Episode 3: ABBA Summit Economic Recovery in the Arts

Arts for a Better Bay Area State of the Arts Summit 2023, “Rebuilding Our Communities” June 28th, 2023
Photo Credits: Jonathan Moscone by Pax Ahimsa Gethen - funcrunch.org, Ralph Remington by Amanda Villa, ABBA Summit - Eric Estrada, Lyzette Wanzer, and Skot Kuiper

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"It's all about partnering artists with small businesses to create site specific installations and that way create more exposure both for the business and for the artists and also to revitalize those corridors" - Vanessa Wilson

This is our second episode from the co-production with Arts for a Better Bay Area of the re-launch of the State of the Arts Summit "Rebuilding Our Communities," on June 28th, 2023.

The COVID-19 pandemic shined a spotlight on the importance of arts and culture and its impact on our communities and economy, as well as the under-funding and fragility of our sector. Our second episode is focused on how governmental support, funding, artists, and audiences have changed and what arts and cultural organizations are doing to support, reinvent, and invigorate the sector. Join us to learn about various angles of this work and how you can get engaged.

This episode features Julie Baker, CEO - of Californians for the Arts; Vanessa Wilson, Deputy Director - of ArtSpan; Lauren Macmadu, Head of External Relations - of YBCA; Jenny Cohn, Client Success Manager - of TRG Arts along with Cary McClelland, Chief Operating Officer - of YBCA.

Julie Baker, CEO - of Californians for the Arts & California Arts Advocates

As CEO of California’s statewide arts advocacy organizations since 2018, Julie has worked to increase the legislative clout and visibility of the arts and culture communities by building coalition across the for and non-profit sectors of California’s creative industries, producing a month-long arts awareness and advocacy campaign every April, and fighting for resources and legislation to serve and protect artists and cultural workers. She serves as the California State Captain to Americans for the Arts National Arts Action Summit and on the State Arts Action Network Council and as the co-chair of the Western Arts Advocacy network for WESTAF. She is on the board of California Heritage: Indigenous Research Project, a founding member of the Nevada County Relief Fund advisory council and was elected to the Nevada County school board in November of 2020.
Over the years, Julie has owned a fine arts gallery for emerging artists, co-founded Flow art fair — a satellite to Art Basel Miami Beach — opened a consulting firm Julie Baker Projects, and curated an annual music series at the Crocker Art Museum. Earlier in her career she was President of her family’s arts marketing firm in New York City and worked at Christie’s Auction house before moving to California in 1998. Julie also served for eight years as the Executive Director of The Center for the Arts, a non-profit performing arts venue, and California WorldFest, an annual music and camping festival located in Grass Valley, CA. She is the recipient of the inaugural Peggy Levine Arts & Community Service Award from the Nevada County Arts Council. The 2021 Alene Valkanas State Arts Advocacy Award from Americans for the Arts, honors an individual at the state level whose arts advocacy efforts have dramatically affected the political landscape.

Jenny Cohn, Client Success Manager - TRG Arts

Jenny was a professional property designer and stage manager in theatre for a decade before shifting her focus to patron services. She is thrilled to be joining TRG Arts after 10 years in marketing and communications with Boston Court Pasadena. Jenny lives in Los Angeles with her husband, Jon, and their 3-year-old son, Wilmont.

Vanessa Wilson, Deputy Director - ArtSpan

Vanessa Wilson is an arts professional passionate about breaking down the rhetoric of art speak and making art accessible to all communities. Her interest in the arts has driven her to pursue a number of collaborations and projects across the globe, covering a wide spectrum of experience both in “fine” and unconventional art spaces. In addition to working with brick-and-mortar institutions, Vanessa continues to experiment with alternative modes of engagement, education, and sales, exploring the boundaries faced by bringing the arts online, on social media, and on podcasts. At the core of her pursuits is a personal drive to bring underserved communities and artists into the spotlight. When not championing artists, Vanessa serves as an activist in a mutual aid group supporting farm-workers

Lauren Macmadu, Head of External Relations-YBCA

After a successful career as a professional ballet dancer and a school faculty member at the San Francisco Ballet along with Macmadu’s more than 20 years of helping organizations build their brands and tell their story to audiences worldwide. For Macmadu the two worlds collided and as the head of external relations at YBCA she now can use her expertise in an industry that she lives and breathes – the arts. Macmadu joins YBCA after previously serving as the Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Donor Network West, the federally designated non-profit organ procurement organization for northern California and northern Nevada. Prior to their current position, Macmadu worked as the Director of Communications for Anova Culinary, where they were responsible for the overall strategy and direction for the company's internal and external communications, and as a Senior Manager at W2O Group, where they served as a senior manager overseeing the company's public relations and communications efforts. Macmadu played a key role in launching tW2O Group’'s first employee diversity survey. More on Macamadu

Cary McClelland, Chief Operating Officer & Registered In-House Counsel - YBCA

McClelland is a First Amendment and civil rights lawyer who has represented major media companies, broadcasters, and publishers, as well as artists and journalists, in defense of their intellectual property and free expression. He is also a practiced program leader, having launched numerous arts-based programs on behalf of human rights and conflict resolution efforts both in the United States and abroad. In his new role, McClelland will leverage his legal and program experience to support the organization’s reactivation of its spaces after the pandemic, engagement of new partnerships with artists and peer organizations, and leadership role in the revitalization of downtown San Francisco. McClelland is also an award-winning writer, filmmaker, and rights advocate whose work has taken him around the world to document and bring to life stories of people persisting in turbulent times.

Californians for the Arts

Mission
Californians for the Arts is the only comprehensive, multidisciplinary organization focused on advancing and building public awareness of the value and impact of arts, culture, and creativity across California. With over 15,000 active subscribers and hundreds of members representing thousands of artists and arts and cultural organizations, we take on opportunities and challenges that no single organization or artist can represent alone. Moved by our deep conviction of the civic and personal value of the arts, our mission at Californians for the Arts is to ensure that the arts are accessible to all Californians; are an ongoing part of the public dialogue, and encourage Californians to care about the arts as a critical component of their own lives and the lives of their communities. We fight for arts resources and policies that benefit our members and all residents of California. Our work and support of civic engagement, arts education, cultural equity, and the creative economy, positively impact every community across the state.
Vision
Building a sustainable & vibrant California using arts and creativity as the driver for social change and wellness.
•Increase Arts Funding to Historic Levels
•Make Arts Accessible for All Californians
•Campaign for California to be the leading State of Creativity
•Strategize Policy Development
•Demonstrate Solutions to Socioeconomic Issues such as Artists as Second Responders, Arts and corrections, Veterans, Neighborhood Revitalization, Health and Wellness
•Valuing the Sector with Equitable Pay and Cultural Equity
Find out more about Californians for the Arts, and become a member

TRG Arts

At TRG Arts, we are committed to building thriving arts and cultural organizations by successfully shaping business models to focus on consumer relationships, financial stability, organizational frameworks, and people-centric teams. Our thriving clients have built organizational resiliency leading them to artistic innovation and helping to create vibrant communities. Find out more about TRG Arts Services and the Arts & Culture Benchmark data research on the Arts sector. Here’s the link to the data that Jenny shares in the show

ArtSpan

ArtSpan believes in the power of art to enrich lives. For 49 years we’ve championed an inclusive art experience and provided diverse audiences with an authentic connection to local art and artists. ArtSpan supports emerging and established artists who contribute to San Francisco’s inimitable creative energy while bolstering the next generation of artists and encouraging the public to engage in preserving and furthering our vibrant art community. ArtSpan champions an inclusive art experience by providing hundreds of local artists with the equal opportunity to showcase their work and make direct connections to diverse audiences and patrons. Find out more about ArtSpan’s Principles of Community & Cultural Equity, make a donation and become a member along with volunteering to support our artists and community.

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts - YBCA

Opened to the public in 1993, YBCA was founded as the cultural anchor of San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens neighborhood. Our work spans the realms of contemporary art, performance, film, civic engagement, and public life. Centering artists as essential to a social and cultural movement, YBCA is re-imagining the role an arts institution can play in the community it serves. While we all continue to work through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic together, YBCA knows that art is a powerful way to stay connected, get inspired, and think through new ways of moving forward. YBCA will continue to invest in artists that contribute to our shared resiliency and wellness, champion creativity, and create a living laboratory for artist commissions and residencies. Find out more about YBCA’s support of Artists, the re-granting that Cary spoke about, and stay up to date via the YBCA zine. Become a member to engage in YBCA programs and support YBCA’s work with artists in our community.

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“Yerba Buena Center of the Arts, in a humble posture, can begin in the model of solidary economy, partnering with the organizations that are best positioned to do that work. And figuring out how to move the resources out of our building into the hands where they’re needed most, and figure out what work we hold best. It’s a huge re-evaluation that we’re undergoing right now because we’re not necessarily always the organization best positioned to do that work. Part of that evaluation is because we as an organization through the pandemic also learned the hard lessons about what our business model isn’t doing well.”

— Cary McClelland,Chief Operating Officer,Yerba Buena Center of the Arts

Thanks to our Sponsors

Voices of the Community is supported by a grant from the Zellerbach Family Foundation, whose Arts and Culture grants ensure vibrant work is created, new voices are celebrated, and artists and audiences inclusive of the Bay Area’s diverse communities and cultures have opportunities to thrive. Find out more at ZFF dot org

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Thanks to our CoProduction Partner

BAVC Media is a community hub and resource for media makers in the Bay Area and across the country, serving several thousand freelancers, filmmakers, job-seekers, activists, and artists every year. BAVC Media provides access to media making technology, storytelling workshops, a diverse and engaged community of makers and producers, services and resources. Get Training, participate in the MediaMaker Fellowship, become a member and produce shows through the SF Commons program.

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