Festival of the Arts

Q. What was the goal of the Festival of the Arts when it was established 17 years ago?
A. The Festival was an early initiative when the Office of Cultural Affairs (OCA) was first established within city government. The idea was to provide the community with a very visible arts event that would help make known the OCA and its mission. At the time, the Festival was also envisioned as a vehicle for local arts organizations to connect with citizenry they were not already reaching.

Q. Has that early goal of the Festival of the Arts been met? 
A.  Both aspects of the goal have been met – so much more is happening in Columbia thanks to the exciting growth of local arts organizations. Those groups are constantly producing so many high quality exhibits, performances and special events year round, many of which were not available when the Festival began.  While there are likely citizens who are not aware of the OCA, the visibility of OCA programs and sponsored events is far greater than in 1992 when the Festival began. The Festival is not filling the void that it was seventeen years ago – in 2008, OCA staff documented 13 other special events occurring the same weekend as the Festival.

Q. What were the issues surrounding the continued production of the Festival of the Arts?
A. Declining participation by performers and visual artists: This has not been obvious to the general public because the decline is seen internally in the number of artists and performers applying to participate each year. The decline in applicants made it increasingly difficult to maintain a high level of quality in the event offerings.
Staffing the Festival because of overall OCA growth in other areas: OCA staffing levels have seen little growth since a second full time position was added early on (the OCA started with just one staffer in 1992). For example, ten years ago, the OCA had 2.4 full time positions compared to the 2.75 in the current fiscal year. In those same ten years, the OCA’s other programs, services and priorities have grown. That growth increased staff work-load, especially in regard to the city’s Percent for Art program and the arts funding program that supports local arts agencies.
Declining Festival revenues: OCA staff were charged with raising the funds needed to produce the Festival. Sponsorships from local businesses, proceeds from the OCA’s annual Poster Party and an allocation from a Missouri Arts Council grant made up the majority of the money needed.  Additional income was provided by visual artist and food vendor booth fees and sales of the Commemorative Poster and Festival t-shirts. For Festival 2008, there were declines in nearly all of those areas. Further, OCA staff recognizes that seeking sponsorships from the private sector puts the OCA in direct competition with the arts agencies it is tasked with assisting.

Q. Why discontinue such a well-established event like the Festival of the Arts?
A. This was a difficult decision as the Festival has been very well received over the years and we know that many people looked forward to it. A chief issue is that planning and implementing the Festival is increasingly labor-intensive. Over the years, as the other programs and services of the OCA have grown, it has become clear that existing staff cannot continue to manage the Festival at the level it has grown to along with other departmental priorities. Behind the scenes, the Festival has suffered from several years of declining participation from visual artists and performers and, more recently, a decline in the revenue needed to pay for the event.

Q. With such a main program is eliminated, how will OCA staffing and programming be impacted?
A. Other main programs of the OCA have grown significantly over the years while staff levels have not – specifically, arts marketing efforts, technical assistance to local arts organizations and the Percent for Art program -- so existing staff will have more available time to address those areas. OCA staff is also studying new programming possibilities that might be initiated as a result of the discontinuation of the Festival of the Arts. And with the update of the city’s cultural plan underway as well as the need for public art planning and the responsibility to the city’s Visioning Plan, there are many other priorities that will require committed staff time.

Q. Can parts of the Festival of the Arts be retained somehow?
A. The Commission on Cultural Affairs and OCA staff are currently evaluating what aspects of the Festival could be kept or re-worked within other OCA programs and services. An example is the Youth Art component of the Festival which has been a key aspect of the OCA’s Partners in Education pairing with the Columbia Public Schools Art Department.

Q. What will happen to the city’s Commemorative Poster and Poster Party that have been promoted as in conjunction with the Festival?
A.  The Poster Party remains a strong event and the Commemorative Poster is an excellent means for the OCA to highlight and support the work of an individual artist. The funds raised at the Poster Party could be used to augment other OCA programs and services such as the arts funding process that helps boost the work of many local arts organizations.

Please contact the OCA if you have additional questions about the discontinuation of the Festival of the Arts.