Episode 3: CA Arts & Culture Summit - “Economic Justice: Unveiling the Power of Arts and Culture”

Other Episodes: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

CA Arts & Culture Summit Panel 2 “Achieving Economic Justice Through Community Place keeping” - Photos Courtesy of Doug Cupid Photography

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“So if you have not tapped into community members that you are serving, that you are working with, then you are missing a large, piece of the solution to your problems”. - Heather Heslep

Voices of Change: “The Intersection of Art, Equity, and Economic Empowerment"

The panel discussion on Achieving Economic Justice Through Community Placekeeping, featuring Miss Tee, Nikko Kimzin, Arianna Paz Chávez, Heather Heslep, and Roshaun Davis, explores the challenges faced by marginalized communities in the arts and the importance of placekeeping, ownership, and wealth redistribution. The panelists emphasized the power of art as a tool for community empowerment and social change.

Watch, listen, and learn how these leaders are transforming their communities through arts and culture!

Tamaira “Miss Tee” Sandifer-CEO & Founder, Studio T Arts & Entertainment

Tamaira Sandifer, affectionately known as “Miss Tee,” is a dedicated advocate with over 30 years of experience in dance and youth empowerment. In 2005, she founded the nonprofit 3 Point - Studio T Arts & Entertainment, using dance as a powerful tool to connect with diverse youth.

Miss Tee is committed to uplifting communities facing poverty and limited opportunities by providing essential financial education, life skills training, and entrepreneurship programs. She also established a Sacramento-based Social Media Production Studio to support local businesses and mentor young entrepreneurs, especially during the challenges of the pandemic.

Miss Tee's impact is nothing short of extraordinary. With a reach extending to over 880,000 youth nationwide, she has been a driving force behind the creation of more than 25 national youth-serving programs. Her dedication to the arts is evident in the establishment of art programs in over 600 schools. During the challenges of COVID, she secured $783,000 to support minority-owned businesses and played a pivotal role in helping over 38 small businesses start and grow. Miss Tee also engineered an online platform that became a critical learning tool for youth during the pandemic.

Her leadership and influence have been recognized widely, making the Forbes 50 list of Champions, being named California’s Woman of the Year, and receiving the Outstanding Women in Leadership Award from NAWBO. Additionally, she has been featured in Hub’s Magazine Women of Color and produced the Best New Television Series of 2021, awarded by Access Sacramento. Miss Tee's accomplishments continue to inspire and create lasting change in communities across the nation.

In January 2024, Miss Tee launched the Studio T Arts & Entertainment - Innovation Factory (STAE-IF) on a block she recently purchased on Sacramento’s historic Del Paso Blvd. What was once a Youth Detention Facility now serves as a hub for creatives, entrepreneurs, and the underserved communities in Sacramento. The STAE-IF offers programs in career development and essential life skills, aiming to elevate the quality of life for all involved. To learn more or support the Studio T Arts & Entertainment - Innovation Factory and Miss Tee, click here.

Arianna Paz Chavez-Executive Director, Arte Americas

Born and raised in Fresno, California, Arianna attributes her passion for art to formative years spent at Arte Américas. In 2023 she returned home to Arte to assume the role of Executive Director. She brings a decade of experience in nonprofit arts organizations including the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and artist-endowed foundations in New York. Arianna is a NALAC alumna (LTI 2018, ALI 2020) and holds a BA in Art History & Arts Management (USFCA ‘13) and a MA in Art History (SU Florence ‘22). Arianna’s career thus far has been devoted to creating meaningful experiences and entry points to the arts for and with diverse communities.

Roshaun Davis-Executive Director,CLTRE & Co-Founder,Unseen Heroes

Roshaun Davis (he/him) is an entrepreneur, community developer, and cultural strategist. He partners with community-centric organizations that range from early stage entrepreneurs, corporate companies, and governmental agencies. Roshaun’s rare talent for community development, strategic focus, and program implementation bridges the gap between the built environment and the community that lives within it. He makes sense of the always-changing environment, visualizes what could be, and connects both with tangible results. His client and partner roster includes the likes of AT&T, MetroPCS, YELP, Fiat, Electrify America, Redbull, Sierra Nevada, MillerCoors, The City of Sacramento, City of West Sacramento, and The Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

He has been named Top 100 Business Leaders, 40 under 40, Top 25 Changemakers in Sacramento and received the Local Vision Award from the American Planning Association. In addition to his professional accolades, Roshaun still finds time to give back to the community by sitting on the board for the Inclusive Economic and Community Development Investment Committee, Sol Collective, and The California Events Coalition. He received his BA in Journalism from the California State University - Sacramento State, and his PHD from the streets.

Heather Heslup-Director of Public Art Programs,Destination Crenshaw

Heather E. Heslup is the Director of Public Art Programs for Destination Crenshaw, an organization with a mission to revitalize the economy of south LA through arts & culture. She is also the founder of Pure Art Solutions, a boutique consultant firm focused on the strategic development of community-driven non-profit arts organizations. She is an arts management professional with over 15 years of experience specializing in organizational strategy, arts education program development, and community arts project management. As a passionate advocate for the arts, equity, and social justice, Heather has left a lasting impact on the sector through her work with prominent institutions, including the National Guild for Community Arts Partnerships, Los Angeles County Department of Arts & Culture, California Institute for the Arts and Turnaround Arts: California a program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. She is a proud alumna of Howard University (B.A ‘04) and Columbia College Chicago (M.A. ‘09).

Nikko Kimzin-CEO+Lead Consultant,Kimzin Creative

Nikko Kimzin is a joy filled professional performer, producer, and consultant that seeks to uplift the human spirit. As Founder and Lead Consultant with Kimzin Creative (Petaluma, CA based arts & equity consulting group), he seeks to create greater communities of belonging through the arts. At Kimzin Creative, they center the cultural strengths and dreams of historically marginalized communities to transform policy, funding, and placemaking. Kimzin Creative collaborates with local governments, schools/districts, and arts & culture organizations to create equitable access to culturally relevant arts processes and programming.

Services include: Arts education, creative producing, and consultation on community engagement and arts-as-data-collection strategies. Clients include: Google, County of Sonoma, City of Santa Rosa, William + Flora Hewlett Foundation, Petaluma River Park Foundation, Center for Cultural Innovation, and more. www.kimzincreative.com | info@kimzincreative.com

Studio T Arts & Entertainment

Founded in 2005, Studio T Arts & Entertainment empowers youth and families through arts and media training, fostering confidence and community leadership. Originally focused on dance, Studio T Arts has expanded to offer diverse programs like photography, videography, and digital marketing, providing valuable job skills. In 2021, the Studio T Arts Production Studio opened, offering professional facilities and training in media production. Studio T Arts also launched PopinPete.com, preserving dance history and offering online instruction. Find out more about Studio T programs Sign up for a class create something in the production lab check out job opportunities and make a donation to support Studio T Arts & Entertainment’s work. You can book your next event at the Innovation Factory.

Watch these videos to learn more about Studio T Arts & Miss Tee: Sizzle recap, Studio T Arts Innovation Factory, Miss Tee Speaker Reel, Dance Program, Media Arts Program, Music Program, Miss Tee’s Podcast, Side Hustle Academy Commercial.

Arte Américas

Discover Arte Américas: Celebrating Latinx Arts and Cultures

At Arte Américas, our mission is to celebrate, nurture, and preserve Latinx arts and cultures. Since our humble beginnings in 1987, we've grown into a vibrant cultural hub in downtown Fresno. With the support of the community, we acquired and transformed a historic building on Van Ness and Calaveras, originally built in 1910, into a dynamic gallery space. Thanks to generous donations, including major contributions from the Ruiz Family and the Paz Family, we expanded to create Plaza Paz, our beautiful outdoor performance space. This venue, designed by local artists, hosts numerous cultural and community events, continuing our legacy of supporting the arts.

Check out the exhibitions, find out more about our education programs, become a member and support our work as a volunteer and a donation Support artists by buying their art. Join us in celebrating Latinx culture—visit Arte Américas today and be part of our vibrant community!

CLTRE

Keeping Culture, Building Culture, Making Culture

CLTRE is a nonprofit organization that is committed to shifting the cultural landscape in California by year 2040. We do this through building culture, making culture, and keeping culture within underserved and culturally rich neighborhoods throughout the city. 100% of our donations go directly to fund programs and projects designed to develop the neighborhoods we live in, and the people who live within them.

Why We Do What We Do - We believe CLTRE is the thread that connects individuals to their communities and to the past, present, and future. It is the lens through which they view the world and make sense of their experiences. We are a community development corporation designed to center culture as a way of life, and showcase the locals and small scale real estate projects that make neighborhoods unique. Find out more about CLTRE's community building and economic development programs. Join one of our events. Learn about CLTRE's home buying program. Get support for your business through the CLTRE Club and check out their impact reports. Support CLTRE's work and make a donation

Destination Crenshaw

Destination Crenshaw is a reparative development project and will be the largest Black public art project in the U.S. and quite possibly the world. Ultimately, the project will commission more than 100 works by Black artists who have strong ties to Los Angeles, creating a pipeline of work and jobs for emerging, seasoned and internationally renowned artists. But the project is so much more than art. Its mission is nothing less than to place a cultural stamp of Blackness on Crenshaw Boulevard – a stamp akin to those in Chinatown, Mariachi Plaza, Koreatown and other ethnic enclaves.

In addition to art, new pocket parks will line the project site, providing spaces for gathering, rest and conversation as well as community healing, protest and celebration. With a commitment to environmental equity, we will reforest the boulevard, planting more than 800 trees and developing over 30,000 square feet of sustainable landscaping. The project is also designed to fuel construction careers, thanks to the inclusion of an unprecedented 70% local hiring requirement in our construction contract. And lastly, providing technical support to the small businesses along the corridor is, and will remain, central to our work. Small businesses are our community’s lifeblood! When completed in 2024, Destination Crenshaw’s innovative vision will be a testament to the past, present, and future of LA’s Black community. Find out more about our Public Art Program along with DC Thrive. Participate in upcoming events Support Destination Crenshaw's work through a donation.

Kimzin Creative

Kimzin Creative – We center the cultural strengths and dreams of historically marginalized communities to policy, funding, and placemaking. We collaborate with local governments, schools/districts, foundations, and arts & culture organizations to create equitable access to culturally relevant arts processes and programming.

Why: To Create Greater Communities of belonging How: We Consult. We Produce. We Lead. We Create Find out more about:

· Arts Education & Programming

· Arts & Equity Consulting

· Creative Producing

· Community Engagement

· Asamblea

· Connect with us

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“How many people have actually walked into slave quarters before? It’s, very humbling and you start to realize like we were the wealth. We were the wealth. So if you want to talk about economic justice, you have to understand that our bodies were the wealth. The fact that if you owned us, we were the wealth.”

— Roshaun Davis, Executive Director,CLTRE,Co-Founder of Unseen Heroes

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

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.

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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