This story is part of our August 2026 issue. To read the print version, click here.
In the wake of the pandemic, the City of Sacramento took
an ambitious approach to preserving its artistic identity,
funding numerous programs meant to strengthen special events,
imaginative creators and trusted institutions for dance and
theater. Then-Mayor Darrell Steinberg and Director of Convention
and Cultural Services Megan Van Voorhis spearheaded this effort,
making the case that it was vital to the California capital’s
quality of life.
Between 2022 and 2024, the city commissioned surveys on how to
make it a more livable and workable place for artists. It
allocated $750,000 to accelerator programs for creative
businesses, and it dedicated $250,000 to arts-related journalism
that could help ticket sales for stages, galleries and music
venues. The city even piloted several alternative capital
allocation models designed to spur property ownership among
artists.
And these priorities seemed justified to many when Americans for
the Arts issued a study in 2024 revealing that the arts and
culture industry in Sacramento County generated $241.7 million in
one year alone, not to mention supporting nearly 4,400 jobs and
yielding $164.8 million in personal income. Towards the end of
2024, many in Sacramento’s creative economy seemed to feel
hopeful about the future.
However, the following year saw various efforts on the federal
level to slash funding to the National Endowment for the Arts and
the National Endowment for the Humanities. The uncertainty around
those political battles has had ripple effects for artists and
nonprofits across the country. That, coupled with persistent
inflation and cost-of-living hikes, has created a challenging
environment for any organization relying on patrons’ disposable
income.
And beyond those headwinds there are more existential questions:
How is the deluge of constant media stimuli from smartphones
affecting people’s ability to concentrate on performances? How
will AI-generated imitations of art impact a creator’s ability to
find audiences and have an income?
With so much low-simmering stress in the air, Comstock’s convened
a roundtable that included Scott Klier, CEO of Broadway
Sacramento; Jeremy Ganter, executive director of the Mondavi
Center for the Performing Arts; David Sobon, founder of the Wide
Open Walls Mural Festival; Mae McCoy, a Sacramento-area musical
artist, radio broadcaster and independent record label owner and
Jeff Eisenberg, a local visual artist and Sacramento’s District 2
commissioner for the Arts, Culture & Creative Economy Commission.
We engaged this panel in a discussion about the overall state of
the arts in the Sacramento region.
Comstock’s: How healthy is the overall
state of the arts in the region, and what do nonprofits and
elected officials need to do to keep it moving in a positive
direction?
Jeff Eisenberg (artist/Arts
Commissioner): I think the arts are being
challenged right now, just like every other sector. Grants have
been aggressively clawed back; but one of the good things that I
do think is going on involves how I’m seeing a lot of
collaboration and creativity on the part of many different
artists, in terms of still initiating projects and finding ways
to fund their work and just keep going. It’s almost like a
creative license to try new stuff. … But we do have to be more
bold, in terms of coming together and looking at what are we
doing? And who are we forgetting?
Mae McCoy (artist/broadcaster): I agree
with Jeff that these challenges do cause artists to be more
scrappy and learn how to find their own route, especially when it
looks like there’s no real clear path.
Scott Klier (Broadway Sacramento): I
would say there is a lot of great art happening in the performing
arts sector of Sacramento. We’ve seen a lot of expansion with our
company, and I know that our colleagues at B Street Theater and
Capital Stage would likely say the same. But we are dependent on
our community having discretionary income at their disposal to
make choices like going to the theater or having a night out. And
so, things will ebb and flow with that.
I don’t think any of the organizations have allowed that to stop
their growth or prevent them from finding new ways of reaching a
larger audience. What I also hope we’ll see is a kind of “return
to Sacramento”: We’ll see what happens with the workforce. I
think the greatest roles our elected officials could play is
making sure people feel safe and incentivized to leave the
comforts of home.
David Sobon (Wide Open Walls): I think
Sacramento artistic talent has never been stronger. The
challenge isn’t creativity, it’s coordination. We have
world-class artists, organizations and festivals, but we’re still
telling those stories separately rather than collectively. When
visitors come to Sacramento, they don’t really care who funded
something or where the money came from. It’s just more about
“Where should I go? What should I see?” As far as local
government’s role, it’s about encouraging partnerships and
integrating the tourism part with economic development. We can’t
treat those individually.
Scott Klier is CEO of Broadway Sacramento.
Jeremy Ganter (Mondavi
Center): What I would want our elected officials to
know is that grant funding is very important. It needs to not be
so difficult when artists are trying to get funding to create new
work. I think that’s even more important than finding funding for
organizations like mine. It’s crucial that the actual creators of
the work have an easy pathway and access to grant funding.
Comstock’s: Speaking of grants, between
the current economics of the creative economy and the scarcity of
grants at the moment, how hard is it for artists to make a living
in the Sacramento region?
Eisenberg: I can speak to that from the
visual arts perspective. As far as artists go, everyone is having
to cobble together multiple sources of income. They’re trying to
pursue grants. They’re trying to develop clients on their own.
You have to be your own promoter, your own agent. And on top of
that, people have studio space — and then they don’t have
studio space.
McCoy: As someone who helped run a
nonprofit organization for traditional music in the past (the
Western Swing Society), I think we didn’t always pursue some of
the grant opportunities that were out there. Right now, I’m
finding it difficult as far as grant money goes. It’s a tough
time.
Klier: Our organization has never been
dependent on grants, but we certainly are a nonprofit
organization — and we prove that most years. What Sacramento does
not have that other major metropolitan areas do is a strong
corporate presence. Without major companies headquartered in the
area who are incentivized to support their local nonprofits,
there aren’t a lot of revenue sources outside of our individual
patrons, who, on top of their ticket buying, dig into their
pockets to make other contributions. So, there is lack of
corporate sponsorships in our area. With Sacramento being
primarily a government town, I don’t see that changing, even
though it needs to change.
“One encouraging thing, overall, is that we’re seeing audiences
still very much value the live experience — and that there is
no way to really replace that. It’s an interesting conversation
for us to be having in the AI era, but I’m still seeing people
turn to live performances for solace, for entertainment.”
— Jeremy Ganter, executive director, Mondavi
Center
Ganter: One encouraging thing, overall,
is that we’re seeing audiences still very much value the live
experience — and that there is no way to really replace that.
It’s an interesting conversation for us to be having in the AI
era, but I’m still seeing people turn to live performances for
solace, for entertainment. And I’ve been witnessing this in
theaters all across the country, where there is a lot less use of
cell phones during performances, and people paying attention to
what’s actually happening on stage. I take that as a sign of this
kind of re-affirmation of experience in the moment.
Comstock’s: What needs to happen to
ensure the members of the youngest generation become regular
patrons of the arts and get invested in the cultural institutions
of this region?
McCoy: Definitely meeting them
where they are at. I’d say that’s the online space. For me, being
a radio broadcast host and podcaster, I like to go online and
make sure that I’m tagging younger artists and creating
conversation with them — always in connection to California — and
also letting them know from the vantage point of an underground
record label that they’re being encouraged to carry the torch.
Ganter: What Mae said about meeting
them where they’re at is so important. We’re finding, if we put
the data side by side, that with a touring artist who maybe isn’t
as social media savvy as one who is, the engagement from younger
generations is extraordinarily different. I also think this is a
generation that’s much more adept at co-curating experiences and
making their own experiences, because that’s the way a lot of our
technology is set up. So, it’s about creating ways to get away
from this old model of “sit down, shut up and stare at the stage
for 90 minutes.”
Eisenberg: I think direct involvement
in projects is a great way to get young people invested —
supporting projects with a number of people helping. Literally
building sets. Literally painting things. Literally setting up
and hanging the shows. For young people who don’t have experience
with that, it creates a personal investment.
Jeremy Ganter is the executive director of the Mondavi Center.
Sobon: As an
organization, Wide Open Walls has gotten youth involved. If
you’re going to get the younger generation involved, that means
going into the schools and their programs. And obviously, B
Street Theater has done an incredible job with that, too. With
us, we’ve created 220 murals in different school districts in
Sacramento. … I don’t think young people necessarily separate art
from everyday life. When they’re walking down the street and they
see somebody playing music or they see a mural in the
neighborhood, it will be on Instagram. It will be on TikTok. The
same with the festivals we have: That’s the kind of stuff that’s
really engaging young people.
Klier: We have to listen to them. And
we don’t have the luxury of repeating what we’ve always done
while having some expectation that they’re going to show up for
it. Art is created for its audience, and we have to make sure
that we understand the sensibilities of this new audience and
find ways to reach them and excite them, as well as maintain the
existing patrons at the same time, which can be a tough juggling
act.
Comstock’s: What do you think
ultimately sets Sacramento apart as an artistic and cultural
destination? What makes it most unique and special?
McCoy: We have an incredible history
here, especially with traditional music. It has such a footprint
that everyone I talk to around the United States mentions
Sacramento, specifically. And we have an airport, which means
these indie bands that are coming through are always looking at
the area and saying, “Where can I land? Where can I play?” So, we
still have the magic.
Ganter: It’s such a cool city. I know
from working with touring artists, primarily, how much they love
coming here. It’s because of the vibrant art scene, that history
Mae talked about and all the outstanding restaurants. It’s just
such a great place to be — and such a great place to perform.
Eisenberg: The amount of diversity in
it, and that runs across the cultural, and generational and
socio-economic. Coming from the Bay Area, I saw all that
flattened in my time there. That’s not the case here. And I think
it brings people a variety of perspectives and solutions to
things, which I think is a strength.
Klier: I think Sacramento has a
generosity of spirit that very few cities can boast. Sacramentans
are humble and kind, and have a huge appetite for great art — and
for living in community.
Sobon: I think we are authentic.
Sacramento culture has just grown organically. It wasn’t forced.
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