From murals to music, arts and culture are a big part of what makes San Diego special. Now, the city is embarking on its first-ever planning process to guide investments in arts across local neighborhoods, with goals of turning America’s Finest City into a more equitable and prosperous “Creative City” for all San Diegans.

📝 Hatching the plan

We first heard about Creative City from Mayor Todd Gloria at last year’s reopening of the Museum of Contemporary Arts San Diego. Speaking to reporters, he told us local arts and culture investments would eventually be woven into other city-led initiatives.

“We want to make sure art is integral to what we do here in the city,” Gloria said.

Fast-forward to now.

The city has developed this cultural plan framework that aims to grow arts and foster creative experimentation under guiding principles like racial, cultural, economic, and geographic inclusion.

The city says the process will likely span 7-10 years, with the final plan expected to be completed by March 2025.

The initiative is spearheaded by the mayor’s team and the Commission for Arts and Culture. Cultural Planning Group, a national firm, has also been hired to help.

The planning process to grow San Diego's arts and culture across the city is slated to be completed by March 2025. | Photo via The New Children's Museum + Creative City

🔔 Chime in

Next week, the project moves into its “Listen and Engage” phase with public discussions where San Diegans can share insight on SD’s creative future:

Creative City Forum | Tuesday, June 20 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. | Soap Factory
Pop-Up: Light Box Theater | Wednesday, June 21 | 5:30-7 p.m.
City Heights Performance Annex | Thursday, June 22 | 5:30-7 p.m.
Mission Trails Visitor Center | Thursday, June 22 | 5:30-7 p.m.

More pop-ups are being planned across nine districts in July, plus the launch of a survey.

Discussion groups across sectors like tourism, arts and cultural organizations, arts education providers, and individual artists are also in the works.

Per the project timeline, the plan will begin taking shape this September, and a first draft will be developed by September 2024. Public input on the plan will take place in fall 2024, followed by revisions and the final plan by March 2025.