Mayor Reed’s giving more money to the Office of Cultural Affairs
25 percent more for OCA, but exactly where it’s coming from and how it will be dispersed has yet to be revealed
- Courtesy Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs
- Mayor Kasim Reed at the dedication of a new public artwork by Yvonne Domenge in Freedom Park.
Yesterday, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and the city unveiled the latest addition to the city’s public art collection - the large-scale sculptures Tree of Life and Kan by Mexican sculptor Yvonne Domenge. Reed also unveiled a commitment to increase the city’s cultural affairs budget by 25 percent, an announcement that came as a surprise to everyone in attendance, particularly Office of Cultural Affairs director Camille Russell Love. At this point, it’s unclear which budget Reed is referring to. It could mean the $1 million Contract for Arts Services budget, or it could mean OCA’s $2.3 million operating budget. On the phone today, Love said she was still awaiting details.
The mayor’s said in the last few months that the city is in much better financial shape than in the past, thanks in part to the contentious reform of the city employees’ pension plans, which has freed up more cash. Reed’s approach to arts funding has swung from practically axing it completely in his 2012 budget to restoring it to providing a $250,000 bump in 2013. So why’s he doing this? Is he trying to fill the massive void in arts funding that exists in this city despite the fact that we have the most arts-related businesses per capita nationwide, according to Americans for the Arts’ Creative Industries 2012 study? Is he having stadium guilt? At yesterday’s ceremony, he said it was in honor of Domenge’s generous donation of the sculptures. The group of artworks was originally commissioned for an exhibit at Chicago’s Millenium Park. When the exhibit ended last year, the artist decided to donate the six artworks to cities across the nation, and Atlanta’s proposal to bring some of the work here was accepted. They are now on display in Freedom Park at the corner of Oakdale Road and North Avenue.
More photos after the jump and more details about the money once we hear back from the mayor’s office.