san francisco arts commission

“One of the things that I, would say to this community coming from a repressed community is let’s turn to each other, not on each other. Let’s bond together, and find our commonality, not our differences. Because the enemy, I’ve seen the enemy in Arizona, and it is not us. So when we have small differences with each other, let’s recognize them for what that is, and let’s stop this San Francisco bickering that we’re famous for, and killing each other over really tiny differences. And let’s bond together over the big stuff because the big stuff is coming and it’s here and it’s big and hairy and gross and we need everybody’s power and participation to disrupt these evil forces.” - Ralph Remington

This interview with Ralph Remington is part of our co-production with Arts for a Better Bay Area of the re-launch of the State of the Arts Summit on June 28th, 2023. You can watch the wonderful interview conducted by our roaming reporter team of Isa Nakazawa our co-host and associate producer Eric Estrada.

You can listen to the full episode features the opening and keynote speakers made up of community leaders, poets, artists, administrators, government officials, and representatives from arts and culture organizations; who share their wonderful insights and recommendations on the rebuilding of our communities through the arts. With Arts for a Better Bay Area's State of the Arts Summit theme, "Rebuilding Our Communities," our opening and keynote speakers below explore collective ways the arts community can develop and bridge supportive connections as we emerge from the pandemic. To find out more information about our guests and their respective organization’s programs, and services, how to volunteer and make a donation please visit our episode landing page with links to resources for the arts and culture sector. 

We hope that you enjoyed episode two of our new six-part series highlighting the issues and solutions of our arts and culture organizations and their workforce as they innovate to come back from the pandemic along with addressing the systemic racism in our performing arts ecosystem.

We welcome your participation in our next virtual and live in-person community dialogue event. Our next community dialogue will be streamed as well as you can tune into our usual radio show, podcast, and television show with our friends at BAVC Media. Sign Up for our Newsletter to participate in our next live show

Please consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, that allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one.

Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page 

“This is a time when the art community's creative expertise and skills and talents are being relied upon. And finally, really seen as major contributors to the local economy.” – Maria Jensen

This is our first episode from the co-production with Arts for a Better Bay Area of the re-launch of the State of the Arts Summit on June 28th, 2023 . This episode features the opening and keynote speakers made up of community leaders, poets, artists, administrators, government officials, and representatives from arts and culture organizations; who share their wonderful insights and recommendations on the rebuilding of our communities through the arts. With Arts for a Better Bay Area's State of the Arts Summit theme, "Rebuilding Our Communities," our opening and keynote speakers below explore collective ways the arts community can develop and bridge supportive connections as we emerge from the pandemic. To find out more information about our guests and their respective organization’s programs, and services, how to volunteer and make a donation please visit our episode landing page with links to resources for the arts and culture sector. 

Show Guests

• Honey Mahoney / Co-Founder Compton’s Transgender Cultural District
• Lyzette Wanzer / Writer/Author
• Michael Warr & Chun Yu/ Poets
• Susie McKinnon/ Executive Director/ ABBA
• Maria Jenson / Creative and Executive Director, SOMArts Cultural Center
• Ralph Remington / Director of Cultural Affairs, SFAC
• Jonathan Moscone, Executive Director, California Arts Council

We hope that you enjoyed episode two of our new six-part series highlighting the issues and solutions of our arts and culture organizations and their workforce as they innovate to come back from the pandemic along with addressing the systemic racism in our performing arts ecosystem.

We welcome your participation in our next virtual and live in-person community dialogue event. Our next community dialogue will be streamed as well as you can tune into our usual radio show, podcast, and television show with our friends at BAVC Media. Sign Up for our Newsletter to participate in our next live show

Please consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one.

Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page 

“First responders save lives; second responders help put people’s lives back together. Artists are essential workers in our society and our economy, helping us recover, reflect, and rebuild”-Julie Baker

This episode is focused on the importance and economic impact of the arts, culture and artists on both our economy and our communities.  We are hosting a panel of guests from the San Francisco Arts Commission, Californians for the Arts and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

According to a March 2022 report by the the National Endowment for the Arts and the Bureau of Economic Analysis, in 2020, arts and culture added $876.7 billion, or 4.2 percent, to our national GDP.  With the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, between 2019 and 2020, the U.S. arts economy shrank at nearly twice the rate of the economy as a whole: arts and cultural production fell by 6.4 percent when adjusted for inflation, compared with a 3.4 decline in the overall economy. Between 2019 and 2020, the arts economy shed more than 604,000 workers—not counting self-employed artists and other cultural workers. 

On a state level, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis report, arts and cultural production accounts for over $225 billion dollars of value to the California economy or around 7.5% and contributes over 680 thousand jobs.

On a local level, the findings from the March 2021 study conducted by the Bay Area Council economic institute on the economic and social impact of the arts in San Francisco; [pause] found that in fiscal year 2019, San Francisco  nonprofit arts organizations generated $945 million in economic output, which supported 9,657 jobs.

To make a donation, volunteer, and support the work of Californians for the Arts please go to californians for the arts dot org. 

To find out more about the San Francisco Arts Commission's work to support our arts economy through grants, bid opportunities, becoming an art vendor, and Ralph’s work to diversify the commission’s work please go to s f arts commission dot org

And to find out more about the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts along with  Jason’s community investment work through the Artists Power Center please go to y b c a dot org

Please consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is now fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one.

Dive Into More Information on Each Episode, Speakers, Organizations and Resources at our Voices of the Community’s Special Arts & Culture Series Web Landing Page