Art and Journalism
Whereas:
I am interested in local politics and have a degree in public policy;
My drawing practice gives me the patience to focus on bureaucratic meetings for long periods of time;
Local news outlets have shrunk and aren’t able to cover every meeting anymore;
I can provide a public service by drawing pictures of government meetings, and maybe this is something I could get a grant to do.
Below are my sketchnotes of three events.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting where they considered approving a new San Francisco Police Department contract.
“Drawing Outside The Lines: Art, Activism & Journalism,” an event hosted by Gray Area arts and Mission Local.
“ArtSpan Artist Workshop: Applying for Grants & Residencies,” with guest speaker Cheryl Derricotte
Will the SFPD Get a Raise?
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors Considers a Police Department Contract
marker on paper, 9” x 6”, Nov 17, 2020
I tuned in for this San Francisco Board of Supervisors meeting because I am very concerned at how the police department seems to be unaccountable to city leadership. The Police Officers Association (POA) can hold up restrictions that the civilian police commission tries to put in place through a process called “meet and confer.”
What I saw in this meeting, was that a new contract had been negotiated by the POA and the mayor’s office in secret that would postpone raises for a couple of years saving the city 7 million dollars in the short term. That contract needs to be approved by the board before the end of the year, leaving no time to negotiate any changes. The mayor’s office told the board that if they did not approve this contract, the mayor would layoff city workers in other departments to make up the difference - and got all the other city unions to call the supervisors asking that the contract be approved.
I believe that Supervisor Dean Preston is right to call these threats outrageous, but most of the board was loathe to try to call the mayor’s bluff. They talked about delaying their vote to try to squeeze some sort of promise of reform out of the POA, but there didn’t seem to be any path to making a difference at this point.
Supervisor Hilary Ronen will be proposing legislation to require that future labor negotiations with the POA be conducted in the public so that future police department contracts allow for reform and accountability.
This meeting has been covered by the media. For instance: “SF supes push for public police-union negotiations — as board approves raises for police officers” Mission Local, “SF supes vote to approve police contract without reform concessions” SF Examiner.
The San Francisco League of Women Voters has been working to make SFPD meetings more open and accessible.
Drawing Outside the Lines: Art, Activism, & Journalism
Seeing my practice above, you can understand why an event about art journalism would attract my attention, especially when it featured Molly Oleson, who illustrated “Casa Guadalupe: Checking out during the pandemic” with heart-tugging paintings of my favorite local grocery store.
Molly Oleson Merges Art and Journalism
marker on paper, 9” x 6”, Nov 19, 2020
Alt: Scribbly drawing of a woman with bangs gesturing with her hand. There is text in different colors that reads: DRAWING OUTSIDE the LINES: ART ACTIVISM & JOURNALISM, Merging art + journalism; is it visually striking + emotionally moving? illustrate - metaphors you can’t show through photography, pick out details from story; Brainstorm - sketch - research - paint; depict modd + feeling - drawn portraits instead of photos to maintain anonymity, Factual; readers would feel like they were walking through the store; illustrate to make more impact; sketchbook looks really messy, but to me it makes sense, Molly Oleson
Art is Never a Linear Process
marker on paper, 9” x 6”, Nov 19, 2020
Ram Devini gave his presentation using a tiger mask filter in honor of one of the principal characters of his comic book series , “Priya’s Shakti”. He talked about how he decided to use his art form to combat violence against women in India. He took the digital mask off to answer questions from Shamsher Virk, director of ZERO1.
Alt: A scribbly drawing of Ram Devini with the face of a tiger, another sketch of the same man without any tiger fur, and a smaller sketch of Shamsher Virk with a beard. Hand-writing scattered around the page says: “Art is never a linear process - messy at times. graphic journalism. turning fear into power. who we thought audience was -> who it is for. Design for the audience. for younger audience. more storyteller than journalist. artists want to see deadlines, and see the work come out.”
Get a Grant for That?
Cheryl Says Real Artists Have Day Jobs
marker and pencil on paper, 9” x 6”, Nov 17, 2020
Artspan SF offered a workshop about applying for grants and residencies featuring accomplished glass artist Cheryl Derricotte. She offered lots of helpful tips and reminded us all the importance of putting the work in.
So yes, I will be filling out grant applications.
Maybe I can get funding to keep an artist’s eye on local government and maybe provide some more insights into what’s going on in meeting Zooms around the city.