Episode 8: "Breaking Isolation: Arts as a Community Solution"

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CA Arts & Culture Summit Participants & Presenters - “Breaking Isolation: Arts as a Community Solution” - Photos Courtesy of Doug Cupid Photography

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"Artists, cultural bearers, creatives are essential contributors to the economy… so that arts are not a luxury, arts are not a hobby" – Ron Muriera

Join us for insightful conversations with arts leaders and advocates at the California Arts and Culture Summit. Discover the transformative power of arts and culture as we discuss cultural equity, economic empowerment for artists, and the exciting developments in arts and health. Learn how these initiatives are strengthening our communities and find out how you can get involved!

Kristin Sakoda-Director, Arts & Culture, LA County Department of Arts and Culture

Kristin Sakoda is Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, a local arts agency which fulfills a mission to advance arts, culture, and creativity throughout the largest county in the U.S. The Department of Arts and Culture provides grants and technical assistance to hundreds of nonprofit organizations; runs the largest arts internship program in the nation; coordinates countywide public-private arts education initiatives; increases access to creative career pathways; commissions civic artwork; supports free community programs; leads the LA County Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative; and advances cross-sector cultural strategies to address civic issues. Appointed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, Ms. Sakoda previously served as Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Under her leadership, she led the organization during its historic transition into the County’s first Department of Arts and Culture.

Ms. Sakoda is an arts executive, attorney, and performing artist with more than 25 years in the field. She has appeared on national and international stages including with dance and social justice company Urban Bush Women and in musicals Rent and Mamma Mia! on Broadway. Prior to her work at the Department of Arts and Culture, she served in key leadership roles at the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs overseeing a portfolio of strategic, programmatic, policy, legislative, and funding programs with a $200 million annual budget, and was instrumental in advancing diversity and inclusion; public art; creative aging; cultural facilities; and affordable workspace for artists. She holds a J.D. from NYU School of Law with honors in Entertainment Law, and B.A. from Stanford University with a specialization in Race and Ethnicity and a secondary major in Feminist Studies. As of 2021, she is a Board member of Grantmakers in the Arts, the national association of public and private arts funders in the U.S.

Michael Alexander-Campus Arts & Culture Liaison, Caltech

Michael Alexander has been an active member of the California arts community since the mid-1960s when he started dancing with the Aman Folk Ensemble. In 1969, in his early 20s, he became the company’s manager and, ultimately, the executive director leading the company to major national prominence and worldwide touring. His career has included leadership services for San Francisco Ballet, the City of Los Angeles’ Department of Cultural Affairs, twenty-seven years as executive director of Grand Performances - Los Angeles’ premier free, outdoor performing arts series - and, after 14 months retirement, a return to active performing arts presentation as the Director of Pubic Programming at Caltech. Concurrent with his professional obligations, beginning in 2004, he served for twelve-years as the State Assembly’s appointee to the California Arts Council and, for nearly five decades has held leadership positions in a variety of organizations that address public policy issues related to the arts and the broader nonprofit field.

He said, “I am most proud that Grand Performances grew into an award-winning concert series that focused on the cultural diversity of our city and that we developed innovative community-involvement programs that produced the most diverse audience in the country. As a free series, GP proved that ‘price is the barrier’ and that people of every socio-economic group want the arts in their lives. The arts play a strong role in building healthier communities everywhere.”

He is known for saying, “Access to the arts is a right and not a privilege,” and “I am not in the arts business anymore. I am in the people-gathering business and use the best of the arts to give people a reason to gather.”

Over the years he has been recognized for his leadership work on public policy by many of the professional organizations serving the arts including his receiving in 2017 the Sidney R. Yates Award from the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (an award previously given to Senator Edward Kennedy). His board services have included years serving on the boards of the California Association of Nonprofits, California Arts Advocates/Californians for the Arts and Arts for LA. He helped start and/or sat on the boards of numerous organizations serving the arts, dance and folk arts both locally, statewide and regionally. He continues to as a board member to a number of nonprofits and provides consultation services to numerous arts, culture and civic programs.

A native Angeleno, father of two and grandfather of four, he started his professional performing career as a teenager working as a clown for the Los Angeles City Circus. He thinks he can still ride his unicycle forward! He lives with his wife, pianist and vocal coach Victoria Kirsch, in the Mt. Washington district near downtown Los Angeles.

Meghna Bhat-Founder & Creative Director, Gulabi Stories

Meghna Bhat, Ph.D. (she/her), is an independent gender and social justice consultant, feminist scholar, trained storyteller, and educator based in Sacramento, CA. I am a proud desi first-generation immigrant woman from India who has lived in the USA for the past 18 years. In November of 2022, I was honored to be one of the 45 recipients of the 2022 Seeding Creativity Artist Grant funded by the Office of Arts and Culture in the City of Sacramento. As the Seeding Creativity Grant recipient, I am thrilled to launch this one-year storytelling project centered on South Asian immigrant identities across all diasporas and generations. 

Drawn from my own experiences with gender violence, chronic pain, and other unexpected health struggles accompanied by feelings of isolation, shame, and depression, I aim to create and strengthen a culture of visibility, acceptance, compassion, and collective care around these topics that are considered taboos in South Asian communities and diasporas with storytelling. My intent is to build on existing and ongoing extraordinary work on gender, immigrant, health, and racial justice carried out by South Asian direct service organizations within our immigrant and refugee diasporas. Most importantly, dreaming of designing and launching this storytelling initiative about healing wouldn't have been possible without acknowledging the profound role, legacy, and contributions of Black, Brown, and Native American and indigenous storytellers, circle keepers, educators, and healers who have paved the path for us and our generations. I am deeply moved by their wisdom, and compassion and hope to learn, evolve, and also be accountable to shift the narratives using an ethical and decolonial lens.

Josiah Bruny-CEO, Music Changing Lives

Josiah Bruny is a trailblazer committed to systemic change through arts and culture. As CEO and Founder of Music Changing Lives, a nonprofit celebrating 26 years of innovation, Josiah is on a mission to build new-age community centers worldwide for at-promise youth and creatives. A multiple award winning social justice leader and music industry pioneer, Josiah is changing lives one note at a time through the Each One, Teach One philosophy. With programs like the Urban Garden, the Know Justice, Know Peace Mural Tour, and Concerts Under the Stars, Josiah is building a legacy of economic empowerment through the arts. Josiah is a Board Member, CA for the Arts / CA Arts Advocates

Ron Muriera-Arts Industry Support Director, City of San Jose

With an emphasis in the areas of arts & culture, social justice, human services and educational equity, Ron's mission in life is to create a healthier, better educated and more equitable and inclusive society.

Passionate about helping organizations and agencies better serve their constituents, Ron has partnered and worked with governmental agencies, school districts, non-profit organizations, arts and cultural institutions and educational systems to improve their effectiveness, expand their services, and target their resources to better serve their communities.

Ron's areas of practice include: Nonprofit management and organizational systems; grants (prospect research/grant writing); fundraising strategies; educational equity; cultural competency; diversity issues; Filipino-American history and research; youth leadership development and advocacy; legislation and policy issues related to educational access for low-income youth; civic engagement, and the performing arts.

Ron has served on the City of San Jose Arts Commission for 8 years holding positions of Vice Chair and Public Arts Committee Chair. He has also served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations: Red Ladder Theatre Company, (founding Board President) and the Japanese American Museum of San José. He has served as a national trustee for the Filipino American National Historical Society (FANHS), and was a trustee for the California History Center at De Anza College.

Ron currently is Arts Industry Support Director with the City of San José Office of Economic Development and Cultural Affairs, and continues to serve on the advisory boards of Californians for the Arts, a statewide arts advocacy organization, and its sister organization, California Arts Advocates.

Dr. Indre Viskontas, Ph.D.-Cognitive Neuroscientist, Science Communicator & Opera Stage Director

Dr. Indre Viskontas, MM, PhD, is a neuroscientist, musician, opera stage director and science communicator across all mediums. Combining a passion for music with scientific curiosity, she is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of San Francisco where she runs The Creative Brain Lab and is on faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. She leads the Communications Core at the Sound Health Network, promoting research and public awareness of the impact music can have on our health and well-being and is the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board at the NeuroArts Blueprint.

She is also the President-Elect of the Society for the Neuroscience of Creativity. She has written more than 50 academic publications on the neural basis of memory, musicand creativity. She was recently an Osher Fellow at the California Academy of Sciences, investigating the impact of conservation photography on climate action. Her work has been featured in Oliver Sacks’book Musicophilia, Nature: Science Careers, Nautilus, Discover Magazine and other outlets.

Her book, How Music Can Make You Better, was published by Chronicle Books. She has co-hosted several TV and web series, and has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, PBS NewsHour, major radio stations across the US, including NPR’s City Arts & Lectures and the CBC’s The Sunday Edition. She is the host of the popular science podcast Inquiring Minds, host and creator of the podcast Cadence: what music tells us about the mind, a Webby Awards Honoree, and the host and writer of the Audible Original podcast Radiant Minds: the World of Oliver Sacks. She often gives keynote talks and has created four 24-lecture courses for The Great Courses/Wondrium called Essential Scientific Concepts, Brain Myths Exploded, How Digital Technology Shapes Us and Creativity and Your Brain. Find out more at Indre’s website and organizational background information below. Find out more about Arts as Healthcare in episode two

Los Angeles County Department of Arts & Culture

The mission of the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture is to advance arts, culture, and creativity throughout LA County. We provide leadership, services, and support in areas including grants and technical assistance for nonprofit organizations, countywide arts education initiatives, commissioning and care for civic art collections, research and evaluation, access to creative pathways, professional development, free community programs, and cross sector creative strategies that address civic issues. All of this work is framed by our longstanding commitment to fostering access to the arts, and the County’s Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative.

Find out more about the Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture’s programs Arts Education, Civic Art, https://www.lacountyarts.org/fundingFunding & Grants, Professional Development,  Research and Evaluation, along with the Cultural Equity and Inclusion Initiative

Caltech Live

Beginning almost concurrently with the 1964 dedication of the 1,136 seat Beckman Auditorium, Caltech established a performing arts series that for close to 50 years featured many of the world’s most renowned touring artists.  Originally, one of only five university-based presenters in LA County with the infrastructure and administrative support essential to the touring performing arts field, it boasted seasons of up to 20 performances a year that attracted campus and off-campus audiences for music, theater, dance and film presentations. The last decade-plus brought changes as audiences aged and declined; younger audiences found internet-accessible ways of discovering the arts; and increased travel times on clogged freeways impacted live performing arts presentations throughout the region.  The program is now undergoing a healthy internal review to prepare for its future services to the community.  For more information about current presentations go to: Events.Caltech.Edu

Gulabi Stories

The Gulabi Stories: A South Asian Healing Initiative has been funded by the SEEDING CREATIVITY Individual Artist Grant. The Office of Arts & Culture (OAC) in the City of Sacramento received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) as part of its American Rescue Plan (ARP) grant program, to subgrant to communities responding to the negative economic impacts and public health emergencies of the COVID-19 pandemic. This grant program supports 45 artists with grants to create and/or present new work in the county during the grant period. To find out more about future Gulabi Stories you can submit an Interest Form. Engage Gulabi Stories and find more Resources to support storytelling.

Music Changing Lives

Music Changing Lives (MCL) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization dedicated to providing music, art, and tutoring programs in America’s public schools and community centers while raising awareness about the importance of enrichment programs as part of each child’s comprehensive education and lifestyle.

We believe music and art are fundamental components of human culture and behavior. Many students living in underserved communities have little or no access to the arts due to reductions in funding. The knowledge of the arts is very important because it is an irreplaceable means of self-expression and helps students understand others in different ways. There is a dire need to empower minority and low-income youth through arts education by going beyond an integrated classroom approach. Get Involved through volunteering, make donation and help in LA’s Fire Relief

City of San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs

The City of San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs is dedicated to fostering a vibrant arts and cultural environment for the city's diverse population. As the lead agency for arts and culture in San Jose, the department supports a wide range of programs and initiatives aimed at enhancing the quality of life for residents and visitors.

+ Public Art Program: Promotes and manages public art installations throughout the city.

+ Grants Program: Provides financial support to ensure a rich variety of arts and cultural opportunities. This includes take ART Grants, Festival, Parade, and Celebration Grants, and Operating Grants.

+ Special Events: Organizes and manages outdoor special events, festivals, and parades.

+ Cultural Facilities: Maintains a list of cultural facilities and supports their development.

+ Cultural Connection: A ten-year community cultural plan for cultural development.

+ Participate Programs: Interactive programs for San Jose residents to engage with the arts.

For more information, you can contact the department directly via email at culturalaffairs@sanjoseca.gov or by phone at (408) 793-4333

NeuroArts Blueprint

What is Neuroarts? The NeuroArts Blueprint: Advancing the Science of Arts, Health, and Wellbeing initiative is breaking new ground at the crossroads of science, the arts, and technology. Its mission is to cultivate an ecosystem for neuroarts, defined here as the transdisciplinary and extradisciplinary study of how the arts and aesthetic experiences measurably change the body, brain, and behavior, and how this knowledge is translated into specific practices that advance health and wellbeing. To realize its potential, neuroarts must become a fully recognized field of research and practice, with educational and training pathways, dedicated funding, supportive public sector and private sector policies, effective leadership, wellcrafted communications strategies, and infrastructure capacity. Find out more about their programs and the NeuroArts Blueprint report on advancing the science of Arts, Health, and Wellbeing

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Thanks to our Sponsor

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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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.

Thanks to our CoProduction Partner

California For The Arts - Mission: CFA advances arts and culture in California by raising awareness of programs and services for artists and empowering Californians to advocate for the arts in government, business, and communities.

Vision: CFA envisions California as the most creative state, where artists and arts workers—from designers to musicians—thrive.

California Arts Advocates: This sister organization to CFA ensures that arts are represented in legislation, collaborating with CFA to promote awareness and influence policy decisions.

Get Involved: Become a member, explore their programs, and support the arts in your community.

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