Cultural Arts Plan is OKd

BURBANK — The media capital of the world will become a regional art center buzzing with creative energy and have the ability to coordinate rehearsals, gallery shows and performances on a Wikipedia- inspired website under a Cultural Arts Plan unanimously approved by the City Council this week.

Crafted by studio executives, filmmakers, playwrights, photographers, college professors and city executives, the plan serves as a master document for formalizing cultural arts leadership, rekindling public support and participation and improving usage of existing facilities.

“What’s really great about this is it stimulates our economy,” said Vice Mayor Anja Reinke, a member of the planning committee. “The goal here is to become a regional art center. What that implies is getting money from other places.”

Burbank is in the unique position to be approving a plan that would make better use of its roughly 50 venues, grow tourism and enhance its cultural capital even as other cities cut back on essential services such as schools, hospitals, police and fire personnel, said Allison Sampson, one of two consultants who worked with the committee on the plan.

The Los Angeles County Arts Commission last year selected Burbank to participate in the County’s Municipal Cultural Planning Initiative, funded by the National Endowment of the Arts and the Los Angeles County Productivity Investment Fund. The planning committee consists of more than 25 volunteers working in arts-related fields.

Although Burbank is home to Disney, Warner Bros., NBC, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and countless entertainment-related cottage industries, it has yet to establish itself as city known for its culture, said Cindy Pease, president of the board for the Media City Ballet Company.

When she moved to Burbank from the East Coast in 1981, she was forced to drive to North Hollywood to take adult classical ballet class, and to Los Angeles and Orange County to attend concerts, operas, galleries and museums.

“To me, at the time, it seemed like Burbank was neither a destination for the classical arts, nor a gathering for the younger workforce to enjoy the arts,” she said. “It seemed the town closed down every night at 9 o’clock.”