Berkeley has a well-known, successful cultural and arts district downtown, which includes multiple theaters, performance spaces and museums.

But artists and cultural organizations in West Berkeley, along the San Pablo corridor and adjacent to North Oakland and Emeryville, have discussed for years the possibility of becoming officially recognized as another one. Now, that possibility may be moving closer to becoming a reality. 

“There are five ‘nodes’ along San Pablo Avenue that could be connected,” said Ellen Lake, co-director of Kala Arts Institute, one of the nonprofit organizations supporting the idea. “This would allow shared resources, and raise visibility.” Kala Gallery hosted a June 20 meeting for “stakeholders ready to talk about the opportunities and benefits,” she said. “With the recent passage of California Assembly Bill 812, there may be advantages to the official designation.”

As an anchor arts organization, Kala wants to “do our part to help formalize the informal network of arts organizations and neighboring arts/culture businesses that we count on,” she said. “There are networks that exist, like the West Berkeley design loop, and lots of collaboration that happens in the area, but a designated cultural district will help the area in new ways.”

Ashkenaz Music & Dance Community Center, SHOH Gallery, 120710 Art Gallery and Studios, and Luna Dance Institute are other organizations interested in the concept, she said. Kim Anno, president and founder of Wild Projects, and a co-organizer of the June 20 meeting, also listed “The Gilman Club” and the building formerly housing Fantasy Studios as potential parts of the collaboration.

There is solid data backing up the idea of recognized cultural and arts districts. The nonprofit Americans for the Arts’ comprehensive 1997 study, “Cultural Districts: The Arts As a Strategy for Revitalizing Our Cities,” states, “Cultural districts boost urban revitalization in many ways: beautify and animate cities, provide employment, attract residents and tourists to the city, complement adjacent businesses, enhance property values, expand the tax base, attract well-educated employees, and contribute to creative, innovative environment.”

Forbes Magazine, in an article published last October, stated, “Nonprofit arts and culture organizations are local businesses. They employ people locally, purchase goods and services from nearby businesses, and engage in the marketing and promotion of their cities and regions. They provide rewarding employment for more than artists, curators, and musicians. They also employ marketers, accountants, security officers, engineers, and an array of occupations spanning many industries.”

And the City of Berkeley’s Arts & Cultural Plan Update 2017, under “Economic Impact of the Arts in Berkeley,” states, “The arts and culture industry in Berkeley generates nearly $165 million in total economic activity, including both direct and indirect impact of the arts and culture industry.” 

Lake noted that Kala has been surveyed many times as part of city research, and results have shown that there are over 800 individual artists and craft persons in West Berkeley. “As an anchor arts organization and community art-making hub, we know we play an essential role in Berkeley’s art ecosystem, yet often hear that we are still a well-kept secret,” she said, making the case for the increased visibility an official “district” designation would bring to the whole area.

Wild Projects, founded in 2016, is a “knowledge-gathering space, incubator for art, film, music, social practice and performance including environmental justice projects,” according to Anno’s materials. Her own studio is in southwest Berkeley. “I am part of this community, which has been facing displacement,” she said, citing increasingly high costs for artists’ working space and lack of affordable housing.

Brick-and-mortar retail has been disappearing in the area as well, she said, leaving ground-floor spaces vacant. But this is part of what resources potentially provided by passage of AB-812 could address, she emphasized. These spaces could become studios or live/work spaces. “AB-812…[allows] for 10% of affordable housing developments to be for artists,” she wrote in an email, citing this passage from the bill:

“A certain percentage of units of a residential development be affordable housing, as specified, to reserve for artists up to 10% of those required affordable housing units, except as provided, if certain conditions are met, including that the units reserved are located within or within one-half mile from a state-designated cultural district or within a locally designated cultural district, as specified.”

California cities, Anno said, will now vie for arts district designations in order to stabilize their cultural producers. 

Lake pointed to what she described as a “creative place-based initiative,” Print Public, that Kala has been sponsoring since 2013 as a natural prologue to the establishment of a cultural and arts district.

“We’ve supported 30 artist projects over the past decade that have tackled community issues like development, displacement and rising costs of living,” she said. “Print Public blends the unique location of San Pablo Avenue with arts-driven approaches for community problem solving and civic engagement to strengthen this diverse community through economic, physical and social change.”

During this time, Print Public evolved from creating temporary art installations in underused buildings along the San Pablo Avenue corridor to a municipal artist-in-residence program in partnership with different departments within the City of Berkeley.

“Marcel Pardo Ariza and Cheryl Derricotte are finishing their concurrent artist residencies at Kala and with the City of Berkeley Planning Department and will have an exhibition, Roadwork, opening on Oct. 24 at the Kala Gallery,” she said.

As part of the continuing process of working to create the cultural and arts district, the West Berkeley Arts District Taskforce, along with Wild Projects, is hosting a candidates’ forum for Berkeley mayoral candidates, as well as candidates for State Senate District 7. The taskforce, says its press release, “is sponsoring this forum for arts organizations, artists, and arts workers to come and ask the hard questions about connecting the dots of opportunities for the arts sector.”

Despite “Diverse audiences enjoying the arts of Berkeley,” the release points out, “even the most successful have had to seek more affordable studios and spaces outside of the city.”

The public is welcome to attend the forum.

Candidates’ Forum on the Arts, featuring Berkeley mayoral candidates and State Senate District 7 candidates, Oct. 7, 5:30-7:30pm, Capoiera Arts Foundation, 1901 San Pablo Ave., Berkeley. Attendance indicates permission to be filmed by Berkeley community media.