Zócalo Public Square

You wouldn’t know it by reading stories about San Bernardino’s bankruptcy and poverty (the Los Angeles Times recently called the Southern California city “a symbol of the nation’s urban woes”), but San Bernardino is seeing an arts revival. A new arts center jus opened. A new public art project, “This Is San Bernardino,” examines people’s experiences of the city. The city’s fine arts commission is pushing the city council for more support. So what roles, if any, might the arts play in a civic revival? Does bringing arts to a distressed place really attract people and investment? In a panel discussion moderated by San Bernadino Sun reporter Michel Nolan, former dean of the School of Education at California State University, San Bernardino, Ernie Garcia, former executive director of the San Bernardino Symphony Valerie Peister, and poet and “This Is San Bernardino” co-creator Juan Delgado examine what the arts can and can’t do for a recovering city.