Budgets have been described as moral documents because they express, in hard financial terms, what we truly value.
The current proposal to gut funding for arts and culture in the City budget may sound like a pragmatic response to fiscal pressure. It is not. History and experience tell us that when cities retreat from investing in arts and culture, they don’t just trim “excess.” They undercut economic growth, community connection, quality of life, and civic identity.
In the process, they trim away the essence of who they are and aspire to be.
In the 1990s, San Diego was held up as a model for supporting a dynamic cultural ecosystem as a driver of economic growth. Other cities looked here for inspiration. Over the decades, our unique blend of artists, cultural institutions, and cross-border identity helped create a distinctive region, one that reflects the possibility of an inclusive and creative America.
Today, peers across the country — from Columbus and Denver to Houston, Pittsburgh, and Detroit — are watching closely as San Diego contemplates walking away from that legacy. They understand what we risk forgetting: when arts funding falters in leading cities, especially amid growing national assaults on artistic freedom and cultural investment, the effects ripple outward. Disinvestment, as investment, is contagious.
This moment calls for more than a reaction. It calls for clarity about what matters and who we want to be.
A serious city does not pit arts against other priorities. It recognizes that arts and culture are not separate from youth development, public health, or economic vitality. They are essential to all three.
When we talk about summer programs for children, we are often talking about arts experiences. When we talk about rehabilitation and reentry for incarcerated people, we are often talking about human-centered approaches rooted in culture and storytelling. When we talk about bridging divides in our society, we are almost always talking about efforts grounded in empathy, creativity, and shared narrative.
Zeroing arts funding, or treating it as expendable, is not a serious solution. It is a Band-Aid hiding a deeper wound to our civic character and well-being.
The economic case alone should give us pause. San Diego’s creative economy generates more than $10 billion annually and supports tens of thousands of jobs. Arts and culture are a cornerstone of our tourism economy, drawing visitors who fill hotels, restaurants, and public spaces throughout the region. Treating the arts as expendable is the definition of being penny wise and pound foolish — trading modest savings for significant long-term losses.
San Diego is also one of the nation’s most important incubators of American theater. Our arts scene has a distinct voice. We are not simply consumers of culture; we are creators of it.
That role is no accident. It is the result of sustained investment and long-term vision by civic leaders who understood that culture is a strength, not a luxury.
We see that legacy in Balboa Park and the Rady Shell, civic investments that continue to pay dividends. We see it in our cross-border relationship with Baja California, where cultural exchange enriches our creative life in ways few American cities can match. And we see it in community organizations that provide arts access to young people and families every day.
These are not luxuries. They are assets central to who we are, made possible by a combination of philanthropy, earned revenue, and essential public support.
I know from firsthand experience that San Diegans are generous. But philanthropy cannot fill either the financial or civic void left by an abdication of the City’s role in supporting the arts.
So, the question before us is straightforward: What do we want for San Diego’s future?
Do we want to lead or retreat? Invest in our future or manage decline? Value the interconnectedness of creativity, economy, and community — or relegate them to the dustbin of competing interests?
San Diego is a place of joy, learning, and connection. Public support for the arts is one reason why.
Now is the time for all of us — the City, the County, philanthropy, and residents who care about the future of this region — to come together around a long-term solution that preserves arts and culture as a cornerstone of who we are.
If we get this right, we will not simply preserve what we have. We will strengthen it — for the next generation, and for a world that continues to look to San Diego as a place where creativity and community thrive together.
Grant Oliphant is the President and CEO of the Prebys Foundation, a major independent foundation working to create an inclusive, equitable, and dynamic future for people across San Diego County. The foundation invests in excellence and opportunity across the arts and culture, medical research, health and well-being, and youth success.
