February 8, 2011
COMMUNITY ARTS, EDUCATION, AND GRANTSCOMMITTEE
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
3:00 p.m.
25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 70
The meeting was called to orderat 3:04 p.m.
CommissionersPresent: John Calloway, Kimberlee Stryker, Jessica Silverman, and SherriYoung
Staff Present: Directorof Programs Jill Manton, Director of Grants E. San San Wong, Community Arts andEducation Program Director Judy Nemzoff, Community Arts and Education ProgramManager Robynn Takayama, Cultural Equity Grants Program Associate Lucy K. Lin,Cultural Equity Grants Program Associate Beatrice Thomas, Cultural EquityGrants Program Assistant Corinne Matesich, and Community Arts and EducationProgram Associate Cristal Fiel
1. Cultural Equity Grants Program Director Report
Director of GrantsSan San Wong gave a brief overview of the Cultural Equity Grants program (“CEG”)including the context of its founding, background, and current grantmakingprocess. Ms. Wong discussed the inequities in how the City’s arts funding wasdistributed in the early 1990s, specifically disproportionate funding to largebudget organizations. CEG was created to support arts community constituenciesthat were not, or were significantly, under-funded by the City, including individualartists, small and mid-size organizations, and organizations rooted in, andwhose programming was expressive of the experiences of, historicallyunderserved communities.
When Ms. Wong came on as Director of Grants, through an evaluation of the CEGprogram, she concluded that cultural equity had not been achieved and that morecomplex strategies were needed. Four areas of work were identified: 1) Grants –repositioned as investments that are pivotal interventions in organizations oradvance an artist’s career; 2) Knowledge building – to help grantees and thearts community become more empowered, for example increased technicalassistance, and other activities such as convenings and workshops; 3)Partnerships – collaborations with funders and intermediaries to broaden reachand resources; and 4) Research – to influence policy, optimize grantmaking, andhelp organizations make better informed decisions.
Ms. Wong described the peer panel review process, a popular methodologyutilized in public agencies and some private foundations, and CEG’s nine to tenmonth grant cycle which includes: developing guidelines; technical assistance;grant deadlines; and peer panel review. Panels are comprised of four to sixindividuals who have knowledge and experience in the types of projectssupported by a grant category, and who are reflective of San Francisco’sdemographics. Panelists are briefed individually by CEG staff and receive panelinstructions addressing ethics, responsibilities and process. Panels are opento the public and applicants are strongly encouraged to attend. Eachapplication is reviewed and scored according to criteria specific to the grantcategory; the highest-ranking applications best meet the criteria and fit the purposeof the grant category. Notes are taken on each application review which are editedand made available to the applicant. Following the review of applications, apolicy discussion is held to look at trends in the field and how to improve thereview process. The Community Arts, Education and Grants Committee (“CAEG”) thenreview rankings, panelist bios, and panel discussion notes to ensure that thegrantmaking process was carried out properly. After CAEG approval,recommendations are sent to Full Commission. Contracting begins after FullCommission approval.
Commissioners agreedthat the process takes a while to digest, and it would be beneficial for new Commissionersto sit in on a panel. The last panel for this year’s grant cycle is the NativeAmerican Arts and Cultural Traditions (“NAACT”) panel on March 9th and 10th. CommissionerSilverman and Stryker would like to be included on the email announcements forthat panel.
Ms. Wong moved ontothe motion for the Art and Communities: Innovative Partnerships (“ACIP”) grantrecommendations. She explained that in 2006, members of the arts communitysuccessfully lobbied for an additional $1 million in annualized funding fromthe General Fund for the Arts Commission. When the initial grants programdesign was announced, many community members spoke out at the Full Commissionmeeting because they felt the funds supported only a few individual artistsrather than provide access to the greater community. Ms. Wong was charged withredesigning the grants program, and with Ms. Nemzoff, conducted many communitymeetings to gather input. Ms. Wong redesigned the grants category to focus on: embeddingarts in neighborhoods and communities; encouraging partnerships between artsand non-arts sectors; providing resources for both planning and implementationof projects; and exploring working with alternative arts and culturalorganizational models within immigrant communities given San Francisco’schanging demographics. The community embraced the goals of the grant category.
CEG ProgramAssociate Beatrice Thomas gave a brief presentation about ACIP’s structure, andthis year’s applicants and recommended grantees. ACIP has two types of grantsavailable: 1) Exploration Grants for research, planning and partnershipdevelopment with grant amounts of up to $10,000; and 2) Realization Grants forimplementation with grant amounts of up to $25,000. Artists, arts organizationsor immigrant service organizations with an established arts programming with anon-arts community partner may apply. Thirty-one eligible applications werereceived, totaling over $596,000 in funding requests. Twenty applications arebeing recommended for $325,850 in funding. Commissioner Young asked if therewas a strategy that determined how many Exploration and Realization grants werefunded. Ms. Wong explained that funding is initially allocated proportionate tothe number grants of each type received, but CEG will sometimes give more planninggrants as they are smaller, and planning grants are less common. Thedemographics for this year’s pool show: an increase in projects that serve theArab, Middle Eastern and South Asian communities; a spread of projects servingwomen, LGBTQ, elders and youth; a spread of project disciplines with the mostin theater; and arts activities taking place in every district.
Representatives fromtwo recommended projects presented their organizations and projects to the CAEGCommittee. Adoubou Traore, Program Director of the African Advocacy Network(“AAN”), and partnering artist Bongo Sidibe, traditional drummer presentedfirst. Mr. Traore spoke about the invisibility of the African immigrantpopulation in San Francisco. He explained that because the continent is solarge, Africans from different countries do not share the same language,culture or history. AAN found that this impedes the ability for Africanimmigrants to build a cohesive community. Because art is embedded into thefabric of life across the African continent, and English is a necessary communicationtool for new immigrants, AAN identified art and the English language as thelargest areas of common ground for its constituents. AAN first worked with Mr.Sidibe to produce a successful drumming festival. The proposed project is aGuinean Ballet, a type of theater that combines, music, dance and storytelling.Mr. Sidibe and other professional African musicians will work with AAN constituentsto create the story, build the sets, and perform the work. He explained thatthis is a way to bring the African community together, as well as announcetheir presence in San Francisco. Commissioner Stryker wanted to know where theorganization was located. Mr. Traore answered that AAN is in Mission District at938 Valencia St. Ms. Wong asked how many Africans were in San Francisco, towhich Mr. Traore responded that the question was difficult because the populationwas very scattered.
Beth Rubenstein,Executive Director of Out of Site: Center for Arts Education, Ellen Dumesnil,Executive Director of Excelsior Action Group (“EAG”), and Deborah LeDet, EAG steeringcommittee member followed. Ms. Thomas pointed out that this project demonstratesthe ideal process when the successful completion of the Exploration Grant laysthe groundwork for the Realization Grant’s project. Last year, Out of Sitereceived an Exploration Grant for the creation of a youth-driven arts culturalplan for the Excelsior District. Ms. Rubenstein explained that the Excelsior isa diverse neighborhood in the southern part of San Francisco. According to the2000 Census, Excelsior has a population that is 60% foreign born, with a highconcentration of youth and seniors. The neighborhood has a significant amountof need due to a large immigrant population and number of low-income families. Outof Site is a multidisciplinary arts organization in its tenth year, workingwith public high school students. The organization is committed to nurturingand celebrating the voices and contributions of the youth population. Thisproject was formed following EAG’s listening campaign that had identified theneed for beautification and the desire to bring different segments of theneighborhood together. Out of Site and EAG saw working together as a way towork across generations, introducing youth to residents and businesses, etc.For the past one and a half years, Out of Site students have been working with EAGto identify neighborhood sites in need of beautification through a highlyinteractive, community-based process. Students researched, conducted interviews,identified challenges and assets, and identified possible solutions. TheRealization Grant will be used to activate elements from the cultural plan,such as an art walk and arts festival. Commissioner Stryker inquired about Outof Site’s location. Ms Rubenstein that they were located in Lick WilmerdingHigh School, where they have access to world-class art facilities.
Commissioner Callowaymade the following motion:
Motion toapprove recommendations to award twenty grants totaling $325,850 in the Art andCommunities: Innovative Partnerships grants to the following organizations andindividual artists, and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enterinto grant agreements with each for the amounts listed:
Exploration Grants
African Advocacy Network, $10,000
Asian American WomenArtists Association (AAWAA), $10,000
Chinese CultureFoundation of San Francisco, $10,000
Genny Lim, $6,000
Imagine Bus Project,$10,000
Outlook TheaterProject, $10,000
Rene Yung, $10,000
Voice of Witness,$9,500
Realization Grants
Arab Cultural and Community Center, $23,000
Bayview Hunters Point Center for Arts & Technology (BAYCAT), $20,250
CounterPulse,$20,250
Eldergivers, $23,000
Galeria de la Raza,$21,850
Golden ThreadProductions, $20,250
Intersection for theArts, $20,250
Kid Serve YouthMurals, $20,250
Out of Site: Centerfor Arts Education, $23,000
Paul Flores, $20,250
Queer CulturalCenter, $23,000
Rio Yanez, $15,000
Supplemental Documents: Art in Communities: Innovative Partnershipsranking and project descriptions; summary notes of the application evaluation;and bios of the grant review panelists.
The motion passed unanimously.
2. Community Arts and Education Program Director Report
Community Arts and Education Program Director Judy Nemzoffgave an overview of the motion to enter into a grant agreement with the CentralMarket Community Benefit District (“CMCBD”). She explained that the grant wouldallow CMCBD to reimburse eleven arts organizations and artists who participatedin 24 Days of Performance, an artsand performance series that activated streets along Central Market Corridor inSeptember 2010.
Commissioner Stryker made the following motion:
Motion to enterinto a grant agreement for $5,000 with the Central Market Community BenefitDistrict, as fiscal sponsor for 24 Days of Performance, part of the NationalEndowment for the Arts Mayor’s Institute of Community Design.
The motion passed unanimously.
3. Cultural Centers Directors Report
Community Arts and Education Program Manager Robynn Takayamaexplained that to meet the SFAC strategic plan of helping the Cultural Centersenter into long-term leases of 45 years or more, she will be working with theCity Attorney to define criteria for measuring the Cultural Centers’ readinessto enter into long-term leases. She and the City Attorney will be looking atrefining the existing reporting and figuring out new ways to asses the healthof the organizations.
Ms. Takayama will be giving attention to details that werepreviously overlooked in reporting, such as: (1) including budget notes tobetter understand salaries, foundation support; and other details; (2)supporting the Centers in an increased and rigorous administrative effort tocapture data on artists served, audience served, number of productions andrentals, and standardizing these definitions; (3) ensuring that Commissioners,SFAC staff, and Centers staff understand the existing legislation and meetthose requirements; and (4) omitting fiscally sponsored projects from theorganizations’ operating budgets.
Before introducing Pam Peniston, artistic director of QueerCultural Centers (“QCC”), Ms. Takayama stated that QCC’s transition toyear-round programming yielded bigger numbers for audience and artists served.In reporting, Ms. Takayama filtered out Web audiences, but noted that QCC holdsone of the largest queer art Web archives, with 300,000 visitors per month.Furthermore, QCC has already more than met its revenue target for theyear.
Ms. Peniston began by recapping the organizational changesthat have been made over the course of this fiscal year. Beth Pickens assumedthe role of managing director, separating the former executive directorshipinto managing and artistic directors, as outlined in QCC’s strategic planningsessions. This would allow QCC to bring younger leadership into theorganization to prepare for founder transitions that will take place over thenext five to ten years.
QCC made other organizational changes, adding three membersto the board. QCC is in the process of interviewing two more candidates. Aspart of board training, QCC held a reception to introduce the three new boardmembers to their community and artists.
The Center has also taken the time to re-envision and refinevarious technical assistance programs into a more cohesive and effective singleprogram. This program primarily serves individual artists and emerging artsorganizations from the traditionally underserved branches of the QCC community.
Ms. Peniston stated that QCC created Queer Community Commissions by holding four free workshops thatguided the artists through conceptualizing an event or creating anorganization, understanding funders' guidelines, and writing effectiveproposals and developing budgets. After the artists wrote their firstproposals, they were subjected to panel reviews similar to CEG, where theylearned about their proposals’ efficacy from the panelists’ comments. Thetraining thus far has been paying off for the artists: twelve of the artists inthe program have submitted grants, six have been funded, and in the next twomonths the remaining artists will hear back about their proposals.
QCC also offers a service to thequeer community by way of fiscal sponsorship.
The biggest challenge for QCC is the disappearance andaccessibility of venue spaces. Ms. Peniston believes that it is important thatrental of the Cultural Centers be kept accessible and affordable.
To balance the budget, the National Queer Arts Festival willbe about half the size of last year’s, which boasted 72 events. QCC is alsoincreasing its year-round programs and co-sponsoring with many organizations tokeep everyone’s costs low. Furthermore, QCC is taking the first steps intofundraising from individuals and corporate sources, with their board presidentassuming the lead on the project.
Commissioner Young stated that the midyear report lookedgood and encouraged the Center directors to be open to discussing challengeswith the Commissioners.
Ms. Takayama’s overview of Mission Cultural Center forLatino Arts (“MCCLA”) noted that their in-house productions have gone up andaudience attendance has increased. These numbers, as well as the increase ofartists served, demonstrates the great work of newer staff in the gallerycoordinator and media coordinator positions. MCCLA has already met its targetrevenue for the year, but Ms. Takayama said the organization should increasetheir contributed income from individual donors and grantwriting.
Jennie Rodriguez, executive director of MCCLA, summarizedevents and programming that have happened since the beginning of the fiscalyear, including a poetry reading and fundraising party for El Tecolote, Tango classes that bring in the most revenue forMCCLA, and the Center’s annual Day of theDead exhibition. For Day of the Dead,MCCLA had close to 99 school tours with 25 to 35 kids per tour group. MCCLAalso collaborated with Sunday Streets.Ms. Rodriguez stated that MCCLA has done almost all the events they had set outto do for the first half of the year, with the exception of community supportboard meetings.
Ms. Rodriguez brought up an organizational situation thatMCCLA is currently facing—the youth program coordinator’s sudden resignation inJanuary. Ms. Rodriguez explained that this was an unfortunate situation forMCCLA because the employee had been with the organization for twelve years,directing and teaching music. Currently, MCCLA is in the process of identifyinga new youth program coordinator and one to two music instructors to fill thevoid.
The Center’s gallery has installed new lighting, as well asnew floors for the dance studios, and has built an ADA ramp for the Center. InJanuary, MCCLA hosted Sins Invalid, acollective of disabled artists of color. Ms. Rodriguez said MCCLA is lookingfor more outside financial support, but most of the organization’s efforts gotoward earned income, since it is unrestricted and the Center can do more withthe revenue.
Commissioner Young asked where the extra earned income forthe second half of the fiscal year would be applied. Ms. Rodriguez said thatMCCLA would like to do a comprehensive community survey regarding MCCLA’sactivities and programming. They are also looking into satellite spaces andbranching out at some point.
Ms. Takayama gave an overview of SOMArts Cultural Center,(“SOMArts”) explaining that they show a great ability to track their impact andare a model of administrative rigor for the other Centers. Since the beginningof the fiscal year, SOMArts attendance has gone up, rentals have gone down, andthe number of artists served is a whopping six times higher than the secondhighest Center. SOMArts has already met its revenue goal for the year.
Lex Leifheit, executive director of SOMArts, said that over80 Bay Area community organizations have benefited from SOMArts programming andspace accessibility.
Through community support board meeting input regardingpublicity and outreach, SOMArts has been working on professionalizing itsbranding and expanding outreach. As a result, SOMArts has had more featuredarticles and press, including an editorial that Ms. Leifheit wrote for In Dance on the importance of using theCultural Centers as shared studio, dance, and arts performance space.
The Center started its new program, the Commons Curatorial Residency, as away to make SOMArts’ accessibility more transparent. Through the Commons Curatorial Residency,curators, artists, and arts organizations submit a proposal to use the galleryspace for a month, with SOMArts support. Their proposals are reviewed by acuratorial panel to assure quality content and see that the proposedexhibitions are in line with the mission of SOMArts. The first Commons Curatorial Residency was inNovember 2010, and over 1,000 people visited the exhibition throughout themonth.
In November, SOMArts also had a fundraising event inpartnership with the San Francisco Symphony, an effort that was led by theCenter’s board of directors. SOMArts met its goal of raising $8,000 from thefundraiser and built a base of individual donors. The Center is planning onmore fundraising activities in the future.
In December 2010, SOMArts produced its first book, It’s All a Blur. The book accompanied anexhibit that was at SOMArts in December and January. It’s All a Blur is now touring in other venues across the country.
Commissioner Stryker said that she was very impressed by howSOMArts is run. She suggested that building maintenance would help bolster therevenue, and asked that it be a priority.
Ms. Takayama said that she has implemented monthly meetingswith the Department of Public Works and the Department of Real Estate toincrease communication. At January’s Center directors meeting, Ms. Takayamarequested that all the Center directors create a wish list for facilitiesimprovements.
Ms. Nemzoff added that SFAC is currently in the process ofputting together facilities packets. The struggle that SFAC and the Centersface is how to fund the renovations. Ms. Nemzoff reminded the Commissionersthat SFAC only receives $75,000 a year to maintain the buildings.
4. WritersCorps Report
Ms. Nemzoff announced that WritersCorps will have a filmfestival in April and more details will be announced.
5. Arts Education Report
Ms. Nemzoff stated there may be an Arts Educationpresentation next month to give a comprehensive review of Arts Educationprogramming.
6. New Business
Ms. Nemzoff stated that the remaining three Cultural Centerswill present reports at the next meeting in March.
Ms. Takayama announced that Art in Storefronts will be launching in May 2011 in Central Market,as part of The ARTery Project.
7. Adjournment
As there was no further business, the meeting was adjournedat 5:05 p.m.
