SAN FRANCISCO ARTS COMMISSION
COMMUNITY ARTS, EDUCATION, AND GRANTS COMMITTEE
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
1:00 p.m.
401 Van Ness Ave, Suite 125

 Minutes

The meeting was called to order at 1:11 p.m.

1. Roll Call

   Commissioners Present:
   Charles Collins, Chair
   Roberto Ordeñana, Vice President
   Marcus Shelby
   Janine Shiota

   Commissioners Absent:
   Sherene Melania

   Staff Present:
   Tom DeCaigny
   Barbara Mumby
   Molly Barrons
   Claudia Leung
   Debbie Ng
   Robynn Takayama
   Anne Trickey

2. General Public Comment
   Chair Charles Collins called for public comment. There was none made.
3. Director of Cultural Affairs Report
   Director of Cultural Affairs Tom DeCaigny provided an update on the San Francisco Arts Commission (“SFAC”) Community Investments Program (“CIP”). Mr. DeCaigny let the Commissioners know they were continuing to have conversations with Supervisors Tang and Peskin to put forward a draft measure to restore the hotel tax nexus to arts and culture funding specifically for Grants for the Arts (“GFTA”), the Cultural Equity Endowment, Cultural Centers, and a new bucket for cultural districts. There have already been a few meetings with community stakeholders, he reported. Mr. DeCaigny mentioned he would be working with the City Attorney this week to put together recommendations to supervisors for baseline allocations for these four areas. All buckets of funding would increase, and include the addition of a new fifth bucket for arts impact funding,. SFAC would work closely with GFTA to develop implementation strategy including a community engagement and planning process every five years. Since 2013, this funding has not had a tie to the hotel tax, and Mr. DeCaigny stated that having the opportunity to go back to voters this November to restore this tie was very exciting. He expressed his gratitude to Supervisors Tang and Peskin as well as community members. SFAC will put forth recommended changes to the City Attorney and Controller and that they would then work with Supervisors to bring them forward. He said he would be sure to keep the full Arts Commission posted.

   Mr. DeCaigny also noted that CIP team worked diligently through all of the grant recommendations. He thanked the CIP team for their hard work and mentioned it was an impressive set of recommendations. Mr. DeCaigny remarked that two years ago the Arts Commission benefitted from a $1 million increase to Cultural Equity grants from Mayor Lee. He said it was great to see how their base allocation has grown and to see what the Arts Commission can do with the new resources.

   Mr. DeCaigny asked Director of Community Investments, Barbara Mumby Huerta to provide an update on the hiring process for Sr. Program Officer.

   Ms. Mumby Huerta noted that the Community Investments staff was currently engaged in an interview process for the role.. They are hoping to have the position filled by mid-May, with a start date in June.

   Ms. Mumby reported other HR updates for CIP; that Program Associate Cristal Fiel formally ended her leave of absence and resigned. She reminded the Commissioners that CIP recently hired Program Officer, Debbie Ng. Staff is also working to merge the Street Artists Program with CIP. The new position of Compliance Officer has been filled by an internal candidate and current Program Associate, Molly Barrons.

   Mr. Collins called for public comment. There was none made.

4. 2018-2019 Grants Cycle Presentation
   Director of Community Investments Barbara Mumby presented an overview of FY2017-2018 grants cycle and recommendations for 2018-2019.

   Referring to the slide about Individual Artist applicant demographics, Commissioner Marcus Shelby commented that he was shocked to see such a low number of Latino applicants, at 3%, relative to the population of Latino artists in San Francisco. He mentioned that there was a lot of commentary on the internet about funding for Latino artists but the data told him they were not applying.

   Ms. Mumby agreed, and mentioned that this data was consistent with previous years’ applicant data. She mentioned that one strategy that the staff wanted to try but had not been able to apply due to capacity was to engage individuals, or Community Ambassadors, from the underrepresented communities who really understand the arts and ecosystem, who could engage potential applicants and work directly with them to apply. The three communities the staff had identified were immigrant Latino communities, native and indigenous communities, and Arab or Muslim communities.

   Commissioner Janine Shiota asked if the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts was engaged in outreach during the application process.

   Ms. Mumby responded that they were aware of the grant cycles and encouraged to engage their communities. One grantee in particular was fiscally sponsored by MCCLA. She commented that what was needed in particular was someone with the capacity to work with potential applicants one-on-one.

   Commissioner Collins mentioned that the San Francisco demographics were shifting away from cultural fluidity and that certain populations become more vulnerable as the City becomes more unaffordable, since individual artists must live in the City to be eligible to apply.

   Mr. DeCaigny mentioned that it was also interesting to note that, compared to the overall demographics of the City, the applicants from the Asian or Asian American community were underrepresented. In contrast, he said, there were more applicants from the African or African American community in comparison to the City’s demographics. He mentioned that there were areas for improvement as well as areas of success, and that the ambassador program would provide a great opportunity to deepen outreach efforts and provide technical support. He mentioned it would be important to continue to monitor this as demographics shift in the City as only City residents who can demonstrate their residency are eligible.

   Ms. Mumby mentioned that the percentage of applicants went down two percent in the white category as well as the Latino category. She also mentioned that the white category included many applicants who were marginalized in other ways, including people with disabilities or from the LGBTQ communities.

   Commissioner Roberto Ordeñana mentioned he thought the ambassador program was a great strategy and he would be excited to hear more about it. He mentioned that there was also a tough political climate in which immigrant and vulnerable communities feel challenged by engaging government agencies. He mentioned this was important to think about in terms of support for people engaged in the application process.

   In regards to the presentation of the organizational grants, Commissioner Ordeñana asked a clarifying question about what the age range of “youth” was defined as. Ms. Mumby responded that it included up to transitional age youth.

   In regards to the demographics for Individual Artist grantees, Commissioner Collins asked why the LGBQ question and transgender identity question were asked separately of applicants.

   Ms. Mumby responded that because transgender is someone’s gender identity as opposed to LGBQ which was someone’s sexual identity. The promising practices say that they are two separate things.

   Commissioner Shelby asked what the definition of two-spirit was.

   Ms. Mumby mentioned that two-spirit was an indigenous practice to recognize people who identify as non-binary. The percentage of transgender individuals was the same as last year while LGBQ applicants went down a little bit. She mentioned it might have to do with the genres that were open to applicants this year.

   Commissioner Collins mentioned that we may continue to see shifts within gender and sexuality categories as well as racial and ethnic shifts.

   Commissioner Shelby also mentioned that in the Black community, if you have one drop of Black blood you are considered black, and wondered if that would become similar for other communities such as the Latino community.

   Ms. Mumby mentioned that it was complex and that makes it challenging for data collection and reporting.

   Mr. DeCaigny also mentioned that having individuals self-identify was considered a best practice, and that it would be interesting to see how the trends change over time with self-identification.

   Commissioner Shelby mentioned that he had seen some people identifying as a race that was not their race due to their cultural identity. He mentioned that this could make things complicated moving forward.

   Ms. Mumby mentioned that this was a big issue in the Native American community.

   In regards to the amount of applications and grantees from each district, Commissioner Shelby mentioned that it was puzzling that District 9, which includes the Mission, has the most applications from individual artists, but that there are very few Latino applicants, despite it being where the Latino population traditionally lives. Ms. Mumby agreed it was puzzling and that she would like to see if the ambassador program would be able to improve this.

   In regards to a drop in applications from individual artists, Commissioner Collins asked if there was a correlation to the economy. Ms. Mumby responded that many former grantees could no longer afford to live in San Francisco and therefore were ineligible. She mentioned that it was especially prevalent in the Native American category.

   For Artists and Communities in Partnership, in terms of overall grant dollars, Mr. DeCaigny commented that the Arts Commission benefitted from the cost of living increases, which pooled into the overall grant-making buckets.

   Commissioner Collins wondered if there were ways to correlate workforce development to these programs that are working with youth, in particular those that focus on theater and performing arts production.

   Ms. Mumby mentioned that once the Arts Commission had more capacity, they could engage this within the department’s planning.

   Mr. DeCaigny mentioned that the new five-year grant-making category for arts and culture at the Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families (“DCYF”) was a much larger investment in arts and culture youth work than what SFAC had. Many of these programs included aspects of workforce development related to both the performing arts and other disciplines. He mentioned that SFAC could review their grantee list to understand where the resources are going and if this aligns with SFAC’s grant-making.

   Commissioner Collins mentioned that a young person who could work on a soundboard or on lighting has a career for the rest of their life.

   Commissioner Shelby mentioned that School of the Arts (“SOTA”) had a very strong production education program, in addition to their performing and fine arts programs. He mentioned there might be an opportunity to partner with them.

   Commissioner Collins mentioned how technology was changing the economic opportunity for young people in San Francisco.

   Ms. Mumby mentioned that the Bayview Opera House had a tech program for young people that seemed to be very successful. She mentioned that SFAC could look into it and report back on how it was doing.

   On the slide listing Individual Artist Commission applicants recommended for funding, Commissioner Shelby pointed out that Paul S. Flores and Sean San Jose would be ideal ambassadors to the Latino community.

   On the Native American Arts and Cultural Traditions slide, Ms. Mumby mentioned that this special category was always intended to be temporary until the community could raise its capacity to the level of opening either a virtual or physical cultural center. She mentioned that $100,000 has been allocated to the community to create a board, develop bylaws, and prepare to file for nonprofit status as well as the beginning of a strategic planning process. The strategic planning began last month with the Gathering of Native Americans (“GONA”) curriculum, which engages community through a process of healing historical trauma and Ms. Mumby mentioned it was very successful. She mentioned their large strategic planning kickoff would be at the Arts Commission on June 9. She anticipated a grant to support the next phase of this work coming up.

   After the last slide, Commissioner Collins asked if there might be any impact of strategic planning on the framework used by CIP in the grant-making process.

   Mr. DeCaigny mentioned that there will be a full Commission and staff retreat on Monday, June 4, which will include training from the Government Alliance on Race and Equity, which has now merged with Race Forward. After lunch, the day will be focused on a two-year renewal of the Arts Commission’s strategic plan. He said that they would be open to any suggestions Commissioners might have on how to focus that conversation but that because it would be all staff and all Commission that it would be high level, with more focused conversations sent back to committees.

   Commissioner Collins said he felt that there was momentum to what the Community Arts, Education, and Grants Committee was doing, and that they were beginning to get the data to support it. He mentioned that the community meetings were incredibly valuable. He said that he wanted to be sensitive to how the Arts Commission approaches new ideas and trends.

   Mr. DeCaigny mentioned that part of this depends on what happens with the ballot measure in November. The passing of the measure would correlate to increased resources for the Arts Commission, which could support many programs, including a new community engagement process in partnership with GFTA. Resources for the Cultural Equity Endowment will grow along with growth from the Hotel Tax Fund. He mentioned that there might be budget for half of that growth in the Mayor’s budget proposal for this year, which would give the Arts Commission the opportunity to plan for it in their next cycle. Mr. DeCaigny mentioned this would be something to think about at the retreat.

   Chair Collins mentioned that part of the strategic plan was to deepen work with Individual Artists but that the economy may be preventing doing so with certain communities such as Latino artists. He mentioned that he was very concerned that the lights would go out for the native and indigenous community. He wanted to know how we could deepen, not necessarily change what the Arts Commission was doing. He wanted to see more resources put into deepening the Arts Commission’s capacity.

   Ms. Mumby thanked Chair Collins and mentioned the Arts Commission would dedicate more resources to those efforts.

   Commissioner Shelby thanked the staff and said this is why he does what he does. He recalled his first grant about twenty years ago, and that he was brought in to speak to the commissioners about his project. He mentioned that was a good experience for him. He said that Ms. Mumby did a good job highlighting some of the artists and organizations, but that it would also be beneficial to hear from an artist or two about a project for which they are being granted, and also to hear their thoughts about these questions.

   Ms. Mumby mentioned that some approaches discussed by staff last year included an advisory committee of individuals and organizations from the Latino community and asking them to help identify what the needs and challenges are. She mentioned that staff want to implement this and will work to do it when they are at capacity.

   Commissioner Shelby mentioned that the artists he was thinking of were not necessarily immigrants or undocumented, and that he felt that having only three percent of applicants representing this community was truly shocking. He asked what the City’s overall Latino population was.

   Mr. DeCaigny mentioned he believed it was maybe 22 percent.

   Ms. Mumby said that the number of applicants from the Latino community has been low since 2014, and that it was noted as a concern back then as well. She mentioned that they continue to see a decrease.

   Commissioner Shelby mentioned that the first thing he would do when he left would be to call artist Paul S. Flores and mention the low numbers and see what he says.

   Mr. DeCaigny mentioned that it was important not just to focus on District 9 but also District 11, which was probably the last affordable neighborhood. He mentioned that it was important to get ahead of demographic shifts in neighborhood where there are still affordable opportunities. He said that there needs to be a multi-pronged approach.

   Commissioner Shiota mentioned that she’d like to revisit the Mission Cultural Center being a hub and bastion for the Latino artistic community, and have them come in and give the Commissioners feedback. She wanted to know what their outreach has been and what their findings have been.

   Mr. DeCaigny mentioned that this would be an ideal strategy conversation to have in July before posting the guidelines in August, to have a real conversation about the outreach. He also mentioned that this conversation mirrored a conversation happening on the Public Art team, so this reflects trends across the agency, not just in grant-making.

   Chair Collins called for public comment. There was none made.

   Explanatory Documents: FY2017-2018 Grants Cycle Review and Recommendations-FINAL.pdf

5. 2018-2019 Artistic Legacy Grant
   Chair Collins gave the following motion:
   Motion to approve an Artistic Legacy Grant (“ALG”) in the 2018-2019 cycle to Nā Lei Hulu I Ka Wēkiu and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into a grant agreement for an amount not to exceed $40,000.

   Moved: Ordeñana / Shelby
   Public Comment: None.
   The motion was unanimously approved.

   Explanatory Documents:  18ALG Recommendation Packet, 18ALG Guidelines

6. 2018-2019 Artists & Communities in Partnership Grants
    
   1. Chair Collins gave the following motion:
      Motion to approve recommendations to award ten grants totaling $186,020 in the 2018-2019 cycle of Artists & Communities in Partnership-Social Justice (“ACIP-SJ”) to the following organizations, and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into grant agreements with each organization for amounts not to exceed the following:
      AfroSolo Theatre Company (Fiscal Sponsor: Idris Ackamoor and Cultural Odyssey), $18,497
      Anti-Eviction Mapping Project (Fiscal Sponsor: Bay Area Community Law Foundation), $17,900
      Chinese for Affirmative Action, $20,000
      Coalition on Homelessness, $20,000
      Dolores Street Community Services Inc., $20,000
      Gabriela San Francisco (Fiscal Sponsor: Filipino-American Development Foundation), $9,623
      Glide Foundation, $20,000
      Mujeres Unidas y Activas, $20,000
      Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project, $20,000
      Young Women’s Freedom Center (Fiscal Sponsor: Center for Young Women’s Development), $20,000

      Moved: Shiota/ Ordeñana
      Public Comment: None.
      The motion was unanimously approved.

   2. Chair Collins gave the following motion:
      Motion to approve recommendations to award ten grants totaling $199,992 in the 2018-2019 cycle of Artists & Communities in Partnership-Youth (“ACIP-Youth”) to the following organizations, and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into grant agreements with each organization for amounts not to exceed the following:
      CommunityGrows, (Fiscal Sponsor: Tides Center), $20,000
      Downtown Continuation High School (Fiscal Sponsor: American Conservatory Theatre Foundation), $20,000
      Flyaway Productions, $20,000
      Independence High School (Fiscal Sponsor: Spark sf Public Schools), $20,000
      Push Dance Company, $20,000
      San Francisco Mime Troupe, $19,992
      StageWrite (Fiscal Sponsor: Intersection for the Arts), $20,000
      Streetside Stories Inc., $20,000
      Success Center San Francisco, $20,000
      Womens Audio Mission, $20,000

      Moved: Shiota/Shelby
      Public Comment: None.
      The motion was unanimously approved.

   Explanatory Documents:  18ACIPSJ Recommendation Packet; 18ACIPSJ Guidelines; 18ACIPYouth Recommendation Packet; 18ACIPYouth Guidelines

7. 2018-2019 Arts for Neighborhood Vitality Grants
   Chair Collins gave the following motion:
   Discussion and possible motion to approve recommendations to award eight grants totaling $40,000 in the 2018-2019 cycle of Arts for Neighborhood Vitality (“ANV”) to the following organizations, and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into grant agreements with each organization for amounts not to exceed the following:
   Brava for Women in the Arts, $5,000
   Chinese Historical Society of America, $5,000
   Genryu Arts, $5,000
   Japanese Cultural & Community Center of Northern California, $5,000
   Precita Eyes Muralists, $5,000
   Salsa Festival on Fillmore (Fiscal Sponsor: West Bay Local Development Corporation), $5,000
   The Village Project (Fiscal Sponsor: Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco), $5,000

   Moved: Ordeñana/Shiota
   Public Comment: None.
   The motion was unanimously approved.

   Explanatory Documents: 18ANV Recommendation Packet; 18ANV Guidelines

8. 2018-2019 Creative Space Grants
   Chair Collins gave the following motion: 
   Motion to approve recommendations to award ten grants totaling $564,861 in the 2018-2019 cycle of Creative Space (“CRSP”) to the following organizations, and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into grant agreements with each organization for amounts not to exceed the following:
   Abada-Capoeira San Francisco, $50,000
   Artspace Development Corporation, $50,000
   Blue Bear School of Music, $100,000
   Exitheatre, $44,863
   Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender Historical Society, $50,000
   Joe Goode Performance Group, $50,000
   Levydance Inc., $20,000
   Performing Arts Workshop Inc., $99,998
   Roxie Theater, $50,000
   Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project, $50,000

   Moved: Shiota/Shelby
   Public Comment: None.
   The motion was unanimously approved.

   Explanatory Documents:  18CRSP Recommendation Packet; 18CRSP Facilities Guidelines; 18CRSP Planning Guidelines

9. 2018-2019 Cultural Equity Initiatives Grants
    
   1. Chair Collins gave the following motion:
      Motion to approve recommendations to award twenty grants totaling $1,040,219 in the 2018-2019 cycle of Cultural Equity Initiatives (“CEI”) to the following organizations, and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into grant agreements with each organization for amounts not to exceed the following:
      African-American Shakespeare Company, $30,000
      Asian Improv aRts (Fiscal Sponsor: Somarts), $29,999
      Aunt Lute Foundation, $60,000
      Chhandam Chitresh Das Dance Company, $90,000
      Cultural Odyssey, $90,000
      Eth-Noh-Tec, $42,150
      Eye Zen Presents (Fiscal Sponsor: Counterpulse), $28,000
      Festival of Latin American Contemporary Choreographers (Fiscal Sponsor: Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts), $7,952
      Golden Thread Productions, $90,000
      Kulintang Arts, Inc., $74,797
      La Pocha Nostra, $72,335
      Lenora Lee Dance, (Fiscal Sponsor: Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center), $48,491
      Manilatown Heritage Foundation, $16,000
      Push Dance Company, $30,870
      Robert Moses Kin, $90,000
      San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company, $13,200
      San Francisco Black Film Festival (Fiscal Sponsor: West Bay Local Development Corporation), $21,875
      San Francisco Mime Troupe, $90,000
      Small Press Traffic Literary Arts Center, $24,550
      Youth Art Exchange (Fiscal Sponsor: Tides Center), $90,000

      Moved: Shelby/Shiota
      Public Comment: None.
      The motion was unanimously approved.

   2. Commissioner Ordeñana recused himself because the organization Still Here Productions has a financial relationship with his employer the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center.

      Commissioner Ordeñana left the room at 2:26 p.m.

      Chair Collins gave the following motion:
      Motion to approve recommendations to award one grant totaling $9,811 in the 2018-2019 cycle of Cultural Equity Initiatives (“CEI”) to Still Here Productions (Fiscal Sponsor: Queer Cultural Center) and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into a grant agreement for an amount not to exceed $9,811.
      Moved: Shiota/Shelby
      Public Comment: None.
      The motion was unanimously approved with the recusal of Commissioner Ordeñana.

      Commissioner Ordeñana returned to the room at 2:27 p.m.

   Explanatory Documents:  18CEI Recommendation Packet; 18CEI Guidelines

10. 2018-2019 Individual Artist Commissions Grants
     
    1. Chair Collins gave the following motion:
       Motion to approve recommendations to award forty-four grants totaling $657,000 in the 2018-2019 cycle of Individual Artist Commissions (“IAC”) to the following individuals, and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into grant agreements with each individual for amounts not to exceed the following:
       Jose Abad (Fiscal Sponsor: Jess Curtis/Gravity Inc.), $15,000
       Idris Ackamoor (Fiscal Sponsor: Idris Ackamoor and Cultural Odyssey), $15,000
       Rotimi Oluwashola Agbabiaka, $15,000
       Aureen Almario, $15,000
       Lincoln Basaing, $15,000
       Elizabeth-Starbright Bilyck, (Fiscal Sponsor: Intersection for the Arts), $15,000
       Conrad J. Benedicto, $15,000
       Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (Fiscal Sponsor: Jess Curtis/Gravity Inc.), $15,000
       Anne Bluethenthal (Fiscal Sponsor: Anne Bluethenthal & Dancers), $15,000
       Caroline Cabading, $15,000
       Lily Cai, $15,000
       Nicole Calasich, $15,000
       Beth Custer, $15,000
       Keli Dailey (Fiscal Sponsor: Media Alliance), $14,000
       Kerensa DeMars, $15,000
       Megan Finlay (Fiscal Sponsor: Rapid Descent Physical Performance Company), $15,000
       Paul S. Flores, $15,000
       Christine Funsch (Fiscal Sponsor: Dancers Group), $15,000
       Jason Hanasik, $15,000
       Keith Hennessy (Fiscal Sponsor: Circo Zero), $15,000
       Sascha Jacobsen, $15,000
       Jon Jang (Fiscal Sponsor: Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center), $15,000
       Krissy Keefer (Fiscal Sponsor: Dance Brigade), $15,000
       Daniel Lee, $15,000
       Lenora Lee (Fiscal Sponsor: Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center), $15,000
       Leye Felicite Martin (Fiscal Sponsor: Fely Productions – ZEWP African Arts Academy), $15,000
       Lauren Malbroux $15,000
       Sara Mann (Fiscal Sponsor: Mixed Bag Productions), $15,000
       Richard Marriott, $15,000
       Ami Molinelli, $15,000
       Alleluia Panis, $15,000
       Michael Phelan, $15,000
       Vanessa Sanchez, $15,000
       Oliver Saria (Fiscal Sponsor: Bindlestiff Studio), $15,000
       Derek Schmidt, $15,000
       Kevin Seaman, $15,000
       Lauren Simpson, $13,000
       Gang Situ, $15,000
       Melody Takata (Fiscal Sponsor: Genryu Arts), $15,000
       Seiichi Tanaka, $15,000
       Niloufar Talebi, $15,000
       Ross Travis (Fiscal Sponsor: Intersection for the Arts), $15,000
       Nancy Wang (Fiscal Sponsor: Eth-Noh-Tec), $15,000
       Tessa Wills (Fiscal Sponsor: Dancers Group), $15,000

       Moved: Shiota/Shelby
       Public Comment: None.
       The motion was unanimously approved.

    2. Commissioner Ordeñana recused himself because the individual Sean Dorsey has a financial relationship with his employer the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center.

       Commissioner Ordeñana left the room at 2:29 p.m.

       Chair Collins gave the following motion:
       Motion to approve recommendation to award one grants totaling $15,000 in the 2018-2019 cycle of Individual Artist Commissions (“IAC”) to Sean Dorsey (Fiscal Sponsor: Fresh Meat Productions) and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into a grant agreement for an amounts not to exceed $15,000.

       Moved: Shelby/Shiota
       Public Comment: None.
       The motion was unanimously approved with the recusal of Commissioner Ordeñana.

       Commissioner Ordeñana returned to the room at 2:30 p.m.

    Explanatory Documents: 18IAC Recommendation Packet; 18IAC Guidelines

11. 2018-2019 Native American Arts & Cultural Traditions Grants
    Chair Collins gave the following motion:
    Motion to approve recommendations to award three grants totaling $170,000 in the 2018-2019 cycle of Native American Arts & Cultural Traditions (“NAACT”) to the following organizations, and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into grant agreements with each organization for amounts not to exceed the following:
    Cultural Conservancy (CEI grant), $100,000
    Dancing Earth Creations (CEI grant) (Fiscal Sponsor: Intersection for the Arts), $50,000
    Cultural Conservancy (OPG grant), $20,000

    Moved: Ordeñana /Shelby
    Public Comment: None.
    The motion was unanimously approved.

    Explanatory Documents: 18NAACT Recommendation Packet; NAACT Guidelines

12. 2018-2019 Organization Project Grants
     
    1. Chair Collins gave the following motion:
       Motion to approve recommendations to award fifty grants totaling $949,926 in the 2018-2019 cycle of Organization Project Grants (“OPG”) to the following organizations, and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into grant agreements with each organization for amounts not to exceed the following:
       3rd I South Asian Independent Film, $20,000 ABD Productions (Fiscal Sponsor: Anne Bluethenthal & Dancers), $20,000
       Arab Film Festival, $20,000
       Asian American Women Artists Association, $20,000
       Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, $20,000
       Au Co Vietnamese Cultural Center, $20,000
       Bay Bridged, Inc., $20,000
       Bayview Hunters Point Center for Arts and Technology, $20,000
       Bernal Heights Outdoor Cinema San Francisco Parks Alliance), $11,349
       Campo Santo (Fiscal Sponsor: Intersection for the Arts), $20,000
       Chhandam Chitresh Das Dance Company, $20,000
       Chinese Cultural Productions, $20,000
       Chinese Culture Foundation of San Francisco, $20,000
       Chinese Historical Society of America, $20,000
       Croatian Cultural Center of San Francisco, $16,915
       Cultural Odyssey, $20,000
       Dance Brigade, $20,000
       Eye Zen Presents (Fiscal Sponsor: Counterpulse), $20,000
       Hope Mohr Dance, $20,000
       Irving Street Projects (Fiscal Sponsor: Intersection for the Arts), $8,462
       Jess Curtis/Gravity Inc., $20,000
       Joe Goode Performance Group, $20,000
       KD MovingGround (Fiscal Sponsor: Counterpulse), $9,000
       Kulintang Arts, Inc., $20,000
       Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, $20,000
       Lenora Lee Dance (Fiscal Sponsor: Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center), $20,000
       Litquake Foundation, $20,000
       Lorraine Hansberry Theatre (Fiscal Sponsor: Sew Productions), $20,000
       Manilatown Heritage Foundation, $16,000
       Navarrete x Kajiyama Dance Theater (Fiscal Sponsor: Dancers Group), $20,000
       OX (Fiscal Sponsor: Counterpulse), $20,000
       Playground, $20,000
       Playwrights Foundation, $20,000
       Radar Productions, $20,000
       Red Poppy Art House (Fiscal Sponsor: Intersection for the Arts), $20,000
       Root Division, $20,000
       Roxie Theater, $20,000
       San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company, $13,200
       San Francisco Black Film Festival (Fiscal Sponsor: West Bay Local Development Corporation), $20,000
       San Francisco Mime Troupe, $20,000
       Shakespeare - San Francisco, $20,000
       Sixth Street Photography Workshop (Fiscal Sponsor: Tenants and Owners Development Corporation), $20,000
       Small Press Traffic Literary Arts Center, $20,000
       The African & African American Performing Arts Coalition (Fiscal Sponsor: Dance Brigade), $15,000
       The Lab, $20,000
       The Village Project (Fiscal Sponsor: Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco), $20,000
       Theatre of Yugen, $20,000
       Yerba Buena Arts & Events, $20,000
       Youth Art Exchange (Fiscal Sponsor: Tides Center), $20,000
       Zaccho Dance Theatre, $20,000

       Moved: Shiota/Shelby
       Public Comment: None.
       The motion was unanimously approved.

    2. Commissioner Ordeñana recused himself for the following organizations as they have financial relationships with his employer the San Francisco Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Community Center.

       Commissioner Ordeñana left the room at 2:23 p.m.

       Chair Collins gave the following motion:
       Motion to approve recommendations to award four grants totaling $59,429 in the 2018-2019 cycle of Organization Project Grants (“OPG”) to the following organizations, and to authorize the Director of Cultural Affairs to enter into grant agreements with each organization for amounts not to exceed the following:
       Chrysalis Studio (Fiscal Sponsor: Queer Cultural Center), $19,418
       Creative Labor: Queer Visual Artists Working Group (Fiscal Sponsor: Queer Cultural Center), $10,200
       San Francisco Transgender Film Festival (Fiscal Sponsor: Fresh Meat Productions), $20,000
       Still Here Productions (Fiscal Sponsor: Queer Cultural Center), $9,811

       Moved: Shiota/Shelby
       Public Comment: None.
       The motion was unanimously approved with the recusal of Commissioner Ordeñana.

       Commissioner Ordeñana returned to the room at 2:24 p.m.

    Explanatory Documents: 18OPG Recommendation Packet; 18OPG Guidelines

13. New Business and Announcements
    Chair Collins asked for new businesses and announcements.

    Commissioner Shelby stated that he was did not know what to say about the Board of Appeals (“BOA”) decision regarding the Pioneer Monument statue. He mentioned it did not seem that they considered the work the Arts Commission had done with the two public hearings. He said they made decision as though it was the first hearing. He said he did not understand the protocol on that, and found it upsetting because it seems like they have the final voice.

    Mr. DeCaigny commented that at that very moment Supervisor Peskin was introducing a resolution to urge the BOA to consider a re-hearing request from the Arts Commission and Historic Preservation Commission. The policy, he stated, is that they are given ten days from the decision last Wednesday to file the request. The Arts Commission is working with the City Attorney to submit the request by Friday, he said. The Historic Preservation Commission and Arts Commission will file a joint brief to have the item re-heard at the BOA. The next step would be to have the BOA consider that request and potentially calendar a re-hearing. If they do not re-hear the item, or, if they do re-hear the item and they affirm their vote to grant the appeal to block the permit for the Certificate of Appropriateness, the City Attorney will brief SFAC about other options. He said that he hoped to have more info on May 7 for the full Arts Commission.

    Commissioner Shelby stated that he did not understand the urgency of being at that meeting. He stated that everything he had read about their responses was incorrect – they were trying to say that history the statue depicted was right; they were using a false equivalency of other offending statues, and he stated that that itself was offensive to him. He stated that the process at BOA was without any consideration of what the SFAC did. He asked those present if anyone else felt that they thought it was a “toss-up call.” Commissioner Collins stated that he didn’t see it coming.

    Ms. Mumby said that staff went into the hearing feeling that they did due diligence and had all the paperwork in order, and that staff thought the BOA would have recognized all the work staff and commissioners had done

    Mr. DeCaigny cautioned that since this item was not calendared for this committee meeting, he would not speak to it at length, but that he planned to include it in his director’s report for the May 7 full SFAC meeting. He said that he did not expect the outcome, and that they had worked with the City Attorney who felt strongly that the certificate of appropriateness had been filed correctly. He mentioned that the head of the Board of Appeals Julie Rosenberg knew his concern.

    Commissioner Shelby asked if it was okay to reach out to the BOA commissioners to voice their concerns.

    Mr. DeCaigny said that it was acceptable to do so both as a constituent and as a fellow commissioner.

    Mr. Shelby stated that he was mad as hell, and wanted that noted on the record. He said that he didn’t understand their answers on some of the queries.

14. Adjournment
    There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2:40 p.m.

Posted 05/02/18, 5:20 p.m. CL

5/7/18 minutes adopted

Language Accessibility

Translated written materials and interpretation services are available to you at no cost. For assistance, please notify Program Associate Claudia Leung, 415-252-2211, claudia.leung@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 Claudia Leung, 415-252-2211, claudia.leung@sfgov.org.

Materiales traducidos y servicios de interpretación están disponibles para usted de manera gratuita. Para asistencia, notifique a Program Associate Program Associate Claudia Leung, 415-252-2211, claudia.leung@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 Program Associate Claudia Leung, 415-252-2211, claudia.leung@sfgov.org.