Cultural Equity and Public Funding

Monday, October 19, 10:00am – 11:30am

Organized by Anh Thang Dao-Shah, ACLS Public Fellow, Policy and Evaluation, San Francisco Arts Commission; and Edwin Torres, Deputy Commissioner, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.

Moderated by Roberta Uno, Director of Arts in a Changing America, California Institute of the Arts. Presented by Tom DeCaigny, Director of Cultural Affairs, San Francisco Arts Commission; and Edwin Torres, Deputy Commissioner, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.

As part of a five-year strategic plan that aims to improve the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC)’s effectiveness and capacity to respond to the dynamic needs of a diverse population, SFAC has commissioned a review of 20 years of data from its Cultural Equity Endowment Grants program. In January 2015, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) announced its planned study of the diversity of its cultural organizations as one part of its embrace of New York City’s equity agenda. Within the context of the ongoing discussion about diversity and equity nationally, these studies point to the importance of the intersection of cultural equity and public funding. This session will bring together the commissioners of the local arts agencies of New York City and San Francisco to discuss how equity is an important and productive framework for public grantmaking in the arts as well as the importance of using data to measure the impact of cultural equity grantmaking. The session will consist of a brief presentation of each agency’s approach to cultural equity followed by an interactive discussion about the role of public funders in cultural equity grantmaking.