SAN DIEGO — The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal Wednesday to use millions of dollars in county funding to bolster the region’s arts and culture scene, with a focus on diverse and underserved communities.
Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer, Monica Montgomery Steppe and Paloma Aguirre voted in favor of the proposal, while Supervisor Jim Desmond opposed it. Supervisor Joel Anderson was absent.
Before the vote, Lawson-Remer said the funding initiative “has really been a labor of love,” with participation from many community members.
She cited Chicano Park in Barrio Logan and the county Administration Center — a New Deal-era building known for its architecture — as examples of why arts funding matters and “can happen at a time when people are divided and feel hopeless — and uplift the best in ourselves.”
Montgomery Steppe said the investments “are not solely cultural in nature — they are economic drivers, that enhance tourism, workforce development and the county’s overall quality of life.”
Desmond said he strongly supports arts programs, noting San Marcos had one during his tenure as mayor, but argued the county needs to focus on its unincorporated regions.
Desmond said many people speaking in favor during public comment lived in the city of San Diego, and that the county should not have to rescue city programs.
“There are some major flaws with this initiative as it is,” he said, adding the proposal appeared to lack metrics, accountability and guardrails.
“It’s hard to deliver on something that sometimes is abstract,” Desmond said. “This is how fraud starts — government dollars go out the door.”
Lawson-Remer responded that the program will include specific guidelines and reports from the county’s chief administrative officer.
Aguirre said she was excited to support additional arts funding.
“Arts and culture are part of who we are,” she said.
Most public comments during Wednesday’s hearing, including remarks from members of the county’s Arts & Culture Commission, favored the proposal.
An Encanto resident and barbershop owner said arts are transformative and “take us places that nothing else can besides traveling.”
One critic said it made no sense for the county to spend money on the arts while many San Diegans continue struggling financially.
County support for arts programs comes as the city of San Diego continues its budget process. Mayor Todd Gloria’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget would eliminate nearly $12 million in arts and culture grants.
“Our residents are hungry for these arts programs in so many communities,” Lawson-Remer said earlier. “The proposal includes up to $2.75 million in total funding, with $2.25 million in ongoing annual investments, to launch and sustain everything from an artist grant program, to investments in the Black Arts and Culture District, to an artist space grant program and a binational creative economy investment and artist-in-residence program.”
San Diego is not the only government entity considering reductions in arts funding as grants and other sources from Washington, D.C., begin to decline.
“Too often our Black, brown and immigrant neighborhoods have been overlooked,” Montgomery Steppe said. “Arts and culture are not optional — they are foundational to a thriving, inclusive San Diego County. Today, we are making the choice to move that vision forward.”
Key components of the initiative include:
— Artist Grant Program ($1 million annually): Direct, low-barrier funding for individual artists, prioritizing underserved communities and supporting emerging and established creatives;
— Artist-in-Residence Program ($250,000 annually): Placement of local artists within county departments to address public challenges through “creative, community-informed” approaches;
— Artist Space Grant Program ($500,000 annually): Expanding access to affordable creative spaces, including county-owned properties for public arts programming;
— Binational Creative Economy Investment ($250,000 annually): Strengthening cross-border arts and cultural collaboration in the San Diego-Baja California region;
— Arts and Cultural District Designation Program: Formal recognition and support for culturally rich areas across the county, with a focus on historically underfunded communities; and
— Black Arts and Culture District Investment ($500,000 one-time): Supporting infrastructure, programming and economic development in nine blocks within Encanto.
The program will also help artists navigate the application process, per Aguirre’s recommendation.
Desmond, who represents the northernmost portion of the county, said the proposal would turn county coffers into the city of San Diego’s “personal ATM.”
“New staff. New grant programs. New designations. And a sizable chunk of it headed straight into the city of San Diego,” Desmond wrote to supporters. “Let me remind you what the city of San Diego looks like right now. Streets that flood because storm drains went uncleaned for years. A budget deficit so deep they’re closing libraries and rec centers. Homeless encampments the city refuses to enforce against. A downtown most families won’t visit after dark.”
Desmond said colleagues are using general fund money “that pays for our deputies, fire prep, mental health beds, and roads in North County.”
Arts leaders, however, said the funding could help preserve programs.
“Today’s investment signals that the county recognizes and values the power of diverse voices across the arts sector,” said Gaidi Finnie, executive director of the African American Museum of Fine Arts. “The Black Arts and Culture District stands as a vital hub for cultural expression and creative enterprise, and this investment affirms the county’s commitment to advancing arts and culture in an inclusive and meaningful way.”
According to supervisors, the proposal also includes efforts to work with philanthropies, advocate for expanded arts funding and establish the county as a designated Local Arts Agency through the California Arts Council.
“San Diego ART Matters and the broader artist community commend the county’s long-overdue historic investment in the arts,” said Bob Lehman, executive director of San Diego ART Matters. “This initiative transforms passion into purposeful, strategic action — placing the creative economy at the table of our region’s future.”
