Episode 11: ABBA Summit Highlights Part 1

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Building Equitable Arts Communities - Highlights from 2023 Arts for a Better Bay Area “State of the Arts Summit”

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"We must disrupt and rebuild; our task is to shift how society thinks through art” - Ralph Remington

This special episode hosted by our Associate Producer Eric Estrada aka “Chips” of Voices of the Community highlights discussions from the Arts for a Better Bay Area State of the Arts Summit.

In this episode we feature our Co-Host Isa Nakazawa, together with guests who shared insights on various topics: Maria Jensen, Creative & Executive Director of SOMArts Cultural Center, emphasized the need to value artists; Ralph Remington, Director of Cultural Affairs at the San Francisco Arts Commission, discussed cultural equity; Jonathan Moscone, Executive Director of the California Arts Council, on putting artists to work; and Vale Brown, Director of the City of San Francisco’s Grants for the Arts, on arts funding along with Jenny Cohen Client Success Manager of TRG Arts discusses the significance of understanding customer topology, including recency, frequency, monetary value, and growth in patron relationships.

Discover how equity-driven programs foster cross-cultural dialogue, encourage the next generation of creative talent, and contribute to the vitality of neighborhoods. Don’t miss this in-depth look at how community-based artistic initiatives are shaping a brighter, more inclusive future for Bay Area arts.

Maria Jensen-Creative & Executive Director, SOMARTS Cultural Center

Maria Jenson is recognized as a leader in the arts for advancing innovative strategies to sustain creative communities in the midst of rapidly changing urban environments. As Creative and Executive Director of SOMArts, Jenson has deepened the organization’s commitment to racial equity, creating clear pathways for Bay Area artists to cultivate new ideas and grow their careers. Through her leadership, Jenson has expanded SOMArts’ public programs, advanced new public-private partnerships, and fostered groundbreaking exhibitions such as The Black Woman is God, The Third Muslim: Queer and Trans* Muslim Narratives of Resistance and Resilience, and many more. These projects represent SOMArts’ commitment to incubating the growth and careers of Bay Area artists and curators.

Prior to joining SOMArts, Jenson was a key member of the SFMOMA External Relations team during the museum’s expansion and was the Founding Director of ArtPadSF, an independent art fair launched in the Tenderloin at the Phoenix Hotel in 2010. A graduate of the 2018 Getty Foundation Executive Leadership Institute, Jenson is a sought-after thought leader on the role of cultural institutions advocating for a more democratic and equitable society.

Ralph Remington-Director of Cultural Affairs, San Francisco Arts Commission

Ralph Remington has extensive professional experience in arts administration and government and as a director, actor, essayist, playwright, and screenwriter.

Prior to joining the City and County of San Francisco, he served as the Deputy Director for Arts and Culture for the City of Tempe, Arizona. In that role, he was responsible for Tempe Center for the Arts comprehensive performance and visual arts programming, as well as overseeing public art, the Tempe History Museum, arts engagement, and municipal arts granting.

Remington previously served as the former Western Regional Director and Assistant Executive Director for the Actors Equity Association in Los Angeles. He also served as Director of Theater and Musical Theater at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in Washington, D.C. In 2010, he received the NEA Chairman's Distinguished Service Award.

Prior to working at the NEA, Remington was a City Council member for the City of Minneapolis. A former Guthrie Theater Acting Company member, he is the founding Producing Artistic Director of the award-winning Pillsbury House Theatre in South Minneapolis. Remington has a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama from Howard University.

Jonathan Moscone-Co-Founder, Chinn+Moscone Creative Partners

Jonathan Moscone is no longer the Executive Director of the California Arts Council. He stepped down from that role in December 2023.

Currently, Jonathan Moscone is focusing on his creative roots and supporting local arts organizations as a consultant, advisor, and coach. He also recently launched an arts consultancy firm called Chinn+Moscone Creative Partneers.

Jonathan brings over 30 years experience in arts practice and leadership to partner creatively with arts organizations to develop and enact a compelling vision with actionable strategies; build a case for support; develop strong relationships with key constituents, and build strong, lasting and authentic community engagement practices.

A former Artistic Director of the California Shakespeare Theater, Jonathan also served as Chief Producer/Chief of Civic Engagement of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and most recently as a Council member and Executive Director of the California Arts Council, the State’s arts agency. He has sat on several local and national non-profit boards and currently serves as co-chair of the Chinese Culture Center in San Francisco, his hometown. He is the first recipient of the Zelda Fichandler Award, given by the Stage Directors and Choreographers foundation for “transforming the American Theater through his unique and creative work”.

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.

Vallie Brown - Director, Grants for the Arts

Vallie Brown is a former Board of Supervisors member, where she represented District 5. Subsequent to her departure from the Board of Supervisors, Brown ran for the Democratic County Central Committee (DCCC) in the 17th Assembly District. She has worked as a project manager for affordable housing for the City's Office of Economic and Workforce Development and served as a legislative aide for London Breed. Brown started an art program at the Hunter's Point Boys and Girls Club. After taking note of the high incidence of breast cancer and asthma in the neighborhood, Brown started raising awareness of chemical hazards and became an environmental activist. Vallie Brown transitioned from her role as Director of Grants for the Arts in San Francisco and is now part of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission's team. She is working on new "healing arts" granting projects and equity initiatives. Her focus remains on supporting historically underfunded arts organizations and promoting equity in the arts community. Vallie Brown has transitioned from her role as Director of Grants for the Arts and is now working with the San Francisco Human Rights Commission (HRC), focusing on healing arts granting projects and equity

Isa Nakazawa - Dir. Community Engagement, BAVC Media

Isa Nakazawa is the Director of Community Engagement at the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC Media), a media hub and resource for filmmakers and artists. She joined BAVC Media in January 2020. At BAVC Media, she is also the host of "Transmission Studio," a bi-weekly show featuring conversations with San Francisco's independent artists.

Outside of her work at BAVC Media, Isa Nakazawa hosts "Stars and Stars with Isa," a weekly podcast where she reads birth charts and discusses life's purpose with artists and thinkers. The podcast is part of SiriusXM's "Listen Next" program in collaboration with Futuro Studios. She also previously hosted "Rhizomatic Radio" and "The Parked Car" on Oakland's AllDayPlay.FM (ADP.FM).

Isa Nakazawa is a 2023 NALAC Leadership Institute Fellow. She is also an independent consultant and has served on the boards of several organizations, including AIR, Reel Stories, Women's Community Clinic, San Francisco Suicide Prevention, and Next Door Solutions. She has also lectured at UC Berkeley, School of Social Welfare.

SOMARTS Cultural Center

SOMArts plays a vital role in the arts ecosystem by helping activate the arts citywide. We do this by providing space and production support for non-profit events, as well as fairs and festivals throughout the Bay Area, and offering a robust program of art exhibitions, classes, events, and performances that are affordable and accessible to all. SOMArts is beloved in San Francisco as a cross-cultural, community-built space where cutting-edge events and counterculture come together with traditional art forms in a way that is open, engaging, and inspiring. It is an incubator for ideas that lie outside the mainstream of contemporary art funding and consumption.
Current & Upcoming Events
Programs
You can support SOMArts through a donation

San Francisco Arts Commission

The San Francisco Arts Commission is the City agency that champions the arts as essential to daily life by investing in a vibrant arts community, enlivening the urban environment, and shaping innovative cultural policy.

RACIAL EQUITY STATEMENT
The San Francisco Arts Commission is committed to creating a city where all artists and cultural workers have the freedom, resources, and platform to share their stories, art, and culture and where race does not predetermine one’s success in life. We also acknowledge that we occupy traditional and unceded Ohlone land. Fueled by these beliefs, we commit to addressing the systemic inequities within our agency, the City and County of San Francisco, and the broader arts and culture sector. This work requires that we focus on race as we confront inequities of the past, reveal inequities of the present, and develop effective strategies to move all of us toward an equitable future. Read Our Racial Equity Action Plan [2021-2023]

OUR VISION
The San Francisco Arts Commission envisions a San Francisco where the transformative power of art is critical to strengthening neighborhoods, building infrastructure, and fostering positive social change. We believe the arts create inspiring personal experiences, illuminate the human condition, and offer meaningful ways to engage with each other and the world around us. We imagine a vibrant San Francisco where creativity, prosperity, and progress go hand in hand. We advance artists’ ideas to improve the quality of life for everyone through a united cultural sector whose contributions are vital and valued.
Programs
Funding for the Arts
Resources
Get Involved

Chinn+Moscone Creative Partners

We are Debbie Chinn and Jonathan Moscone We are partners. We work side-by-side with arts and cultural organizations, along with cultural workers, to solve intractable problems, build capacity and achieve ambitious initiatives. And we do it with the entirety of our knowledge, experience and creativity. Our Services

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

Grants for the Arts

The Grants for the Arts program is a funding initiative by the City and County of San Francisco that provides general operating support for arts and culture organizations, and funds re-granting to individual artists and groups. Since its inception in 1961, the program has distributed $400 million to hundreds of nonprofit arts and culture organizations in San Francisco. The program is funded through a combination of City and State legislation, and its annual revenue is derived from the hotel tax. Find out more about Grant Application and Making a Donation.

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“Artists are what is changing the world, because art leads to open minds. If we want to further the ideals of democracy, we must fund the artists who are helping us to interpret our lives and understand others.”

— Maria Jenson,Creative & Executive Director,SOMARTS Cultural Center

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

Voices of the Community is supported by a grant from the Peaceful World Foundation dedicated to fostering a culture of global peace through the promotion of hosted conversations and education. You can learn more at peaceful world foundation dot org.

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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