Beyond the grid

This weekend, Sacramentans will have the chance to enjoy Second Saturday, with venues showcasing a wealth of talented artists.

Many of the places, however, are located in Midtown and surrounding neighborhoods, leaving the impression that the rest of the city doesn’t have much to offer.

That topic and others were addressed at a June 29 panel discussion, “The State of the Arts: What Will it Take to Make Sacramento’s Art Scene Great?”

Hosted by California Groundbreakers, a panel of artists, gallery owners and other supporters talked funding, space and promotion. Seumas Coutts, co-founder of M5 Arts, the group behind Art Hotel, said Sacramento is in a unique position. With generous arts funding, we could be the next Berlin, he said, noting both cities boast copious space and cheap rents.

Cool, but is Berlin the right goal?

Sacramento is one of the nation’s most diverse cities. I thought of this as Brickhouse Gallery curator Barbara Range raised a question.

How do we promote artists and galleries beyond the grid, she asked. How do we support scenes in south Sacramento and Del Paso Heights, for example?

It’s an important point.

Sacramento shouldn’t emulate Berlin—or any other city. Instead, we must focus on what makes us unique. That means looking beyond the grid to to invest time, energy, space and money in more neighborhoods. That means seeking out, supporting and promoting diverse artists across a spectrum of ethnicities and financial backgrounds.

That investment falls on all of us, including SN&R.

We’ll aim to do better.