Coronado now has a website devoted to the arts: CoronadoArts.com was unveiled at the first “State of the Arts” gathering of the Coronado Cultural Arts Commission (CCAC) on June 20 at the Coronado Community Center – exactly two years after the first Coronado Arts Forum was held at the same venue. That forum, attended by some 65 arts advocates, begat the commission, which was formally established by the city council the following Sept. 26.
The new website, which includes free listings for area arts organizations and page listings for individual artists under an “Artists’ Registry,” also features an events calendar. “Without a master calendar, planning events has been a hit-or-miss situation,” said Heidi Wilson, CCAC’s founding director. “Sometimes we’d have two or three events on a given evening with nothing the day before or the day after.”
The website is just one of many achievements of the CCAC over its first two years.
Additional programs developed and sponsored by CCAC in 2012 included:
- An “Open Studio” tour and music
- A “Writers’ Readings” at WineStyles, resulting in the creation of “Coronado Scribes,” a new writers’ group
- A “How to Publish Your Book” seminar
- “Easels under the Trees” and Writers’ Readings in conjunction with the September 2012 Coronado ArtWalk weekend.
- A tribute to the late Coronado artist Sara Rowes at the library, proceeds from which, along with a generous contribution by Lionel Rowe, funded the CoronadoArts.com website
- A “Certificate of Appreciation” program with certificates to be given to community arts supporters by the CCAC
- Formation of a journaling project
- A Poetry Reading
2013 programs include:
- the new CoronadoArts.com website
- Public Art mural installation at the former clock tower at 1330 Orange Avenue utilizing CoSA student art
- Development of an Artists’ Registry (The commission has identified more than 100 Coronado artists and will provide assistance in developing their profile pages on the website)
- Development of an “Art in Vacant Storefronts” program
At the State of the Arts conference, Coronado City Manager Blair King announced that his recommendation to fund a new part-time city position to serve as a staff liaison to CCAC was unanimously approved by the city council. The City’s Director of Library Services, Christian Esquevin, has served as staff liaison to the commission since its inception.
The work of establishing a commission actually began on June 20, 2011, when Heidi Wilson, a 20-year resident of Coronado who had previously lived in the desert where she was executive director of the La Quinta Arts Foundation, approached the mayor with the idea for a similar arts umbrella organization.
Wilson remembered, “When I first moved to Coronado I found bits and pieces of an arts community.” But it wasn’t what she expected of a community that she felt rivaled Carmel, Calif. in location and beauty.
Wilson had arrived in town before Coronado School of the Arts had been established and when Lamb’s Players Theatre had just acquired a theater location in Coronado. The Coronado Playhouse was still operating in a former Navy barracks and it would be several years before the new City Hall and Community Center would be built. But even as Wilson noted the expansion of the arts in the city over the next two decades, including the move of Coronado Historical Association onto Orange Avenue and the expansion of the Coronado Public Library, she still wasn’t satisfied.
“Something still seemed to be missing,” she said. “All the pieces of the puzzle were there, but where was the frame bringing it all together?”
To Wilson, that frame needed to be the city itself. “A municipal government is in a unique position to provide leadership and support in a neutral environment to the benefit of the artist, arts organizations and the community.”
So Wilson set about implementing her vision and piecing together a coalition of like-minded individuals to make it a reality. She secured permission from Mayor Casey Tanaka to hold the Arts Forum at the Coronado Community Center to gage artists’ and arts organizations’ interest in the concept of an arts commission. “I told the mayor that if we didn’t have at least 40 people show up, I’d go away and never bother him again. But we had 65 arts organizations, artists and community individuals and we were off and running.”
Wilson then organized an “Arts Happening” on Sept. 26, 2011, attended by more than 300 individuals who came to the Community Center to view the works of artists, meet representatives of arts organizations and hear musical performances. In a neatly orchestrated program, Wilson and her contingent then walked across the Glorietta Bay Promenade for a Special Meeting of the Coronado City Council where the council voted unanimously in support of the resolution that created the commission.
Seven Commissioners were appointed to CCAC which serves as an umbrella organization and voice for the arts in Coronado “through support, enrichment and development of a thriving arts environment.”
The commission’s vision statement reads, “We value the arts and believe that they have the power to lift the human spirit to a higher place.”
Its core values include 1) Art belongs to everyone, 2) Art is an essential element of life in Coronado, 3) Art informs the times in which it is created, and 4) Art inspires, heals, energizes and educates us.
“I was talking to our summer recreation employees recently,” City Manager Blair King told the conference attendees. “And we talked about the importance of making memories and its importance on the quality of life, particularly for families, in Coronado. And we agreed that things like music, food, creativity and culture are what make life worth living. And that is what this commission is evolving and bringing into our city.”
Felicia Shaw, arts and cultural director of the San Diego Foundation, was the keynote speaker at the event and identified four trends and challenges for the CCAC. The first is the Internet, which she says allows “creativity to flourish.”
“An increasing number of artists are self-producing; it’s almost like we’re going back to the 18th and 19th century, with artists participating actively by themselves,” she noted.
Art education is crucial, she said, complimenting the commission on programs that reach out to students.
She encouraged the commission to be bold and unique. “Small doesn’t mean inferior,” she said. “Be prepared to take risks and do what nobody else has ever done. Step out there!”
Finally, she encouraged the commission to develop a financial resource development plan, noting that municipal governments typically contribute to this vital community need, she said, smiling broadly at Tanaka and King.
The conference then led attendees in “conversation” by way of facilitated breakout sessions for writers, artists and art galleries, organizations and performance art. Each breakout group was asked to generate ideas or goals for development that related to their group, then identify challenges to those goals and possible solutions.
Among possible new programs shared at the end of the presentation were:
- Development of a signature arts festival
- More frequent readings in a space that allows refreshments
- Building an outdoor amphitheatre in the city, perhaps at the “underutilized” beach
- Organizing a monthly art event, such as a “First Thursday Arts Night” with a central location for artist booths. The 1000 block of C Avenue (just off Orange) was proposed as one possible venue.
- A writer’s conference to include name authors, agents and seminars
- A Book Festival
- Artist mentoring
- A Coronado talent show
- Holding an online literary function
- A public art gallery featuring local artists on a rotating basis
- Cross-promotional marketing with restaurants and other local businesses
- A Coronado art booth at regional arts events
- Developing subsidized artist studio space
All groups pointed to “money” as the major challenge. Other challenges were Coronado’s two unconnected business districts, its geographic isolation (water/bridge), older residents who resist change, and the need to appeal to younger residents.
A number of solutions put forth including networking, a grant writer for the CCAC, business partnerships, sponsorships and shuttle services.
The commission meets on the first Thursday of each month at 4:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.
The Coronado Cultural Arts Commission is composed of seven “Working Teams:”
Performing Arts is chaired by Steve Baker. Baker is a musician (piano and trumpet) who has performed piano solos with many orchestras including under the baton of John Williams and Elmer Bernstein. His 25 years of marketing experience include a post with Carnegie Hall and he is currently Senior Director of Marketing with the San Diego Symphony.
Arts Education is chaired by Kris McClung. McClung has been with the Coronado Unified School Distrct for more than 30 years. She is the Founder and former Director of Coronado School of the Arts (CoSA). She is on the steering committee for CREATE CA, a statewide initiative to provide arts and creative education in California’s public schools.
Arts Advocacy & Fundraising is chaired by Kari Kovach. Kovach’s extensive background in advertising, marketing, brand consulting, promotions and new product launches includes a career in senior management with Conde Nast Publications in New York City.
Public Art is chaired by Jeff Tyler. Tyler, a former senior Naval officer, served several years as Director of Corporate Advancement and Development for Lamb’s Player Theatre.
Media is chaired by Heidi Wilson, who also serves as chair of CCAC. A former chair of Coronado’s Public Art subcommittee, Wilson has 25 years in arts administration experience, including serving as executive director of the La Quinta Arts Foundation.
Visual & Literary Arts is chaired by Susan Enowitz. Enowitz holds a masters degree in anthropology. Her career in museums includes 16 years at the San Diego Museum of Man where she received a national award as an innovator in education. She recently retired as executive director of Coronado Historical Association.
Public Relations & Film is chaired by Doug St. Denis. St. Denis is a writer, poet, dancer, painter, architect and actress who has volunteered for a number of nonprofits in the city of Coronado. She was named a 2008 Soroptimist “Legend” and was the 2012 Coronado Citizen of the Year (presented by Coronado First Bank). She is currently focused on establishing the Coronado Island Film Festival.
Art replaces the hands of time
When the owners of Coronado Plaza realized that the clock in their Clock Tower was beyond repair, they called Coronado City Planner Peter Fait to inquire if the city might want to utilize the space in some manner. Fait referred the request to the Public Art working committee of CCAC, which mounted a collaborative effort of Coronado School of the Arts (CoSA) and local businesses to produce six-by-six-foot murals for the former clock’s four panels. CoSA students planned and created the murals using computer-generated art, then transferred the art, using a four-layer stenciling process, to eight metal panels donated by Handy Metal Mart of National City. Falletta Construction donated labor and materials, including scaffolding and rental of a giant crane. Coronado Plaza building superintendent Pat McMorrow arranged to install new floodlights and Tyler ’n Talbot Real Estate Team donated funding for additional materials.
