Notes from Rebound 3
I attended the (online) event “REBOUND 3: BIPOC Voices & Reflection on Local Arts & Culture” as some members of the San Francisco arts community came together to talk about the future with new leaders of the city’s two major arts funders. I also took sketchnotes at the first iteration of this event in December 2020.
From the event organizers:
”Join us with special guests (new City of San Francisco Arts Directors):
Ralph Remington, Director of Cultural Affairs (San Francisco Arts Commission)
Vallie Brown, Director (San Francisco Grants for the Arts)
The Directors will reflect on feedback shared by arts community members and BIPOC arts & culture leaders on the challenges of reopening informed by a community survey. We will consider solutions and tactics.
The event will include breakout 'community' sharing and listening circles and space to engage with featured guests.”
”For the 3rd series, the event hosts Arts for a Better Bay Area (ABBA) and SAFEHouse Arts partnered with local BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and, People of Color) arts leaders who surveyed the community to learn about emerging issues in the sector as we re-open. This community feedback shaped the upcoming event. ABBA and SAFEhouse Arts are committed to deepening equitable access to resources available to the Bay Area arts community. The intention of this upcoming event is to center BIPOC and historically excluded communities' needs.”
I participated in the conversation and took sketchnotes to keep myself engaged and to process the information in real time. A few days after the event, I added more lines and shapes as I reflected on the complexity of difficulty of the issues being addressed.
This event was organized and led by people who I highly respect, some of whom I’ve worked with before.
The arts can be a tremendous force for change and justice, but if the racism and injustice of our society are replicated in our arts institutions, that will hold back what the arts can do.
Here are the sketchnotes I created, with some more explanations (and alt text) in the captions of the detail images below.
To Rebound Better
marker on paper, 14” x 17”, 2021
Michael Warr opened the meeting by reading poetry from his book, the Armageddon of Funk.
Our MC’s were Anna Lisa Escobedo of YBCA who took my seat on the Graffiti Advisory Board and Rodney Jackson of SFBATCO, who urged us to, “Be ready for the battle AND Be ready for when it doesn’t have to be a battle.”
Vallie Brown is the new director of Grants for the Arts who said that we need, “a racial equity lens if you want to make a difference.”
Ralph Remington is pictured with a horn because he called himself a unicorn as a Black director of the San Francisco Arts Commission, which he took leadership of this year. He is working to, “Dismantle and Rebuild while flying the plane” to overcome institutionalized racism. “Center BIPOC voices to center AMERICA.” “Civic engagement shouldn’t be bloddy for the sake of sport.
Ericka Scott, director the African American Arts and Culture Complex, added her perspective as a leader of an essential neighborhood arts center. She talked about the “Why” of the discussion. “ART IS LIFE.”
I participated in breakout sessions where Ernesto Sopprani of Arts for a Better Bay Area facilitated a discussion about our own ideas and experiences. Afia Thompson talked about the need to simplify grant applications to help get grants funding to more marginalized communities. I’ve noticed that the SFAC has made progress on this, but it is slow. I would like to see measurements of how much of artists time is spent on any given grant application compared with how much money is dispersed to how many applicants.
Vida, an artist who works with the Chinese Culture Center is excited about the education programs they will be launching.
Susie McKinnon, director of Arts for a Better Bay Area tried to stay in listening mode in our breakout session. She wants that advocacy organization, “to be informed by community.”
Aisa Villarosa of YBCA framed the big question well, “How do we outsmart capitalism?”