By Melina Paris, Columnist, Photo by Phillip Cooke
Max Viltz, the owner of Village Treasures, is a community servant, promoter of the arts and music, and a major influence for African American culture in Long Beach.
While Viltz doesn’t believe she’s done anything special, a glimpse into her day planner reveals the contrary. The term “Renaissance woman” is a fitting description, she has responsibilities to a great number of circles in Long Beach’s civic life.
She recently finished her third three-year term on the Long Beach Arts Council, first on the allocations committee and then serving as the chairwoman of governance.
Viltz explained that the arts council’s purpose is to make people understand there are all kinds of art, from graffiti to glassblowing.
Community service, the arts council and arts community are Viltz’ priorities. She says people need to be aware of what is going on and add their support to the arts community, which struggles to attract funding because its value is often not appreciated.
Viltz envisions Long Beach as a city with more diverse artists and events (galleries, music, theater, dance companies) that engage residents and encourage visitors to choose Long Beach as a premiere destination. Some programs exist, but she emphasizes there needs to be better access and communication through marketing.
This past year, the arts council received only $300,000 from the city, which speaks to the minimum importance the city puts on the arts. There was a time when the arts council had much more funding, but without it, events had to be removed. It takes money for the arts council to be relevant.
Viltz compares arts support here to that of New York. The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs had a 2014 fiscal year expense budget of $156 million, according to its website. That figure is for a city of 8,336,697 New Yorkers (in 2013) compared to a population in Long Beach of 469,428 the same year.
“New York may be the extreme,” Viltz said, but art is the reason people go there, from Broadway to Chelsea. “Things have improved (here) with the [Long Beach] Convention and Visitors Bureau. The facility has been enhanced, but what else? What about music and theater?”
The arts council particularly wants to involve young people in art and let them know they can have a career in the field, whether it’s as an administrator or in a medium they might decide to explore such as music, painting or sculpture.
Viltz has a bachelor’s degree in business administration. She approaches her passion for business, as well as the arts, with pragmatism.
“I don’t know to what extent, or how long it would take for more of the public to understand or acknowledge our relevancy and that art is important,” Viltz said. “It has also been proven [that] the arts will enhance education.”
Viltz’s first serious entry into the arts as a purveyor came in a business context. In the 1980s, she and her former husband Femi went on an educational tour of Egypt. The goal of the tour was to inspire people to go back to their hometowns to open cultural centers and create study groups from more of an African-American perspective, instead of a Caucasian or Arabic one.
When the couple returned from the tour in 1988, Max and Femi started the African Cultural Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Long Beach. It was because of their drum and dance classes that Viltz got involved with the arts council, and has been involved in the art world ever since.
As they submitted proposals to the arts council to receive grants for their program, Viltz became familiar with everybody. Dixie Swift, the director at Homeland Cultural Center, was in charge of the program on the allocations committee and was ready to retire. She wanted to make sure someone of color took her place and asked Viltz to replace her.
“Depending on who is on the allocations committee, they can help influence bringing in more diverse programs and people that win these grants,” Viltz said.
In Viltz’s eyes, the council’s greatest challenge is drawing community support and educating Long Beach residents about their presence and what they offer. Part of the resistance is criticism that the council is not as diverse as it could be and that it does not represent the makeup of the city.
“When they hear arts or arts council [people] don’t think it’s for them,” Viltz said. “[They think] it’s [for] some elite group.”
The arts council has incorporated different ways to connect to the community, yet a disconnection still exists.
“Our role as the arts council is to be as connected as we possibly can be to the many different communities in Long Beach,” said Victoria Bryan, the council’s executive director. “It’s sort of the point of the council.”
Bryan described how the council looks for diverse representation from community members to serve on panels. They hold quarterly arts forums where each council member and a member of their staff select a delegate from each community in Long Beach to come together with them. From that point, these representatives are able to serve on panels, potentially join committees and even become a board member. Bryan also explained that the council creates combinations of people representing all area’s of the arts community, from individual artists and small arts organizations to large ones such as the Museum of Latin American Art.
Bryan said that Viltz has contributed to the organization and the community in many ways. From the perspective of her arts-based retail business and her involvement on so many committees, they feel they received a two-for-one with Viltz’s fellowship. Bryan added that with Viltz’s continued involvement and help toward the council, she does not feel like they have said goodbye.
Viltz has touched the lives of many, including students, artists and musicians, through her business and astute perception for art. A constant supporter and promoter of everything artistic, her work is her philosophy.
“Some people may not think what they have to offer is enough or relevant, but if more people volunteered (they would find), it’s really rewarding,” Viltz said. “You may not get a certificate or accolade. It’s nice to get those things but it’s important for people to give back to their community.
“Nothing is too small. Expose your kids to music and art outside their neighborhood or circle and attend other people’s cultural events.”