Emergence 2025: Activating Abundance
Mon, June 2nd, in-person at CAST in downtown San Francisco
Emerging Arts Professionals San Francisco Bay Area and our community partners present Emergence 2025: Activating Abundance. Emergence—the annual convening of the EAP network—provides a collaborative platform for Bay Area arts & culture workers to connect, share ideas, and elevate their work and voices. For this, our fourteenth year of Emergence, we counter scarcity narratives to map out and activate the abundant resources and power held within cultural communities. Join your fellow arts and culture workers and emergent leaders for our an in-person convening hosted at CAST in downtown San Francisco. Share, reconnect, and celebrate our inherent wealth on Monday, June 2nd, for Emergence 2025: Activating Abundance.
Emergence 2025 Highlights
- KEYNOTES: Mutsun-Ohlone California Indigenous Two Spirit relative, artist, poet, author, activist, student, and teacher KANYON COYOTEWOMAN SAYERS-ROODS
- 2025 EAP Awards of Recognition: CHRIS EVANS & TYESE WORTHAM
- Sessions Include: Land as Community Capital & Cultural Capital in African Diasporic Dance
- Plus, find out what this year’s EAP Fellows have been learning and creating, experience practice-based note-taking, and catch your breath in the respite area… and so much more!
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[*] Note on provided food/drink: Snacks and lunches accommodating allergies and other specific food needs may not be available; if you have specific food restrictions, please plan to bring snacks and lunch, which you are welcome to keep on-site
Join your EAP network and community for our 14th annual convening!
Emerging Arts Professionals San Francisco/Bay Area presents Emergence 2025: Activating Abundance. Emergence provides a collaborative platform for Bay Area arts and culture workers to connect, share ideas, and elevate their work and voices. This year, we feature arts & culture workers sharing our own stories of becoming and how our creative practices and leadership practices continue to influence and inspire each other.
Emergence 2025 is presented in partnership with
*** Schedule subject to change. Check the posted schedule on-site for day-of schedule. ***
Morning Plenaries | 10:30AM–12:15PM
Keynote & Awardees
Opening Keynote
Kanyon Coyotewoman Sayers-Roods
Kanyon Sayers-Roods stands as a beacon of resilience and cultural preservation in a world dominated by settler-colonial and capitalistic systems. A Mutsun-Ohlone Two-Spirit woman, often referring to herself as Two-Face in accordance with traditional Mutsun language, Kanyon navigates the complexities of modern society while deeply rooted in her Indigenous heritage. As an artist, educator, activist, and entrepreneur, her multifaceted identity informs her mission to bridge Indigenous traditions with contemporary values, fostering understanding, respect, and resilience.
Kanyon serves as the Tribal Chairwoman of the Indian Canyon Mutsun Band of Costanoan Ohlone People, also known as Indian Canyon Nation (ICN), and the President of Costanoan Indian Research Inc. (CIR), focusing on research, advocacy, and education. She is also the CEO of Kanyon Konsulting LLC, where she promotes cultural awareness and sensitivity. Through her leadership, artistry, and advocacy, Kanyon ensures that Indigenous voices are heard and respected, embodying the intersection of traditional wisdom and contemporary innovation.
Award of Recognition
Chris Evans
Chris Evans is an Oakland-based interdisciplinary artist with a foundation in music and dance. She is a Certified Pilates Instructor, Certified Massage Therapist, and a soon-to-be Certified Eden Energy Medicine Practitioner. She is also the founder of Deep Breath Pilates studio.
Her movement background includes Modern Dance, Ballet, Aikido, and years as a competitive junior tennis player. Using tools such as the cello, improvisation, dance, literature, language, research, and collaboration, Evans creates moments of community that honor, challenge, and hold space for our imaginations, stories, and bodies.
Evans is the founder of the Black Women’s Self-Care Reparations Project, co-founder of Idora Park Project Space with Ernest Jolly, and director of the Reconstruction Study Project. She was a member of the House Full of Black Women collective led by Ellen Sebastian Chang and Amara Tabor-Smith, and of A Simple Collective, founded by Rhiannon Evans MacFadyen.
She received an Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music/Sound/Text in 2013, and was nominated again in 2016 for her work on Reconstruction Study 1A.
Award of Recognition
Tyese Wortham
Tyese, a mover at her core, nearly lost this integral part of herself during her chronic illness journey that started over 30 years ago with a tick bite. It took 25 years to learn that she had been living with Lyme, but ever since that diagnosis, spirit had been calling her to share her health and healing journey.
For the past 20 plus years, she’s committed her life’s work to cultivating safe, inclusive spaces for black and brown folks to thrive through the production and presentation of culturally-specific dance at World Arts West, cultural equity grantmaking at the San Francisco Arts Commission, and cultural placekeeping at the Community Arts Stabilization Trust.
She has been performing, teaching, and studying folkloric, popular, and social dance as a principal company member nearly all her life and has had the honor to perform in venues such as the Palace of Fine Arts, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco.
Now, she extends her equity lens to bring visibility to Lyme disease and other multi-systemic chronic illnesses in queer, trans, and BIPOC communities using movement as medicine, community as care, and joy as healing. Combining the folkloric, spiritual, and performative traditions of the African diaspora with various integrative and functional healing techniques, Tyese created Thriving With Lyme to share an alternative pathway to optimal health that helped her reclaim her power and agency on her healing journey. thrivingwithlyme.com
1:00–1:50PM | Roundtable Discussion
Land as Community Capital
As cities gentrify and arts spaces disappear, how can community land trusts and collective ownership models protect cultural ecosystems? This panel brings together artists and organizers from CAST, Safer DIY Spaces, Vital Arts, and Oakland’s BlaQyard to explore strategies for securing permanent shared spaces. Together, we’ll discuss how artists access and share land as a community resource, resist displacement, and build futures rooted in mutual aid.
2:00–2:50PM | Movement Workshop & Talk
Cultural Capital in African Diasporic Dance with Latanya d. Tigner
A long-time member of Dimensions Dance Theater, Latanya d. Tigner’s research on African dance retention in African American social dance led to the creation of Dancing Cy(i)phers, a deeply embodied cultural experience that serves as a space for practitioners and scholars to examine, decode and recode, engage and embody what it means to attain African Diasporic dance literacy. In 2022, she co-authored Close up: Step-Touch in New Orleans Popular Dance. Latanya d. Tigner will share her story and lead a movement workshop embodying these collected practices.
Fellowship Research Projects Sessions | 3:00–4:00pm
Short Film by Creative City x Arts & Capital Group
Whose Art? Whose City?
The short film Whose Art? Whose City? explores the concept of the creative city, highlighting the vital role that artists and arts organizations play in fostering a healthy community and ecosystem. Creative cities promote collaboration across social, political, and economic spheres, which helps build a strong sense of place and belonging. The film features conversations with local artists and arts workers about public art, civic engagement, the effects of current capital infrastructure on their communities, and their efforts to change and impact the arts and culture sectors.
Zine by Cultural Equity x Arts & Capital Group
Cultural Equity: Trends and Suggestions for the Arts Sector
A collaborative zine exploring the intersections between arts, capital, and equity from the perspective of access to cultural spaces, decolonizing art spaces, and Afrofuturist teaching in the art classroom. The Cultural Equity team will briefly share their research findings and solutions for the arts sector as it relates to Arts and Capital, before leading the whole group in a short zine-making workshop on visions for the future of cultural institutions and public spaces.
Survey & Data Findings by Regenerative Practices x Arts & Capital Group
Exploring the “Dream Job” Through a Regenerative Lens
The Regenerative Practices team will share insights from their “dream job” survey, which asked respondents to reflect and dream about their working conditions. The session will highlight key themes from the data, invite participants to reflect, and physically embody some of the responses. Finally, they will share recommendations to “regenerate” the arts sector.
Cohort XIV Commencement | 4:00–4:30pm
Celebrate our newest cohort as they transition from fellows to alumni and join our community of 200 fellowship alumni
Strike Party & Refreshments | 4:30–5:00PM
Joshua Simon has served over 40 years creating nonprofit mixed-use community hubs, serving 20 years with East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, culminating as Executive Director. For seven years he directed Real Estate Consulting at Community Vision, helping nonprofits plan and finance their facilities. Early career work includes Project Artaud, Chinatown Community Development Corporation, Resources for Community Development, among others. He served 13 years on the School Board for Emeryville Unified School District and on nonprofit boards to address education, affordable housing and urban policy, including SPUR and Northern California Non Profit Housing Association. // Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST) Senior Advisor
Sarah Lockhart is the Executive Director of Safer DIY Spaces, an Oakland-based non-profit that assists low-income artists and community groups with improvements to “non-code compliant” buildings, and consults on methods for long-term stability of these spaces. Sarah spent 20 years managing arts spaces including: ATA, The Lab, Pro Arts, LCM, and 21 Grand, which she co-founded and which closed as a result of code compliance problems with the City of Oakland. Sarah has produced arts events in many venues: from warehouses and parking lots to clubs and museums. Sarah is also a licensed tax preparer for artists and arts nonprofits. // DIY Spaces Executive Director
Tossie Long is a San Francisco native with the incarnations of Mississippi. She is a ritual sound experience designer, international performer/artist, facilitator, and director. Nicknamed “Bone Rattler,” Tossie works at the intersections of music, culture, and sociopolitical edges, spanning from rock and roll vocals, to AfroFuturist productions, to immersive design experiences. As a multi-hyphenate and Grammy Nominated artist, Tossie is a practitioner of ceremonial music from around the world, with a focus on diasporic cosmologies. // Fellowship Cohort IV & AAC Cohort I Alum & 2024 EAP Awardee
KC Canton (they/them), based on occupied Nisenan, Maidu, and Miwuk land (Sacramento, CA), was raised on Yelamu (occupied Ramaytush Ohlone land/San Francisco) and Huchiun (occupied Lisjan Ohlone land/Oakland). KC is a non-binary, queer, detribalized GuateMayan, a student of weaving, cultural organizer, caregiver, spreadsheet and checklist enthusiast, and a facilitator of magic. // Fellowship Cohort II, Co-Director Emeritus, Advisory Board Member, & 2023 EAP Awardee
Event Photographer
Hewitt Visuals, LLC (Co-owned by Bryan and Vita Hewitt) offers event coverage and artwork documentation in both photography and video with a relaxed, creative approach.
IG: @hewittvisualsfilms & @hewitt_visuals
Venue
447 Minna – Dempster Building — CAST
In deep partnership with local communities, Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST) model new ways to secure and steward affordable, inclusive spaces for creative and cultural expression.
IG: @castsf
Your EAP & Emergence Team
Rhiannon Evans MacFadyen
EAP Co-Director & Emergence Producer
rhiannon@emergingsf.org
Reyna Brown
EAP Co-Director
reynabrown@emergingsf.org
Natalia Neira
EAP Co-Director
natalia@emergingsf.org
Amber Lee
Artists’ Adaptability Circles Program Manager
amber@aacbayarea.org
Reyna Brown (they/them) is an artist, leader, activist, poet, teacher, director, and facilitator based in Richmond (Contra Costa County). As a teaching artist, Reyna has worked with students from kindergarten through adults with organizations such as StageWrite, University of San Francisco, San Quentin State Prison, and the American Conservatory Theater. They also run their own small business called Amplify that offers customized workshops to help communities understand unconscious bias using art, music, and poetry. In facilitating implicit bias training, Reyna uses storytelling and interactive theater activities to create a playful atmosphere for communities to engage in difficult conversations and meaningful reflections. They graduated from the University of San Francisco with a BA in Performing Arts & Social Justice with a concentration in Theater and a minor in Peace and Justice Studies in 2019 and are pursuing an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts at the California Institute of Integral Studies. // Fellowship Cohort XI Alum & EAP Co-Director
Rhiannon Evans MacFadyen (they/them) is a curator, consultant, facilitator, and project-based artist, born and based in San Francisco (San Francisco County). With 20 years experience in the performing and visual arts, Rhiannon is deeply influenced by their own, and their communities’, intersectional identities and by their pursuit of “productive discomfort.” Their curatorial focus is on projects that push boundaries of scale, scope, medium, venue, and dialogue; and her cross-discipline personal work engages symbols, identity, communication, and the unseen. Founder of A Simple Collective and Black & White Projects and Director of Emerging Arts Professionals SFBA, they are passionate about equity, experimentation, and independence in the arts and provide constructive, flexible consulting to contemporary artists, artrepreneurs, & small institutions. // Fellowship Cohort V Alum & EAP Co-Director
linktr.ee/pushingart
@curation.culture.community
Amber Lee (she/her) is an emerging arts organizer and storyteller currently based on the ancestral lands of the Ohlone people, also known as Berkeley, CA. Her favorite mediums to learn through and play with include food, movement, archive, and their intersections. She has worked with the California Migration Museum, Mycelium Youth Network, SF Taiwanese American Cultural Festival, and Edge on the Square to gather, break bread, un-earth and re-earth ancestral stories, and dream of life beyond empire. Amber is a co-author in the forthcoming anthology, Asian America Rising: Contemporary Activism in Theory and Practice. // EAP Program Assistant
Natalia Neira is a cultural worker and strategist whose work bridges cultural revitalization, healing, and systemic change. She is the founder of Caracol Collective, a framework based on practical tools and resources to support community leaders in organizing from the inside out, centering ancestral knowledge, somatic embodiment, and self-sovereignty as pathways for collective liberation. She is the former Executive Director of La Peña Cultural Center and is currently a Fellow with Californians for the Arts’ Grassroots Artists Advocacy Program (GAAP) and with the Greater Bay Area Arts Coalition (GBAC) where she advances cultural equity through advocacy, strategy, and community-centered design. Natalia is based in Huichun—Oakland, CA; and is originally from Chile—YES, like Pedro Pascal! // EAP Co-Director
A special Thank You to our Emergence 2025 funders
Emergence, the annual convening of the EAP network, provides a collaborative platform for Bay Area arts & culture workers to connect, share ideas, and elevate their work and voices.
Fiscal Sponsor
EAP is a fiscally-sponsored project of Intersection for the Arts. Intersection for the Arts is a historic arts nonprofit that provides people working in arts and culture with fiscal sponsorship and resources to grow.
