This story is part of our October 2024 issue. To subscribe, click here.

Each month, as I try to come up with a publisher’s letter topic, I struggle a bit. This month, what with elections coming up, I really wanted to get into that dreaded word, “politics.” Like you, I have very definitive ideas on the subject. But team members remind me that politics and religion (two of my favorite subjects, by the way) shouldn’t find their way into my publisher’s letters. And so it shall be. 

So, moving toward the safer side, let’s talk about art. I’ve always loved art, in every form I can think of: music, dance, painting, sculpture, film, theater, literature, architecture and even conceptual. After all, art is about taste, memory, the senses — and just as often, can be about political preference, sexual orientation and religious affiliation. In short, art is highly personal. Even when we all agree that we love or dislike a particular piece, chances are we’re all doing so for very different reasons.

As I was reading our story on the arts in this issue, I was reminded of the richness of the Capital Region in terms of how many artists live and work here and how many options we have to consume art — from galleries to museums, from performances to “happenings” (like the recent annual Chalk-It-Up Festival or Wide Open Walls on buildings throughout the city).

The best part is that you don’t have to be on the urban grid to participate in art appreciation. Our capital city boasts wonderful galleries — including our international treasure, the Crocker Art Museum — and beautiful performance venues both large (the SAFE Community Center Theatre, Golden 1 Arena, Memorial Auditorium) and intimate (the gorgeous reimagining of the B Street Theatre as The Sofia, Runaway Stage, the Bob Hope Theater in Stockton and other community auditoriums). But you’ll also find art shows, concerts, dance and theater in all of the communities throughout our region.  

How are the arts doing?  Several survived the COVID epidemic and are doing quite well. The Sacramento Philharmonic has been reborn under the youthfully energetic leadership of Giuliano Kornberg (one of our Young Professional honorees back in July 2021). The Sacramento Ballet, the Mondavi in Davis, the City of Sacramento’s Art in Public Places program, the legendary Music Circus and Folsom’s Harris Center seem to be thriving. Very recently, I attended a great event at the Harris Center which celebrated Folsom Lake College’s 20-year anniversary (see photos from this event in RSVP this issue). It was a sip-and-stroll evening of food and wine pairings, followed by an almost two-hour, nonstop standup comedy routine by Jay Leno. The event was sold out, and Leno kept the entire audience in laughter.

While creating art can be an individual or collaborative endeavor, supporting the arts takes a lot more. I’ve been especially encouraged to see the collaborative efforts taking place at the Sacramento County Office of Education. Under the watchful eye of Dr. L. Steven Winlock, a partnership to promote the arts has brought together the heaviest hitters in the field — including (in alphabetical order) the California Arts Council, Crocker Art Museum, California Alliance for Arts Education, California County Superintendents Education Services Association, California Curriculum and Instruction Steering Committee, California Department of Education, Friends of Sacramento Arts, Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, Sacramento For Art’s Sake Initiative and UC Davis Education Arts and Humanities. The purpose of this alliance is to support arts learning for grades kindergarten through college in dance, music, theater and visual arts by going after federal and state grants, offer professional arts leadership development, and, as Dr. Winlock says, “provide an avenue for administrators, teachers, students, and community members to be involved in arts education.”  

Why art, you might ask. It’s decorative. It doesn’t make a car drive, a ship sail, a plane fly or a train rattle its way across a town or countryside. It doesn’t help a carpenter build a home, a surgeon pinpoint a tumor, a baby survive cholera or a nation survive a war. And yet, in its own way — and in whatever form it takes — art certainly is powerful. It provides pleasure and humility. It enriches us in ways we’re not always aware of. It makes us think differently. And it connects us with the universe, with other people, with animals and nature.

A common comment about art and aesthetics is, “I don’t know art, but I know what I like.” That could be something I’d say, in fact. We can look at an abstract painting and say (and not be far off), “A child could do that.” Yes, a child could — because children use art to express themselves. Psychologists tell us there’s a reason that in treating children and adults who’ve been through horrendous events in their lives, art therapy is a regularly suggested regimen. It allows patients to “say” things when words fail them.  

Art comes in many forms. My personal art choices lean toward collecting outdoor garden art (I just acquired a handsome “life-size” horse made of driftwood). I grew up with horses, so this was a particularly good addition to the yard. Anything about or in my garden makes me happy, proving art is good for me. How about you?

Winnie Comstock-Carlson
President and Publisher

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