A Mutual Aid-based funding and cohort development program for Bay Area artists and arts workers—Forged out of deep, sustained conversation among arts leaders, the program supports those hardest hit by COVID-19: Black, Indigenous and People of Color, LGBTQIA+ people, people with disabilities, and other historically under-resourced communities.
The program was developed out of deep, sustained conversation among artists, arts workers and grantmakers over the course of 10 months (June 2020–April 2021) with the primary goal of providing structure and funding to historically under-resourced communities (including Black, Indigenous and People of Color, LGBTQIA+ people, and people with disabilities).
Individuals participating in these conversations (right) became members of the advisory circle for our beta round and continue to guide the initiative.
Using a distributed leadership and funding model (below), the program provides grassroots leaders and their collaborators with monetary stipends to meet independently, attend cross-circle gatherings, receive leadership development training (provided by EAP), and utilize $10,000 in flexible funding to implement their plans.
This philanthropic model was created to support artists and arts workers amidst the COVID pandemic. We believe, however, that AAC has the ability to shift how funders engage with and support individual artists. By building upon our established relationships, we can empower historically disadvantaged communities to collaboratively discuss and address their own issues, reaching and supporting artist-initiated projects that fall outside of traditional grant programs and funding priorities.
In its 8-month beta round (June 2021 – January 2022) AAC distributed $100,000 to five circles of 22 diverse artists and arts workers addressing self-identified issues within their own communities. Below are the individual stories of the six artists leading circles in this beta round.
The program is overseen by a shared-model advisory team of arts leaders from our partner organizations and funders. This group includes:
Esailama G. Artry-Diouf, Ph.D. (she/her)
Program Officer, Arts and Culture, San Francisco Foundation
Tara Dalbo (she/her)
Deputy Director, La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley
Dainiz Almazan (she/her)
Deputy Director, La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley
Rhiannon Evans MacFadyen (they/them)
Artist, Curator, & Director, Emerging Arts Professionals San Francisco Bay Area (EAP)
Maryela Perez (she/her)
Curator & Program Manager, MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana
Carolina Quintanilla (she/her)
Gallery Director, SOMArts Cultural Center
Faiza Bukhari (she/her)
Program Lead, Racial Justice and Arts Build Resilient Communities, Walter & Elise Haas Fund
Kevin Seaman (they/them)
Artist & Artistic Director, Diamond Wave
Stephan McLeroy (he/him)
Writer & Managing Director, Diamond Wave
In our beta iteration of the program (2021), we supported five circles of artists working on specific issues:
Alma Leppla & Tricia Rainwater-Tutwiler, Co-Leads
Hector Lugo, Lead
Chris Evans, Lead
Thomas Aguilar, Lead
Zackary Forcum, Lead
TEAM
Zackary Forcum (Contra Costa)
Aiano Nakagawa (Alameda)
Heather Stockton (Alameda)
Joslynn Mathis-Reed (Alameda)
Stephanie Hewett (Alameda)
The program is overseen by an advisory team of arts leaders who began meeting in July 2020 and will stay connected to the project throughout its duration as its funders, partners, administrators, and advisors. This group includes:
Esailama G. Artry-Diouf, Ph.D. (she/her)
Program Officer, Arts and Culture, San Francisco Foundation
Armando Castellano (he/him)
Artist & Trustee, Castellano Family Foundation
Tara Dalbo (she/her)
Deputy Director, La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley
Rhiannon Evans MacFadyen (she/they)
Artist, Curator, & Director, Emerging Arts Professionals San Francisco Bay Area (EAP)
Anjee Helstrup-Alvarez (she/her)
Executive Director, MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana
Maria Jenson (she/her)
Creative & Executive Director, SOMArts Cultural Center
Frances Phillips (she/her)
Program Director of Arts and the Creative Work Fund, Walter & Elise Haas Fund
Kevin Seaman (they/them)
Artist & Artistic Director, Diamond Wave
Stephan McLeroy (he/him)
Writer & Managing Director, Diamond Wave
