State of Art and Culture | Inherent bias

January 13, 2018

Come ready to discuss the state of Bay Area Arts and Culture with a twist! What are the challenges, opportunities, and assets at present and what would an ideal future would look like? We want you to wear your dreamer hat. The second half will provide time for Team Project presentations and feedback.


Location: Center for New Music, 55 Taylor Street, San Francisco

Skills Development Objectives:

  • Cultivating practice of critical inquiry
  • Project Development / Management
  • Adaptability / Group Communication and adjustments

Agenda Outline: 9:30am – light breakfast, 10am – Program begins, 1pm – lunch provided, 4pm – day ends

  1. Settling into the space
  2. Discussing Inherent Bias in our lives and work
  3. State of Art and Culture in the Bay Area: an illustrated conversation with Guests
  4. Lunch
  5. Project Presentations
  6. Closing with intention

Guest Speakers

Tyese Wortham

Program Manager, Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST)

Serving artists and arts organizations through real estate development and grantmaking, Tyese Wortham runs the technical and financial assistance initiative as the Program Manager at Community Arts Stabilization Trust, aka CAST.  Prior to CAST, Tyese honed her social justice lens as a grantmaker in Cultural Equity Grants at the San Francisco Arts Commission, and as a presenter and producer of culture-specific artist populations with the San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival. A 2014 Emerging Arts Professionals MADE award recipient, Tyese has been recognized for her expertise as a panelist, consultant, facilitator, and advisor for various Bay Area arts organizations, including Silicon Valley Creates, Alliance for California Traditional Arts, Black Choreographers Festival, and the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards. As a passionate and community-based grantmaker, administrator, artist, and teacher, Tyese creates life balance by nourishing her physical, mental, and spiritual health through dance, yoga, and meditation. Contact Tyese at twortham@cast-sf.org.

Ron P. Muriera

Owner/Consultant, RPM Consulting

Ron is currently the Development Director with San Jose Stage Company,and the owner and sole proprietor of RPM Consulting, providing consulting services with a focus on education, arts and culture board development, evaluation and nonprofit organizations. With an emphasis on the areas of arts & culture, social justice, human services and educational equity, RPM Consulting’s mission is to create a healthier, better educated and more equitable society. Passionate about helping organizations and agencies better serve their constituents, Ron through RPM Consulting has partnered and worked with governmental agencies, school districts, non-profit organizations and educational institutions to improve their effectiveness, expand their services, and target their resources to better serve their communities.

Kiley Arroyo

Executive Director, Cultural Strategy Council

Kiley Arroyo is a respected interdisciplinary research, management strategy, and institutional learning expert whose work advances the essential role of the arts and cultural expression in transformative development. Her research and institutional innovation expertise reside at the intersection of arts and culture, public policy, and philanthropy and aims to strengthen the capacity of local government, artists, and residents to co-create vibrant communities. Kiley is energized by a genuine desire to advance a more equitable and resilient society through participatory research, cross-sector collaboration, intercultural dialogue, and creative systems change. www.culturalstrategies.net

Iris Gottlieb

Illustrator / Graphic Recorder

Iris Gottlieb is an illustrator, animator and scientist living in Berkeley, CA. She works to make information more accessible, art less serious, and science more inviting through illustration. When not writing science books or drawing for clients, she can usually be found tromping in the woods with her companion dog, picking up pinecones … and drawing them. For more, check out her work on the interwebs (at) irisgottlieb.

Readings & Assignments

  • Complete Inherent Bias Test, select the Disability Task, print and bring your results
  • Be prepared to present & bring in 2 news articles, blog posts, interviews, photographs or other forms of documentation in reference to:
    • One challenge the SF Bay Area arts community is facing and
    • One innovative, creative or artistic solution to a problem that the Bay Area arts community or the community at large is facing
  • Project Team Presentations: Be prepared to share an overview of your project and have time to ask for resources or suggestions if needed, each team will have 5 minutes to present and you are encouraged to make your presentation interactive.
  • Sign up for a 30 minute coaching session with Katherin, see tab 2 for a Feb. time, and tab 3 for an April/May time

Optional: