The Arts Area

vision

Making Art Work for Everyone

our story

The Arts Area vision of “Making Art Work For Everyone” focuses on the importance of equitable representation and access in the arts. This involves opening access to academic and economic resources that would not otherwise be available to artists and students in underserved communities, thus engaging in three central themes of economic and social justice: equitable access, opportunity, and personal accomplishment. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, The Arts Area provides a model that is accessible and relevant to the specific needs of the diverse communities in the Greater Inland Empire. The arts have a strong social power, but that power can only reach its full potential when combined with social awareness. This is important and at the core of The Arts Area mission.

The Arts Area confronts the structural inequalities, inadequate education preparation, and challenging economic conditions of the region. The region has among the lowest income and education completion rates and the highest economic inequality in California. While many local cities also lack developed public arts and culture policies and community arts councils.

At the same time, the creative industries directly employ almost 1.4 million people and support a total of 3.9 million workers across the state, the creative economy outperforms industry sectors like government, manufacturing, health care, and retail trade – sectors that often receive greater economic development, talent development, and policy support (OTIS Report 2022). The low creative industry employment rate of the Inland Empire region, accounting for approximately only 2% of total employment, is not a byproduct of a lack of interest, local creative traditions, creative ability, or skills training, but rather a symptom of the current limitations of economic access and opportunity in the region. Thus resulting in a loss of locally trained creative talent to other regions or the need to seek employment in another economic sector in order to stay living in the region.

As the only regional 501(c)(3) organization with a creative industries economic development mission focus, The Arts Area is uniquely positioned to discuss the value and importance of cross-sector work and integration of the creative industries throughout the economy. It is critical that stakeholders across the Greater Inland Empire engage in evidence-based discussions about how the region can support and foster inclusive development of our creative economy and implement strategies and policies that secure its future economic value along with the broader economic development of the region.

The Arts Area is headquartered in the City of Ontario in the Chaffey Community College district where over 21,000 students are enrolled at three campuses. Over 2,000 of these students have a declared program of study in one or more areas of the creative industries. The economic needs of the region are also reflected in the local student population with over 68% receiving financial assistance. The Arts Area’s broader tri-county service region includes a dozen community colleges along with California State University at San Bernardino, the University of California at Riverside, the Claremont Colleges and Graduate University, and numerous other private academic institutions, all of which have robust program offerings in the creative industries.

In the fall of 2016, The Arts Area founder, Professor John Machado, conducted the survey research project "Assessing Student Success in the Creative Economy." The survey study explored the experiences and perceived level of success and satisfaction attained in the academic and professional careers of over 5,000 current and former local college students from creative industry programs. The study results indicated that local artists are most in need of access to professional networks, workspace, and equipment, while the largest deterrent to their careers has been a lack of adequate professional business skills and sustainable income opportunities in the creative industries. The outcomes from this study are directly reflected in the programs, services, and goals of The Arts Area presented here in this website.

The Arts Area also serves as a community partner in the Pitzer College Critical Action & Social Advocacy (CASA) program, working with artists and students on collaborative projects, art exhibitions, and community-based participatory research on issues of regional equity and social justice in the arts and arts education. This includes research into long-standing systemic issues of access in education. These concerns include the use of property taxes to determine school funding, high stakes standardized testing, as well as teacher pay and workloads, among other issues. Arts education is an important facet of the wide variety of educational resources that are unequally dispersed between communities: rich and poor, rural and urban, White and non-White. To this end, The Arts Area is a community partner with Create CA and proudly serves as the sponsoring organization for Arts Now San Bernardino County in the advocacy of equitable access to arts education for all K-12 students. We believe that creativity and arts education are essential to building the society we all want to be a part of.

Each of The Arts Area program and service areas are aligned with under developed opportunities and the specific needs of the local students, artists, arts and cultural institutions, and creative industry organizations and businesses. The Arts Area approaches the three pillars of academic, economic, and civic engagement in a holistic manner to build bridges between the disparate components of the community. Each potential program and service area being assessed for strengths and opportunities in order to draw upon existing local assets, reduce regional redundancies, and improve the overall health of the economy.

The Arts Area believes the foundation for lasting economic development begins with a dedication to education and skills development, strengthening pathways to attending college and vocational training, supporting careers in the creative industries, and building the needed infrastructure for a growing creative economy. The results of which will promote an economically viable and creative arts community that is an invaluable resource to students, artists, and the community at large. This is a long-term commitment to vitalize artistic and cultural awareness, stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship, and reassert a sense of hope, pride, and accomplishment in the future of the community.