Our community has long enjoyed an artistic abundance that unites us in shared experiences. It fuels our capacity for wonder and invention. It stimulates our local economies. We understand the value of culture and innovation.

To be sure, arts strengthen the economy; spark creativity and innovation; unify communities; drive tourism and revenue to local businesses; improve academic performance; improve health care; and have social impact.

Marin County’s support for the arts, arts education and cultural institutions is crucial to achieve equitable access to the arts for everyone in our community. The arts in Marin should be by and for everyone.

In 2018 we produced an exhibit for the Bartolini Gallery called “Inside Insights: San Quentin Arts in Corrections.” The exhibit showcased more than two dozen works from current inmates at San Quentin participating in the arts in corrections program alongside work by recently returned citizens, works by the San Quentin art instructors, and photographs of the inmates participating in art, theater, music, poetry and more.

During the opening night, one of those artists spoke about his run in with the law in his teens that transitioned into 40 years behind bars. I couldn’t help but think, what if this incredibly talented artist had access to arts education in elementary school? What if he had an art teacher to inspire him? His entire life trajectory could have been different.