A Slice of Arts Activism

In March of 2009, the art history department of UC Irvine voted to cut off funding of their own art history library called the Visual Resources Collection. The school of humanities laid off their own curators, who guided me through a year long research project consisting of South Asian and Cuban architectural photography. This library contained thousands of slides, textbooks, websites, and digital images that were accessible to art history professors as well as students. Because of the budget cuts, an important educational resource was taken away from those that needed it the most, resources that enriched their lives. The last sentences one of the former curators said to me, was that art history was becoming an obsolete major.

In August 2009, the dean of the art department at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA cancelled the exhibition design class, halting the gallery design and operations management certificate due to low enrollment. This was also an attempt to cut every corner to adhere to a more stringent budget. Although I had lost all hope in chasing a career as a curator, I took up my professor's offer to go to El Camino College in Torrance, and enrolled in his art gallery management class.

Yesterday, Los Angeles voted on critical issues that involved the only funding source for the Department of Cultural Affairs. Parks and galleries like the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery at Barnsdall Park were in jeopardy. I spent hours volunteering at this gallery and participated in one open call. Needless to say, it is very near and dear to my heart. Luckily, the The Los Angeles City Council decided not to vote on the motion to eliminate the Department of Cultural Affairs' sole source of dedicated funding. Their funding is secure for the moment. Thank goodness.

Every time something like this happens, my heart breaks a little -piece by piece. All we can do is fight, write, and hope the arts survive and triumph against this unyielding economy. I know I probably sound really idealistic, but I truly believe in those who pursue a career in the arts or art history deserve a successful place in the real world to convey their unique message. Perhaps Professor Burnes was correct when she said that this was the best time to be an artist or curator. Its a challenging, and rigorous time to turn a negative situation into a positive one through art. With resilience and courage, it could be done.

In the words of Journey, I won't stop believing.