San Diego arts leaders blast proposed massive funding cuts as ‘catastrophic’ and ‘devastating’
In a newly unveiled budget proposal, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria is looking to help close a projected $146 million deficit by cutting $11.8 million of funds that go to local arts groups
By Michael James Rocha | michael.rocha@sduniontribune.com | The San Diego Union-Tribune
PUBLISHED: April 15, 2026 at 9:47 AM PDT | UPDATED: April 15, 2026 at 10:56 AM PDT
A budget proposal for the new fiscal year unveiled Wednesday morning by San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria looks to help close a projected $146 million deficit by eliminating all arts funding that directly aid local arts and culture organizations, dealing what some are calling a “catastrophic” blow to a sector that has yet to fully recover from the pandemic.
The mayor, who will release his fiscal year 2027 budget plan in its entirety at noon Wednesday, said the proposed cuts “are not going to be easy” and “every department made reductions. No area of city government was exempt, including my office.”
The plan, which will be reviewed and debated by the City Council between now and June 9, prioritizes public safety, homelessness and transportation but proposes deep cuts in some areas, such as libraries and recreation. The proposed budget sharply cuts funding for the arts, taking it from $13.8 million to just about $2 million, eliminating all funds under the city’s two grant-making arms: the Organizational Support Program and Creative Communities San Diego. Monies received from those two programs go directly to arts groups, which use the funds to drive matching grants they apply for from the private philanthropic sector.
The remaining $2 million will essentially keep open the city’s Cultural Affairs Department, whose staff oversee the public art program and grant-making process. The department is expected to continue working with individual artists and incubator programs “because those come from state funding,” said Alessandra Moctezuma, the chair of the city’s mayor-appointed Commission for Arts & Culture.
“But the bulk of the budget — $11.8 million — is what supports most of our arts nonprofits,” she said Tuesday ahead of the mayor’s announcement. “That’s a devastating loss to the community.”
The proposed cuts threaten groups and arts programs across a large swath of the region, everything from Dia de los Muertos celebrations and powwows to specific events like the Asian American Dance Festival and Ocean Beach Street Fair & Chili Cook-Off, which this fiscal year received $15,052 from the city. Under the proposed cuts, San Diego Pride would lose $376,564, the amount it received for fiscal year 2026. Some of the city’s largest arts organizations would not escape unscathed: Using figures they received for fiscal year 2026, the Old Globe Theatre would lose $382,057 in city funding and the San Diego Opera $270,293.
After the mayor’s briefing Wednesday morning, Bob Lehman, executive director of San Diego ART Matters, the region’s largest arts advocacy organization, said he was dismayed by what he heard.
“My biggest takeaway from it was two statements, one from the CFO (Rolando Charvel), who said we can no longer afford to fund arts and culture grants. That sounds permanent. … There were no qualifiers in there. In the mayor’s statement, he said it’s hopefully temporary, which means it’s open to discussion, but the cuts are there in the proposed budget. The only other place in this country where this type of arts cuts are happening is in the Trump budget.”
Word of the cuts spread through San Diego’s creative community Monday, and by Tuesday afternoon, a hastily organized Zoom virtual meeting — with the subject line “URGENT: Arts & Culture Emergency Virtual Town Hall” — had attracted 100 arts leaders from across San Diego, from the San Diego Symphony’s Martha Gilmer to Space 4 Art’s Jennifer de Poyen. Many could not join the call, organized by San Diego ART Matters, because the virtual room had reached capacity.
Continue/Read Original Article: San Diego arts leaders blast proposed massive funding cuts as ‘catastrophic’ and ‘devastating’ – San Diego Union-Tribune
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