Karina Vargas joined the ABC 10News team in Jan. 2026 as a Multimedia Journalist.
SAN DIEGO — Arts leaders packed City Hall Wednesday, urging city leaders to reconsider proposed cuts that would eliminate nearly $11.8 million in arts and culture funding from San Diego's budget.
Representatives from some of San Diego's most well-known cultural institutions, including the Mingei International Museum, the La Jolla Playhouse, and the Fleet Science Center, voiced their concerns at a budget review committee meeting. Debby Buchholz, managing director of the La Jolla Playhouse, said: 'The idea that America's finest city would spend no money on arts and culture is reprehensible, frankly.
'Advocates argued the cut represents a fraction of the city's overall spending. '$11.5 million dollars in a $6.5 billion budget is not even a drop; it's less than a quarter of 1% of the total budget,' Buchholz added. Arts advocates warned the impact would be immediate, with potential layoffs, program cuts, and even closures.
Jessica Hanson York, executive director of the Mingei International Museum, said, 'We are huge employers of people who are making a living as creatives in this community and we want our artists and creative contributors to be able to stay here, and it doesn't help when we don't have the support to keep them employed.
'During the meeting, Council President Pro Tem Kent Lee questioned the mayor's office about whether an economic impact analysis had been completed. Kent Lee asked 'Was an economic impact analysis completed in regards to arts and culture?
'The mayor's office responded that no such analysis had been conducted. Lee also pressed the mayor's office on whether and when arts and culture funding might be restored. The mayor's office responded saying, 'That's a difficult question to answer I think there is a lot of desire to bring these funds back we are going to work hard to bring these funds back we recognize the impacts. I don't have a specific plan for you today.
'Arts advocates say they want to see no cuts made to their funding. The full City Council will have the final say on the budget in the coming weeks. This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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