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About 50 artists and community members gathered Tuesday evening at Blue Star Contemporary for a public roundtable on how Project Marvel should reflect San Antonio's arts and cultural identity as planning continues for the proposed downtown redevelopment.
Hosted by District 5 Councilwoman Teri Castillo, the discussion focused on how local artists could help shape the redevelopment and how the Spurs' proposed $75 million community benefits package could support artists and cultural organizations.
Project Marvel is the roughly $4 billion redevelopment plan centered on a proposed $1.3 billion Spurs arena. Plans also include an expanded Henry B. González Convention Center, improvements to the Alamodome and other downtown development.
"When we look at why people visit the city of San Antonio, it's because of our vibrant arts and culture," Castillo said. "So we would be remiss if we did not include the arts community in conversations about community benefits and how we can ensure that the arts community is involved when it comes to revitalizing downtown."
Author Mitzi Moore said Project Marvel should build on the city's growing momentum for the arts.
"In four years, the Art Everywhere Project of Centro San Antonio put up 400 works of art. In four years. We have momentum in this city for the arts. There are people all over the place making art. We need to capture that momentum and make sure that Project Marvel represents who we are," Moore said.
Among the ideas discussed, sculptor Bill FitzGibbons proposed creating an advisory committee made up of artists, neighborhood representatives and other stakeholders to work with architects and designers throughout the project.
"It would come up with some rules and regulations for Project Marvel," FitzGibbons said. "This committee would be put together by stakeholders, whether it's neighborhood people surrounding Project Marvel or artists in San Antonio."
Artistic director and dancer Catherine Cisneros said local artists should have a central role in the project.
"We are the artists. We are the tribe. We are the people that make this city beautiful. We are the reason people come here, we are the reason the HOT tax was made, so we have to protect each other and we have to protect this city," Cisneros said.
Cisneros was referring to the hotel occupancy tax, or HOT tax, which helps fund arts and cultural programs and is also a major source of funding for Project Marvel.
