Gilbert department faces the art of survival

Gilbert resident Teri Parry walked past paintings on display in the lobby of the Southeast Regional Library on Tuesday, something she does often with her three kids.

An exhibit temporarily donated for display by a grandfather-granddaughter artist team reveals divergent artwork - oil paintings with sceneries and realistic people next to brighter paintings of characters from the circus.

Parry said she likes that her three children can view the artwork, though she admits there's not a lot around town.

She'd like to see more, not less.

"Especially in something we frequent at least once a week like the library, to have that kind of exposure," she said.

But Gilbert's single-employee arts department, which operates the art-on-display program, is on the chopping block as the town reviews its budget.

The town must cut enough to reverse a current trend toward a $58 million deficit in the next five years.

Among possible cuts that the town will discuss in coming weeks is the elimination of the town's arts and cultural position and minor program costs that go with the job - a total of $98,260 annually.

Kim Grace holds that job now, and helps organize lobby art in the library and at the Gilbert Municipal Court, and accepts some donated art on display in those buildings. She also advises the volunteer Arts Advisory Board, which plans events and is proposing a rotating sculpture-display program downtown and bringing in a professional symphony to play in town.

Because town funding of the arts is minimal, the arts job is designed to bring in arts grants and help raise funds for the annual Global Village Festival, which a consulting firm hired by the town helps plan.

But some town officials have complained they aren't getting enough art for that money, and have seen only about four grants in five years.

While Grace would not comment for this story, she has said that she focuses on free programs due to the town's desire to keep costs down and the minimal funding for the arts.

Vice Mayor Steve Urie said he didn't want any funding cut to lead to no arts in town. He said he'd like to see the town consider using a less expensive consultant or focus on volunteers and other town employees to operate the current arts activities.

Town spokesman Greg Svelund said it's a good time for the town to review spending and proposals for planning arts programs, given a variety of arts proposals including the downtown sculpture display that are being discussed as the town struggles with its budget.

Gilbert resident Susan Chen said she'd like to see more art, and she'd like to see it prepared more professionally.

"You can see there's not lots of money put in there," she said as she viewed the art on display in the library. Improved support for the arts, she said, "might upgrade the image of the town."

Gilbert resident Mike Roybal said he enjoys the artwork, but if it were gone, "it wouldn't affect me much as long as the library stayed open."

By the numbers
1
Employees in Gilbert's art department

$98,260
Budget for that position and minor program costs that go with the job

$58 million
Gilbert's projected deficit in the next five years