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Office of Arts & Culture news and events

City of Seattle and NFFTY to host Film Career Day on November 6

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Registration now is open for this free virtual event for teens and young adults ages 13-26 interested in turning their passion for film into a career.

The National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY), Seattle Office of Economic Development (OED), and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) will host a free day of workshops and networking opportunities for the next generation of film professionals from the Greater Seattle Area.

Taking place on Saturday, November 6, Film Career Day will offer a streamlined curriculum that includes panels, industry networking opportunities, and connections to local resources — including media arts programs and other educators that offer training, independent filmmakers who have worked to find their niche in the local filmmaking scene, and Northwest-based film industry employers.  

This year, Film Career Day will facilitate a hybrid experience offering virtual participation options and two in-person ​​locations at the Northgate Community Center and at El Centro de la Raza (Beacon Hill). Free registration for both virtual and in-person activities is online:

Register for Film Career Day

Program Highlights

10:30 am: Virtual + In-Person Venues Open

11 am: Opening Remarks + THE PAPER TIGERS Keynote

Join The Paper Tigers crew — writer-director Bao Tran and producers Al’n Duong and Dan Gildark — in a facilitated conversation with Vivian Hua, Executive Director of Northwest Film Forum. Their exciting journey has grown from an unapologetic, independent feature filmed in Seattle into a national and global kung-fu sensation that champions a diverse cast, crew, and stories. Learn about the importance of finding your team and working with those who understand your vision, as well as key takeaways about how to evolve your own filmmaking career.

Haven’t checked out the film yet? It’s currently streaming on Netflix!

12pm: Panel: Where’s the Work?

The beloved Film Career Day panel returns! Learn about the state of film (and creative industries) in the Seattle area from working pros. Who’s hiring for film or media projects, and where do you look for those opportunities? Should I get a job at a production house or go it solo? Learn about how and where to find work in the region from producers who are hiring as well as from self-starting freelance directors.

1pm: Speed Mentoring (+ Lunch at in-person venues)

2pm: Panel: What Streams May Come

With the pandemic keeping millions of filmmakers and content creators inside, more people started streaming than ever before. But how do you get the right exposure and find the right audience? And is it possible to make some money? Hear from founders and leaders of various Seattle-based online platforms of how they built a following and refined their processes, what content they are looking for, and how to get involved in front of and/or behind the camera.

Meet the Panelists & Mentors

In-Person Venues

North Seattle

Northgate Community Center
10510 5th Ave NE
Seattle, WA 98125

Site opens at 10:30am on Saturday, November 6th

Transit Options:

  • Close to Northgate light rail station (New! Will be open!)
  • Bus routes 41, 67, 75, 320, 347, and 348 drop off right in front of the building

South Seattle – El Centro De La Raza

El Centro De La Raza
2524 16th Ave S
Seattle, WA 98144

Site opens at 10:30am on Saturday, November 6th

Transit Options:

  • Building is on same block as Beacon Hill light rail station
  • Bus routes 36 and 60 drop off one block away

“I look forward to saving the youth from a world of pain by sharing our successes, failures, and lessons learned in this crazy journey of filmmaking. I will also teach the finer arts of making instant ramen, an essential diet for screenwriters.”

– Bao Tran, keynote speaker and filmmaker

The third annual Film Career Day is part of NFFTY’s 2021-22 programming season, which is produced with the generous support of the National Endowment for the Arts, ArtsWA, 4Culture, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, ArtsFund, and The Norcliffe Foundation, with additional support for Film Career Day from King County Creative.  

Seattle Arts Commission 2022 Budget Priorities Letter

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Dear Council Members,

The Seattle Arts Commission wishes to express our collective gratitude for your commitment and support for creative communities and workers, given the economic hardships of the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe that now is a critical time to invest in the recovery of our sector, by making meaningful investments in sustainable infrastructure which will ensure that arts and culture will thrive for years to come.

The Seattle Arts Commission, as a body which represents the community and supports the work of the Office of Arts & Culture, is committed to economic recovery in a way that centers and champions the arts, as well as equity and inclusion of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities that have historically been disenfranchised. As outlined in our budget letter addressed to Mayor Durkan and the Seattle City Council on August 3, 2020, the Seattle Arts Commission’s goal through the continuation of 2021 is to ensure that as little harm as possible come to the arts and cultural ecosystem, especially to the communities and economies that are highly represented, by BIPOC individuals.

Thank you all for your support of previously outlined priorities and for helping support the Office of Arts & Culture through 2022 with estimated admissions taxes, given the devastation of the COVID-19 year. We are pleased to see that the Mayor’s budget draft for funding the Office of Arts and Culture incorporated$1.5M in funding for Hope Corps, which will serve to create meaningful job opportunities for artists and organizations as we move forward in our recovery efforts. We are also pleased by the incorporation of Cultural Education work via the Equitable Communities Initiative, and ask that you protect these important investments as the budget process progresses.

While there are many worthy inclusions in the Mayor’s budget, there are several critical investments in Arts & Culture that have been left out. The following are areas of concern where we urgently request your support:

Financial Support for the ARTS Office
As it stands, the Office of Arts & Culture will experience a 10-15% budget reduction in 2022, which puts on hiatus important legacy programs such as the Cultural Facilities Fund, which supports space-related projects by local arts organizations. Even with limited resources, the ARTS Office makes high impact investments that strengthen the arts community and ensure the well-being of artist communities. It is important that the office’s budget be back-filled to pre-pandemic levels, so that it can continue to offer critical support for artists and arts organizations on the road to economic recovery. Please consider an additional $2M be allocated to ARTS, which will restore cuts currently in place for notable programs and increase capacity within the Office.

Rent Forgiveness for Arts Organizations
The City currently houses 40 organizations and had previously provided rent forgiveness which has now expired. No funding for rent relief has been allocated in the budget for 2022, but we ask for your support in providing $2M in rent relief to arts organizations, in order to provide short-term stop-gap solutions as they recover from the pandemic. Many organizations still operate under limited hours and capacity, and the actual cost to the city is lower.

Funding for the Cultural Space Agency
COVID-19 has illuminated the critical need for long-term space for arts organizations both small and large, in order to secure a future for the creative community. The Cultural Space Agency has been intentionally designed to build community wealth, especially within BIPOC communities and historically disinvested neighborhoods, through a community-led process that places decision-making authority into the hands of impacted community members. It is an especially groundbreaking entity and one solution that community members often reference as a long-term solution to keep the local arts community thriving. The Cultural Space Agency has already received viable cultural space site acquisition and development proposals from 20 BIPOC-led community organizations. However, the current budget proposal does not include funding for the Cultural SpaceAgency, which needs seed funding to succeed. We request consideration of $5M in critical seed funding to activate this innovative program and support its initial projects.

Your support is vital to our art and cultural communities, especially in times of trial and hardship. We invite you to stand with the Seattle Arts Commission as we work to create a community of support for those who are experiencing incredibly difficult challenges. This is our moment to declare unequivocally that we value arts and cultural workers, institutions, and organizations who have helped make Seattle a culturally rich tourist destination and economically thriving city.

Thank you for your shared interest and values in creating a vibrant arts and cultural sector that addresses historical inequality while prioritizing artistic and cultural sustainability. We are so grateful for your ongoing commitment to this work, and we would love to continue this important conversation with you.

Co-Chairs James Miles and Vivian Hua 華婷婷
Seattle Arts Commission

The Arts Are Open Campaign

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WHAT IS THE ARTS ARE OPEN? 

The Arts Are Open is a digital welcome back campaign created by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture (ARTS) to amplify the region’s arts and culture sector. With the devastating effects COVID-19 continues to have on our creative communities, this campaign aims to create a simple, fun, and collaborative way for our arts organizations to collectively promote our programs and call the greater community to support the arts economy. 

Launching in October, The Arts Are Open campaign will have an accessible digital toolkit for arts organizations and artists to use and integrate into their upcoming event/program promotions. ARTS and our partners will actively share and amplify events/programs that use the campaign elements. 

Now’s the time to support your favorite artists and creatives, visit your local art spaces, and celebrate the resiliency and strength of the arts! 

HOW CAN I PARTICIPATE? 

Any and all artists, arts organizations, and arts-related individuals/collectives are invited to participate in this digital campaign. 

How you can get involved: 

  1. Use the Toolkit: Use the digital toolkit below and incorporate the branded graphics and hashtag (#TheArtsAreOpen) to your upcoming program or event’s digital promotions. 
  2. Your Events = Amplified: ARTS and our partners will be actively following the hashtag and amplify posts from the community.
  3. Support Fellow Arts Orgs: We also encourage you to support your fellow artists and arts organizations by sharing their upcoming programs and events.

THE DIGITAL TOOLKIT

View the Toolkit

Below are some samples of the assets included in the toolkit. You can integrate social graphics, digital stickers, GIFs, and more into your upcoming promotions.

If you don’t have image editing software like Adobe, we’ve also made these materials available on Canva, a FREE platform, so that you can easily utilize the branding. Visit the toolkit above for the full list of assets!

Digital Stickers

GIFs

Social Media Graphics

*Graphics 2 and 3 include illustrations of Seattle public artworks.
Graphic 1: Hammering Man, Jonathan Borofsky, Hollow fabricated steel, aluminum mechanized arm, electric motor, and black automotive paint, 1992
Graphic 2: Black Sun, Isamu Noguchi, Brazilian black granite, 1969

THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

If you have questions or inquiries, please email April Jingco at april.jingco@seattle.gov. 

Request for Proposals Tiny Cultural Space: a construction project

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The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, in partnership with the Seattle Department of Finance and Administration, and Sawhorse Revolution, invites local cultural and community organizations to submit proposals for a new (tiny) cultural space.  

The new Tiny Cultural Space will be custom designed and built by a youth cohort under professional mentorship with you and your organization as the client. It will be built to your needs and sited on a small piece of City-owned property (a “snippet” property), at a location to be determined by the City of Seattle. 

Who can apply:  
You are eligible for this opportunity if you are any of the following: 

  • Non-profit arts, culture, and heritage organizations (nonprofits do not need to be 501(c)3’s) 
  • Community organizations and associations 
  • Applicants who represent, are led by, or are committed to pursuing equity for people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, and/or other groups that have traditionally been furthest from access to the control of cultural space  

Project applicants must demonstrate a minimum 5-year commitment to the programming and maintenance of the site. 

Deadline: Proposals are due via email by 11:59 pm on Monday, November 1, 2021 

Application and Guidelines: Please email your proposal to matthew.richter@seattle.gov, with the subject “Tiny Cultural Space Proposal. Guidelines can be found here. 

Come to a Workshop: 

Sunday, October 17, 2021, 3 – 5 pm  
Sawhorse Revolution 
3219 Martin Luther King Jr Way S,  
Seattle, WA, 98144 
RSVP here 
There will be an in-person live information session at the Sawhorse Revolution HQ, adjacent to Cafe Ibex. Masks are required for all participants in this indoor meeting. 

Thursday, October 21, 2021, 4 – 6 pm 
Virtual Tiny Cultural Space Information Session 
RSVP here 

A Look Back at Created Commons @ Westcrest

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From August 26 through September 5, Created Commons partnered with Lelavision to host Created Commons @ Westcrest, a dynamic activation of West Seattle’s Westcrest Park. Throughout the seven-day festival, Westcrest Park was animated with free BIPOC-centered performances, eco-art installations, kinetic musical sculptures, workshops, and science panels to foster resiliency in our community.

Take the Created Commons Survey

ABOUT THE CURATOR:

Lelavision co-founders, Ela Lamblin and Leah Mann, began their collaborative efforts in 1992 in Atlanta, GA, using original kinetic sculpture, live music, and dance simultaneously in performance. In 1996 in Seattle, WA, they founded Lelavision, a professional touring company that has coined and perfected its own genre of performance, Physical Music. They present original performance works that cross all boundaries of appeal: race, education, language, religion, economic background, gender, and age.

Take a look at some of the highlights from the festivities:

Interspecies Communication, the centerpiece sculpture for the event, was designed and fabricated by Lelavision co-founder and co-director, Ela Lamblin. Festival attendees were offered to animate the sculpture by “flapping the bird.”

Video courtesy of West Seattle Blog

DAY 1

Created Commons @ Westcrest Park kicked off with an Indigenous-centered opening. Orca Annie & Odin Lonning — UW Tacoma Students from the Pacific Islander Student Association — share stories, music, and tales of their activism on behalf of the resident Orcas in the Salish Sea.

We were honored to have Duwamish Tribe representatives Ken Workman, Nancy Sackman, and Billie Jane Lakey were present for the welcoming. Attendees were also able to make donations to Real Rent Duwamish throughout the event to honor the Duwamish Tribe and acknowledge the unceded land the event took place upon. 

DAY 2

Saturday’s celebration featured Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association’s (DNDA) Arts in Nature Festival Showcase, a condensed version of the well-loved annual Arts in Nature Festival that has offered an eclectic experience of art and performance in a local park for 22 years.

The park was full of art on the paths, fun in the field, sound bath, roving dancers, and more.

Featured performers included:

  • Danza Symbiosis
  • Seattle Capoeira
  • Noelle Price with cellist Gretchen Yanover
  • Troy Osaki
  • Jennifer Moore
  • Holy Pistola

DAY 3

Day 3 featured performances curated by artist and activist dani tirrell alongside a science panel on healthcare access. 

Science panelists included: 

  • Candace Jackson, African American Health Board of Seattle 
  • Dr. Sinead Younge, Director of the Social Justice Inquiry and Praxis Institute in the Andrew Young Center for Global Leadership at Morehouse College 
  • dani tirrell with Shaina Proctor and Melba Ayco of Northwest Tap Connection
  • Malicious Vixens

Featured performers included: 

  • Dandy (David Rue & Randy Ford) 
  • Northwest Tap Connection 
  • Majinn (Michael O’Neal) 
  • J Mase III 
  • Kutt’N’Up 
  • Malicious Vixens 

DAY 4

The festival honored International Overdose Awareness Day in collaboration with artist and counselor, Alexia Jones, the Executive Director of R2ise, and Dr. Seema Clifasefi of UW’s Harm Reduction Research and Treatment (HaRRT) Center.

Video courtesy of West Seattle Blog

You can learn more about the day’s program on West Seattle Blog.

DAY 5

Friday’s program featured drumming, percussion, and chanting as we celebrated the rhythms of the African Diaspora with artist Sumayya E. Diop.

DAY 6 & 7

The weekend of Created Commons @ Westcrest featured curated performances by both Jack Straw Cultural Center and Lelavision.

Saturday: 

  • Hula Halau O’keala’Akua Naniloa Mana’oakamai 
  • Jack Straw Writers, hosted by Anastacia-Renee 
  • Music by JR Rhodes 

Sunday: 

  • Community Bon Odori  
  • Music by Nic Masangkay 
  • Trio Guandalevin 
  • Seattle Kokon Taiko
  • Uuhai Band
  • Jack Straw Writers, hosted by E.J. Koh

“It was one of the most well organized, loving, unique and meaningful performances we’ve had. So happy to meet you and your staff, the UUHai Band, and the odori dancing community! The flying metal bird sculpture was so unique and fun. There was so much kindness and thoughtfulness in the air.“

Seattle Kokon Taiko/Marinda

“I am so grateful to have worked with such a kind, brilliant, creative cast of collaborators. That is the intrinsic nature of Created Commons @ Westcrest.

Lelavision is so very grateful to Levi Fuller (Jack Straw), Erika Bell (DNDA), dani tirrell, Christian Olson, Tariq Sahali, Lucius Williams, The Duwamish Tribe, Jenny Ku (ARTS), and every single person that joined on that common ground.  It was such a meaningful group effort in service to the community.”

– Leah Mann of Lelavision

“Created commons was a big ol’ dose of love and good vibes brought home like a hug from inspiration and talent.”

– Ela Lamblin of Lelavision

Share Your Feedback

Calling all artists, performers, booth vendors, and community members who participated in this event:

Please take this brief survey about the impact of Created Commons! Your feedback will allow us to assess our programs and improve future programming with the community’s needs and suggestions in mind. Thank you! 

Take the Created Commons Survey

Created Commons @ Westcrest is a part of Created Commons: Neighborhood Edition, a new ARTS initiative that transforms outdoor spaces across Seattle into venues for spectacular temporary arts and cultural extravaganzas. This program is created by the Seattle Office of Arts &  Culture (ARTS) in partnership with the Seattle Public Utilities, and Seattle Parks and Recreation, and community curators. 

All photos courtesy of Ela Lamblin and Lucius Williams IV

Creative Advantage ALL ACCESS Arts Stream is Back By Popular Demand!

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Registration is now open for the fall session which, kicks off in mid-October!   

Creative Advantage ALL ACCESS Arts Stream (CAAAAS) offers online synchronous arts classes for young people. Created in collaboration between Parks and Recreation, Office of Arts & Culture, Seattle Public Schools, and Creative Advantage Arts Partners, this program started as a pandemic pilot in December 2020 and grew into classes last spring. We had such a positive response from parents and students that it’s back by popular demand this fall featuring 3 virtual 6-week classes for elementary-aged youth! 

These free classes are led in real-time by master-level teaching artists and take place after school and on Saturdays. Students must enroll through the Seattle Parks & Recreation online ActiveNet registration system to receive the secure class Webex links to participate from their homes, community centers, and housing sites.   

CAAAAS Fall Classes 

Virtual Poetry – Magic Words & Magic Powers with Jay Thompson 

  • October 13 – November 17, 2021; Wednesdays, 5-6 p.m. 
  • Great for students in grades 2-4 

Poetry can be a great tool for grounding youth in the power of imagination and language and inviting them to find new magic in everyday life. Teaching artist Jay Thompson of Seattle Arts & Lectures’ WITS program will invite students to use their five senses, explore their homes, play with words, and delight themselves with their poems.  

Meet the Teaching Artist

Jay (he/they) is a Seattle poet, parent, and teaching artist working with youth and adults at Writers in the Schools, Hugo House, and King County Jail. 

Enroll Now

Virtual Dancing our Natural World with Ciara McCormack

  • October 14 – November 18, 2021; Thursdays, 5-6 p.m.  
  • Great for students in grades 2-4 

Movement can share and express what you know, think, and feel. Join Pacific Northwest Ballet teaching artist Ciara McCormack to explore using nature and our physical world as inspiration for movement.

Meet the Teaching Artist

Ciara (she/her) has worked with students of all ages in dance studios, theaters, and schools in the US and Chile. Along with teaching for PNB’s Community Education program, she directs Moving Minds Dance, performs with Intrepidus Dance, and serves as the President of the Dance Educators Association of Washington.  

Enroll Now

Virtual Pop-up Books and Paper Magic with Jiéyì Ludden

  • October 16 – November 20, 2021; Saturdays, 10-11 a.m.  
  • Great for students in grades 3-6 

Learn how to cut and fold paper to create 2D and 3D shapes with teaching artist Jiéyì Ludden of Arts Corps. Together, you’ll explore design strategies, crafting, and storytelling in an inclusive environment. 

Meet the Teaching Artist

Jiéyì 杰意 (they/them) is a visual artist, illustrator, and teaching artist. They have developed visual arts and arts-integrated STEM, maker, and civic engagement curriculum for the Madison Children’s Museum, the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, the Madison Public Library, Pacific Science Center, and the Seattle Public Library.

Enroll Now

Recovery Funds for Cultural Organizations: Apply for Three Grants via One Application

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We’ve teamed up with 4Culture to create a single application process for several grants in King County and the City of Seattle. 

About the Grants:

Eligible organizations only need to fill out one application to be considered for funding from the following programs:

  • 4Culture 2022 Sustained Support
  • 4Culture Recovery Fund
  • City of Seattle Office of Arts & Culture Recovery Fund

The deadline to apply is Friday, November 5, 2021 at 5:00 pm PDT. 

Who Can Apply?

King County cultural organizations with a minimum 3-year operating history should submit an application. Organizations of all budget sizes will be considered for 2022 Sustained Support.
 
4Culture and Seattle ARTS will also consider organizations with 2019 revenue of $1 million or below for Recovery Funds. To receive these funds, you must have experienced a drop in revenue from 2019 to 2020 due to the pandemic. Please read the guidelines for more details on eligibility and criteria.

Note: if you are a cultural organization with pre-pandemic revenue of more than $1 million, please refer to King County’s Revive and Thrive Together program for federal COVID relief funds. If you’re not sure where to apply, start with our screening tool.

Come to a Workshop

We know navigating multiple funding opportunities can be confusing and overwhelming! We’re here to help. Staff from both 4Culture and the Office of Arts & Culture will be available to answer all your questions about these funding programs.

Apply Today

This project was supported by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Points of view in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Reflections on The Creative Advantage 2021 VIRTUAL Summer Institute

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by Tina LaPadula, Arts Education Manager, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture

The transition “back to school” for The Creative Advantage arts education community kicked off at the Virtual Summer Institute on August 19, 2021. Traditionally hosted by the Seattle Art Museum at their downtown location, this year’s version was virtual and combined the familiar combination of inspiration, updates, and art-making.

More than 100 teachers and teaching artists registered to explore these foundational questions:

  • How does self-care support culturally responsive teaching?
  • How can arts learning cultivate a culture of care?

Recent Franklin HS graduate, Savannah Blackwell, set the stage with a snippet of her awe-inspiring rendition of Lift Every Voice And Sing (Black National Anthem) and a personal message for educators about the power of arts learning, especially as we navigate the trauma of the past year.

Award-winning speaker, teacher, researcher, coach and healer, Dr. Bre, gave this year’s dynamic keynote and laid the groundwork for the day with an interactive workshop focused on the critical need for honest self-reflection. She reminded us of the love and care we need to give ourselves as educators so we can love and care for our students.

“We can either transform trauma or transmit it. Teaching artists have a special role to play in this healing. Art and creativity is a tool for that.”

Dr. Bre

We took a break to celebrate the resilience and creative brilliance of our students with a special highlight reel of student work from the virtual Regional Arts Festivals at the end of last school year.

Splitting into discipline-specific groups, we explored culturally responsive and anti-racist arts through Seattle Public School’s (SPS) new The Roots Arts Framework and participated in sample lessons in music, visual art, and theatre with the teachers and teaching artists of the SPS Antiracist Education Task Force who created it: Naho Shioya, Donte Felder, Jessica Staire, Chris Mena, Carina del Rosario, and Maribel Gonzalez.

We wrapped up with important back-to-school updates for community arts partners from SPS representatives. Click here to see SPS Back-to-school info for partners.

As we move into this new school year, please:

Savannah Blackwell is featured on Lift Every Voice: Responding to Lawrence’s Struggle Series, a video created by Seattle Art Museum in partnership with Donte Felder, South End Stories, and Jeff Santos.

Mayor’s Office Appoints royal alley-barnes as Interim Director of Office of Arts & Culture

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Elevating Black Artists and Recovery With Appointment of
royal alley-barnes

Mayor Jenny A. Durkan announced that royal alley-barnes will be appointed to be the Interim Director of ARTS and the first Black woman to hold the position. Director alley-barnes will lead ARTS during this critical time in recovery while the next administration seeks a new permanent director.  

“I am incredibly excited that royal alley-barnes has agreed to serve as the acting director of the Department of Arts and Culture. I am confident that royal is the right person to lead ARTS as we focus on helping BIPOC and underrepresented artists recovery from the significant impacts of COVID-19,” said Mayor Durkan. “royal is not only incredibly accomplished, but also a devoted community member and public servant. We could not be more grateful that she has agreed to lead one of Seattle’s most treasured City Departments.” 

Read more here

How Creative Strategies Can Build Relationships and Awareness within Racial Equity Learning Cohorts Focused on Environmental Justice

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By Diana Dvora Falchuk

How can individuals use arts, culture, mindfulness, and embodiment to help transform systems and institutions toward racial and environmental justice? One potential approach is through learning cohort models.

Our office (ARTS) partnered with the Seattle Office for Civil Rights, the Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment, and Seattle Public Utilities to offer the racial equity learning program, Turning Commitment into Action for Environmental Justice (TCA for EJ), for 29 policy influencers, a third of whom were BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) working in historically white-led organizations and municipal agencies.

Those involved included:

  • City of Seattle
  • King County
  • University of Washington
  • Washington State University
  • The Nature Consortium
  • Stewardship Partners
  • Delridge Neighborhood Development Association
  • Earth Corps
  • Seattle Urban Forestry Commission
  • Northwest Harvest

The cohort culminated in final project presentations in 2019 and the qualitative impacts are documented in this final report. Guided by artist-facilitators, these individual policy influencers learned frameworks and developed practices to build and sustain environmental justice. The project revealed critical lessons for supporting such a learning community in the context of a mainstream environmental movement that still lacks consistent leadership from BIPOC communities and others who are most impacted by environmental injustices.

Three circles in a Venn diagram labeled: Racial Equity and Social Justice, Creative Strategies, Environmental Justice.
Venn diagram from the report,
illustrated by Otts Bolisay

TCA for EJ infused racial equity learning with arts, culture, mindfulness, and embodiment. This helped participants develop the relational, emergent, and adaptive decision-making processes and ways of being that the work of equity and justice requires. By normalizing vulnerability, interconnection, bravery and belonging as fundamental components of strategic, outcomes-focused work, participants were able to see themselves and each other in more holistic and humanizing ways. The program deliberately created environments that were radically different from the typical policy conference room or office environment (spaces which often are normalized to keep the broader system of white supremacy in place).

A large group of people kneel around a long sheet of paper, drawing and writing on it. Someone hands a crayon to a woman who stands nearby.
Photo by Zorn B. Taylor

TCA for EJ is one of the first projects of the Creative Strategies Initiative (CSI), launched in 2017 as a partnership between ARTS and the Office for Civil Rights. CSI uses arts, culture, mindfulness, and embodiment to build transformational, anti-racist practices throughout City government and our work with community. CSI projects position artists, cultural organizers and healers as designers and leaders of strategies that interrupt structural racism and move the needle toward racial justice. CSI is a component of the Race and Social Justice Initiative’s culture shift strategy and an outgrowth of nearly eight years of partnership between ARTS and the Office for Civil Rights.

We are grateful to artist-facilitators Sonali Sangeeta Balajee, Alan Wong, and Jéhan Òsanyìn, program co-designers Sudha Nandagopal and Sara Cubillos (also a curriculum designer and facilitator), and program partners Steve Hamai, Sharon Lerman, Pam Emerson, Lylianna Ayala, and Ximena Fonseca-Morales for their many contributions the program and report beginning in 2017. Diana Dvora Falchuk was the ARTS and Office for Civil Rights staff lead on this project. Additional gratitude to Mytoan Nguyen-Akbar, PhD, ARTS Impact and Assessment Manager, for designing and leading the evaluation and report.