Arts Commission

2013 Gender Analysis Update

On August 28, 2013, Deputy Director of the San Francisco Arts Commission Rebekah Krell presented an update on the Arts Commission gender analysis to the Commission on the Status of Women. The following report is drawn from the meeting minutes.

 

Ms. Krell explained that the Arts Commission’s budget is organized by program and data collection practices differ from program to program. The Arts Commission is interested in building a more cohesive agency. Improved department-wide data collection is a part of that effort.  The Commission has centralized our administrative team and are building staff capacity in the area of data collection and analysis.

The various programs include:

• Public Art Program
• Community Arts and Education (4 community cultural centers, WritersCorps)
• Cultural Equity Grants program
• Civic Design
• Galleries
• Street Artists.

The Arts Commission is currently engaged in a strategic planning effort, and has articulated data-based decision making as both a value of the agency and a plan deliverable: performance measures for the department, with goals tied to outcomes.  The budget-making process is a collaborative one, and involves the agency’s entire management team. 

Ms. Krell provided the following information:

• Cultural Equity Grants Program:
  • 68% individual artists are women; 53% are people of color
  • 69% of panelists are women; 77% are people of color
• Cultural Centers- grew out of an activist community arts movement to bring art to the neighborhood
• All 4 non-profits are led by women, of which half are women of color
• WritersCorps – teaching artists
  • 2 men, 5 women – 60% people of color
  • Students – 1042 total, 426 female (41% if Juvenile Hall wards who are predominantly male included; 58% if excluded); 95% students of color.
• Public Art Program: Of the $5M program, 48% ($2.4M) went to in women artists.

Staffing at the Art Commission includes:

• 100% of the 4 Program Directors are women
• 32 out of the 26 staff are women
• 71% of upper management are women (2 males, 5 females)
• 14 out of the 36 staff are people of color.