01 & 14 (169)Public Comment
From:
Cassie Hopkinson <
Sent:
Monday, April 26, 2021 12:01 PM
To:
Public Comment
Cc:
info@anaheimballet.org
Subject:
Save Anaheim Ballet
Dear Mayor Sidhu and Council Members,
As a future Arts Teacher I was asked once to answer What is Art and Why is Art Important? The first
question was slightly harder to answer and for that I turned to the dictionary. According to the Oxford
dictionary, art is "the expression or application of human creativity, skill and imagination, typically in a visual
form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional
power." I than used this to answer Why is art important?
Art is a language people use to communicate their thoughts and express themselves in a way words cannot. It
can also be a way to experience ones culture and history in a visual representation. This can be through painting
or sculpture in the traditional sense, but this can also be represented in our architecture or through dance. In the
visual world we live in, art is everywhere from the murals decorating the side of buildings or freeway
overpasses to the advertisements we see on billboards or store fronts. Art is our entertainment from museum
galleries to our favorite TV shows we binge -watch when we want to get away from the busy work world or just
relax in our time off. It is also those small school recitals or large national dance competition our children or
family members are so happy to showcase their weeks or months of hard work. Art is so much a part of our live
and in this case we need to save it.
The Anaheim Cultural Arts Center, home of the Anaheim Ballet, is slated to be demolished without plans for
a new Cultural Arts Center or home for the Anaheim Ballet. For more than 20 years Anaheim Ballet has
provided free community based after school programing, workforce and recreational training, concert
performances and so much more not just locally but internationally as a point of pride to the city. If the city
demolishes this building you will not only be removing the only Cultural Arts Center in the City and displacing
this City's treasured arts organization but you will also be destroying a unique architectural structure.
I ask that the Anaheim Ballet remains in it current accessible location. Please vote in support of the
Cooperative Agreement with Anaheim Ballet and save the arts from being removed from our city. Thank you
for your time and consideration in reading this letter.
Sincerely,
Cassandra Vargas Hopkinson