The Arizona Commission on the Arts was among those entities that got less money in the new state budget than it’d hoped for. But, there had been talk of it not getting any money, either.
Christina You-sun Park is the new executive director of the commission — she’s been on the job for less than a month. She stopped by The Show recently to talk about her new role — starting with what about this job is appealing or interesting to her.
Full conversation
CHRISTINA YOU-SUN PARK: The moment I saw this position, it's just an incredible opportunity. I've been here in the Arizona arts ecosystem for 14-plus years, and the Arizona Commission on the Arts is just a core backbone in terms of supporting artists, organizations and programmatic activity here in Arizona.
MARK BRODIE: And as you reference, you yourself are a working artist. How do you think that experience will translate into maybe more of a managerial type role?
PARK: I see it as a critical part. For me, I've been an artist, a grantmaker, and now as the ED of the Arizona Commission, it allows me to join the agency in a way of humility and also of understanding how applicants feel as they apply to our grant programs.
BRODIE: It's an interesting point, because I would imagine if you've never been on the other side of it, if you've never gone through the process of asking for financial help and going through the process of trying to get it, it might help you in your effort to get that money out, knowing what it's like on the other side.
PARK: Absolutely. I am very commiserate with my other artists and art organizations that may have pushed the submit button at 11:59 p.m. on application day, but also about the way of how can we provide more equitable services for artists and organizations as they apply? How can I support the staff's efforts in order to make applications simpler, more equitable, and more accessible to the whole state?
BRODIE: So let's talk about the kinds of grants you might be able to hand out, because the recently enacted state budget had less money in it for your agency than what has had in the past. How does that impact what you're able to do?
PARK: Unfortunately, this current budget situation does impact the amount of support dollars that we can send to artists and art and cultural organizations. And for the past two years, the state Legislature has been really generous in providing us a one-time appropriation each year for $5 million, of which the full $5 million immediately gets facilitated and sent to artists and art and cultural organizations here in Arizona.
And this being a very difficult budget year, we were tasked with grappling with what it would look like with a zero budget allocation, of which the staff at the Arizona Commission in the Arts did a fantastic job really thinking that through. And we were fortunate this year to be $2 million. But that is a 60% decrease from the years before.
And so this is something that not only for our agencies to deal with, but also the artists, individuals, organizations at the end of the day that we regrant the full amount to.
BRODIE: So what does that mean maybe you won't be able to do that the agency had been able to do in previous years, since you have less money?
PARK: With the $2 million that we have this year and the 60% cut to the one-time appropriation from the state Legislature — we're currently working with our board, but what it will look like is grants that are smaller, fewer grants that are sent out from our agency this year.
BRODIE: You referenced thinking about what a zero appropriation would look like. The state of Florida recently zeroed out its arts commission. Is this the kind of deal where $2 million is not what you were hoping for, but it's better than what you could have had?
PARK: Absolutely. Over the last year, with the potential impact of a zero state allocation to our department, there's been a lot of difficult decisions and conversations about what that would look like. Our department is incredibly cost efficient in the way that we manage funds, but $0 is $0.
So I really do want to thank the governor's office and the Legislature for giving us $2 million. But there's a part where I want to emphasize that this is a one time allocation every single year that our agency, the Arizona Citizens on the Arts, as well as the community has to ask for year after year. And so that creates an environment of volatility for not only us, but also for the individuals and organizations that depend on our funds.
BRODIE: Yeah. I'm curious what in your mind that means for the arts community here, that every year you could get zero, you could get $5 million, you could get some other amount more or less. What does that mean for the artists who are doing their art here, who maybe rely on these grants?
PARK: The artists rely on these grants for to pay rent. They rely on these grants in order to survive. And so it is directly impacting individuals and organizations who have to make salaries at the end of the day. And there is an incredible, crushing sort of impact for these individuals and organizations when they don't know if they're going to get the funds at the end of the day each year.
BRODIE: What do you is the impact on the state of the arts? Why is it important that there are arts grants in Arizona?
PARK: Having a vibrant arts and culture community here in the state of Arizona is incredibly beneficial to the communities as well as the economic infrastructure that makes up our businesses here in Arizona. There is extensive research about the impact of of the arts and cultural sector on, K-12 learning outcomes retention for students.
And then also there's research that clearly defines the impact on lifestyle, on what does it mean to be happy, which I think we're all we're going towards here in the sort of post COVID-19 pandemic.
BRODIE: Do you anticipate that you're going to be able to continue making art in this new role?
PARK: So as an individual artist, I think that my artistic practice has changed a lot over the years. When I first came here to Arizona, I was a sculptor doing public art. And when I think of my practice now, it's really about supporting the community that has really held me through these years.
And so there's small parts where I also play in a community band, and that really supports me in a way that — the ways I just actually just talked about — that's demonstrated through data.
BRODIE: What does success to you in this role look like?
PARK: I have some really ambitious goals here. I think that really addressing the financial volatility, the one-time appropriation, is huge. And so success for me looks like stability for the arts and culture sector here in Arizona.
BRODIE: How would you try to do that?
PARK: So it's working together, and building on the incredible work that has been done, up to this point with, our governor-appointed commission and then also our incredible advocacy body, the Arizona Commission on the Arts. And with this last Legislative session, we have incredible allies that have really worked hard to get us back onto the budget this year. And so building on that momentum in order to advocate for the stability for the arts and culture sector here in Arizona.
And I do want to add, too, that the Arizona Commission on the Arts I have a lot of respect for over the past few years because of the way that it's been managed, fiscally conservative, and the fact that the one-time appropriation is not the full budget. Actually the one time appropriation, 100% of those funds go directly back out to individuals and organizations, and there has been other sources of revenue in order to make up for the programing that we provide to the state, as well as staffing.
