SAN FRANCISCO ARTS COMMISSION
COMMUNITY ARTS, EDUCATION, AND GRANTS COMMITTEE
Tuesday, March 14, 2017
1:00 p.m.
401 Van Ness Ave, Suite 125

MINUTES

 

The meeting was called to order at 1:06 p.m.

 

1. Roll Call

Commissioners Present:

Charles Collins

Sherene Melania, Chair

Marcus Shelby

Janine Shiota

 

Commissioners Absent:

Roberto Ordeñana

 

Staff Present: Tom DeCaigny, Judy Nemzoff, Barbara Mumby, Cristal Fiel, Claudia Leung

 

2. General Public Comment

   Commissioner Melania called for public comment. There was none.

 

3. FY2016-2017 & FY2017-2018 SFAC Review Panelists
   Community Investments Program Director Judy Nemzoff stated that the review panelists were recommended to expand the pool of potential panelists with knowledge and expertise in the literary arts field.

Commissioner Melania gave the following motion:

Motion: Motion to approve the following panelists to serve, as selected by staff, on SFAC review panels for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 fiscal years:
Janet Heller, poet, creative writing teaching artist
Natasha Huey, Brave New Voices Senior Associate, Youth Speaks
Melissa Hung, writer, journalist, and media maker
Barbara Jane Reyes, poet
Harold Terezón, educator, poet

Moved: Shiota/Collins

Public Comment: None.

The motion was unanimously approved.
 

 

4. Community Investments Program Director Report
   Ms. Nemzoff introduced new Program Associate Claudia Leung. In addition, she congratulated Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts on celebrating its 40^th anniversary.

Ms. Nemzoff moved on to give an overview of the agency’s arts education logic model. Steps toward building out the agency’s arts education contributions have included aligning former direct service programs WritersCorps, Where Art Lives, and Arts Education Alliance of the Bay Area with grantmaking strategies. Additionally, Ms. Nemzoff co-chaired the Arts Education Master Plan (“AEMP”) where Program Officer Liz Ozol also sits on the committee. The AEMP Committee, in collaboration with the San Francisco Arts Commission and  the San Francisco Unified School District (“SFUSD”), have put out a request for proposals to refresh and revise the AEMP.

Commissioner Collins asked if there were strategies around connecting arts education to theater and museum crafts like lighting and sound design, and where there was an opportunity for youth workforce development. Commissioner Melania added that there was also an opportunity to connect youth to the tech industry to create a viable career path and opportunities for engagement with youth.

Director of Cultural Affairs Tom DeCaigny stated that San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development (“OEWD”) funded a number of workforce development programs in arts, culture, and technology, such as Bayview-Hunters Point Center for Arts and Technology (“BAYCAT”) and Bay Area Video Coalition (“BAVC”). He said that the Arts Commission was challenged with having limited funding to support workforce development, but that it would be worth looking into how the agency could partner with OEWD. He said that similar coordination was already happening between the Arts Commission and Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (“DCYF”) around professional development opportunities for grantees of both departments.

Ms. Nemzoff concluded that the agency could partner with both OEWD and DCYF to conduct a scan of opportunities around workforce development in the arts, culture and technology fields to have an understanding of what was already out there.

Ms. Nemzoff then moved on to provide an overview of the Cultural Center’s Default Policy, which was still in draft form and being reviewed by the Deputy City Attorney. She said that the Default Policy was in line with the Offset Policy that was approved at February’s committee meeting, and would be in place as a tool to set up the Cultural Centers for long-term leases. She said that staff had been working closely with the Cultural Center directors on the draft Default Policy, and that she anticipated that the policy would be approved by the June Full Commission meeting, and in effect for the new fiscal year. She and Senior Program Officer Barbara Mumby then provided a high-level overview of the different phases the policy outlined to work with grantees/Cultural Center tenants to rectify issues that would lead to probation, which if not resolved, could result in termination of the grant and lease agreements.

Ms. Mumby stated that the staff would work with the Cultural Centers director and their boards to avoid probation, such as providing technical assistance for fiscal management or other infrastructure needs that could be supported by outside training and professional development. The policy also outlined a tiered approach and levels of elevated concern before the grantee/ tenant organization’s grant and lease agreement would be terminated. Ms. Nemzoff said that the policy would put into place opportunities for professional development and capacity building in order to prepare the Cultural Centers for long term leases. Mr. DeCaigny added that the processes outlined in the policy mirror the City’s contract compliance review, which followed best practices for nonprofit management. He said that if there was an egregious violation of contract or extreme negligence by the grantee/tenant organization, the policy ensured that a safe space for communities to engage in activities would be maintained.

Commissioner Melania commented that the policy was much needed and that it was wonderful to see that there was a tiered approach for the Cultural Centers to meet compliance. Commissioner Melania then called for public comment.

Public Comment:

Isabel Barraza, board member of the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts (“MCCLA”), stated that she was happy to hear that there would be an outside review panel for the organizational review process of the Default Policy. She thought it was important for there to be a direct line of communication with Center staff to determine if the Centers were in egregious violation of the grant and lease agreements. She thanked the Arts Commission for its continued support and encouraged commissioners and staff to attend the Center’s 40^th anniversary events that would happen throughout the year.

Jennie Rodriguez, executive director of MCCLA, asked whether the organizational review panel would be able to make independent decisions, or if the final decision would be determined by the Arts Commission. She asked how financial commitments to the Centers would be honored by the agency if the grant and lease agreements were terminated. For example, she said that MCCLA has fundraised for facility improvements and wondered what would happen to those funds and to the investment that the tenant organization had put toward the facility. She suggested that at least one peer Cultural Center director should sit on the organizational review committee because they understood the Cultural Center compliance procedures.

There was no further public comment.

 

Ms. Nemzoff said that legal questions would be reviewed by the Deputy City Attorneys who reviewed both the grant and lease agreements. Mr. DeCaigny said that there were likely lease terms with the Department of Real Estate that the Arts Commission could incorporate to address the issue of tenant improvements on the facilities.

 

Explanatory Document: Arts Education Logic Model and Default Policy Overview.pdf

 

5. New Business and Announcements
   Commissioner Collins announced that there would be a community event at Bayview Opera House Ruth Williams Memorial Theater on Thursday, April 27. The event would be a theatrical reading and community dialogue of The Madness of Hercules, and would be titled, “Hercules in the Bayview”.
    
6. Adjournment
   There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:56 p.m.

 

3/28/17 5:30 p.m. CF draft minutes posted

4/3/17 minutes adopted

Language Accessibility

Translated written materials and interpretation services are available to you at no cost. For assistance, please notify Program Associate Cristal Fiel, 415-252-2218, cristal.fiel@sfgov.org.

我們將為閣下提供免費的書面翻譯資料和口譯服務。如需協助，Program Associate Cristal Fiel, 415-252-2218, cristal.fiel@sfgov.org.

Materiales traducidos y servicios de interpretación están disponibles para usted de manera gratuita. Para asistencia, notifique a Program Associate Cristal Fiel, 415-252-2218, cristal.fiel@sfgov.org.

Ang mga materyales na nakasalin sa ibang wika at ang mga serbisyong tagapagsalin sa wika ay walang bayad. Para sa tulong, maaring i-contact si Program Associate Cristal Fiel, 415-252-2218, cristal.fiel@sfgov.org.