Knight Foundation Includes San Jose among 'Creative Cities' to Get Five-year Arts Grant

A $3.5 million, five-year Creative Cities investment will be launched into Springboard for the Arts to create stronger pathways for arts and culture to become integrated into civic life in eight cities, including San Jose. The initiative deepens a partnership with Springboard for the Arts, a Saint Paul-based organization with two decades of experience connecting artists and civic systems across urban and rural communities. Participating communities will receive structured support to develop locally driven strategies for working with artists and cultural workers on priorities such as housing, health, economic mobility, and community well-being. The effort responds to cuts in federal arts support and to challenges including social isolation, economic insecurity, and declining public trust. Arts and culture are expected to strengthen social connection, support local economies, and fuel civic participation.

"The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation today announced the launch of a $3.5 million, five-year "Creative Cities" investment into Springboard for the Arts to create stronger pathways for arts and culture to become integrated into civic life in eight cities, including San Jose."

"Through the Creative Cities Initiative, participating communities will gain structured support to develop locally driven strategies for working with artists and cultural workers on local priorities such as housing, health, economic mobility and community well-being."

"Research from Americans for the Arts shows that arts and culture strengthen social connection, support local economies and fuel civic participation, the Knight Foundation said in a press release. Creative Cities is designed to bolster local networks, provide practical tools for cross-sector work and build long-term resilience in local creative ecosystems."

""Springboard for the Arts has spent decades showing what becomes possible when artists and arts and cultural organizations are recognized as essential civic partners," said Kristina Newman-Scott, vice president for arts at Knight Foundation. "Creative Cities brings that practice into eight Knight communities, while ensuring each city can shape its own path. By connecting these communities to one another, we are building a shared learning network wher"

Read at San Jose Inside