Neighborhood Arts Festival:
Celebrating 40 Years of Neighborhood Arts
"Nurturing arts for and by the people where they live and work."
Guess who’s 40 now? Celebrate four decades of the Neighborhood Arts Program this spring. Join us for two weeks of events that spotlight community arts in San Francisco's neighborhoods. Working closely with our dedicated Neighborhood Arts Festival Advisory Committee - comprised of two dozen past NAP organizers and artists - the San Francisco Arts Commission has lined up an invigorating schedule celebrating neighborhood arts. Expect musical performances; a reading with San Francisco literati, including poet laureates past and present; lively panel discussions; a fair of arts organizations; and even a speed dating session matching up artists with community organizations.
Press coverage is available here.
Featured Neighborhood Arts Festival events include:
Monday, April 21: Mapping Survival panel discussion
Wednesday, April 23: The Money and the Madness panel discussion
Saturday, April
26: Unveiling the Future town gathering
Friday, May 2: Poetry Potluck reading
Saturday, May 3: 40th Anniversary Bash
Arts Fair (with hands-on art making workshops)
Group Interviews with NAP Veteranos
Doctor Session (RSVP required)
Speed Dating (RSVP requested)
(A sampling of community arts events put on by our Community Partners can be found here)
Monday, April 21; 7 - 9pm
Mapping Survival: Community-based arts organizations discuss how they have managed to not only endure, but survive. A conversation with Nínive Calegari, Kenneth Foster, June Gutfleisch, and Jennie Rodriguez. Moderated by Deborah Cullinan with Intersection for the Arts, and featuring musical performance by Aireene Espiritu and Rick Di Dia.
Welcome by Luis R. Cancel.
San Francisco State University, Cesar Chavez Student Center, Rigoberta Menchu Hall
1600 Holloway, San Francisco
Light refreshments provided by No Worries Catering.
Wednesday, April 23; 7 - 9pm
The Money and the Madness: Is it possible to make it big as an artist without selling out? Individual artists discuss the pros and cons of accepting public and private funds. A conversation with Marga Gomez, devorah major, Favianna Rodriguez. Moderated by playwright Joan Holden and featuring performance by Marga Gomez. Welcome by Tom Ammiano.
International Hotel Manilatown Center
868 Kearny Street, San Francisco
Light refreshments provided by Arizmendi.
Saturday, April 26; 1 - 4pm
Unveiling the Future: Celebrate phase one of the historic building renovation with performances by Best Intentions Motown Review, The Brown Bombers Cheer and Dance Team, and poet Janice Reaves.
Bayview Opera House
4705 Third Street , San Francisco
Friday, May 2; 7 - 10pm
Poetry Potluck: A reading by Neighborhood Arts poets, San Francisco’s Poet Laureates, and today’s poet activists. Curated by Janice Mirikitani and Roberto Vargas, and featuring readings by Carolyn Caldwell, Jack Hirschman, Leticia Hernandez, Al Robles, Janice Mirikitani, devorah major, Alejandro Murguia, Anh-Hoa Nguyen, Nina Serrano, and Roberto Vargas.
Glide Memorial Church
330 Ellis Street, San Francisco
Light refreshments provided by Benkyodo and Mission Pie .
Saturday, May 3; 1 - 5pm
40th Anniversary Bash: A half-day celebration featuring the 40th anniversary reunion with founding members of the program, a fair of arts organizations, one-on-one “doctor sessions,” plus a “speed dating” session matching up artists with neighborhood organizations.
SomArts Cultural Center
934 Brannan Street, San Francisco
Light refreshments provided by the Women's Collective at La Raza Centro Legal.
If you are driving: There is metered parking, as well as a paid parking lot next door to SomArts on the corner of 8th and Brannan; you can also often find non-metered street parking if you spend some time driving around. Do not park at the shopping center parking lot unless you're prepared to get a ticket.
If you are taking public transportation: Please use 511.org's Tripplanner program.
Performances and Other Activities
Interviews with Neighborhood Arts Program veterans, an audio/visual archive viewing station, performances by Danza Azteca Xitlalli, Troublemakers Union, youth performers from the African American Art & Culture Complex, and more.Arts Fair
1 - 4pm
The Neighborhood Arts Festival Arts Fair will feature informational booths from over two dozen arts organizations in San Francisco. Learn more about some amazing organizations offering programs like arts summer camps for youth, workshops for adults, and a range of other activities that enrich the San Francisco Bay Area, and find out about how you and your family can plug in to the cultural life of your neighborhood.Art Making Workshops
1:30 - 2:30 Pop-up book making with San Francisco Center for the Book
3:00 - 4:00 Monoprinting with ArtSpanGroup Interviews with the NAP Veteranos
1 - 4pm
Current Arts Commission staff (Luis R. Cancel, Judy Nemzoff, and Robynn Takayama) spark a discussion with founders of the NAP and other individuals who played a key role in the development of neighborhood arts in San Francisco. This series of three round-table-style interviews include Stephen Goldstine, June Gutfleisch, Liz Lerma, Michael Nolan, Richard Reineccius, Nina Serrano, Roberto Vargas, Becky Jenkins, Don Santina, and others.Neighborhood Public Radio will be broadcasting the interviews live at their installation in the Whitney Biennial.
Doctor Sessions
1 - 3pm
These 20-minute sessions provide you an opportunity to meet one-on-one with the following arts funder or arts mentor: Dale Albright, (Theatre Bay Area), Brett Conner (Grants for the Arts), Jewelle Gomez (Horizons), John Jota Leaños (California College of the Arts), Madeleine Lim (Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project), Olivia Malabuyo, (Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation), Ebony McKinney (San Francisco Arts Commission Cultural Equity Program), Laura Moriarty (Small Press Distribution), Frances Phillips (Walter and Elise Haas Fund and Creative Work Fund), Emily Sevier (Center for Cultural Innovation), Ellen Shershow (San Francisco Arts Commission Public Art Program).* Please review the doctors' biographies and email your top three choices. It would be helpful if you could also include the general idea you'd like to discuss in this email, but it's ok if you want to wing it as well.
* We will respond with your appointment.
* Please arrive at least ten minutes before your appointment.Speeding Dating
3 - 4pm
This fun twist on a job fair matches up organizations seeking artists with artists seeking employment. Bring your business cards and a healthy sense of humor.* Please RSVP to (415) 252-2554 or email us and let us know if you're 1) looking for an artist, or 2) looking for work.
All Neighborhood Arts Festival events are FREE and open to the public.
About the Neighborhood Arts Festival
In 1967 a group of artists and arts activists brought a radical notion
to the San Francisco Arts Commission: fund artists and arts organizations
to work in neighborhood and community settings. The program was called
the Neighborhood Arts Program. Its tagline was, "Nurturing arts for
and by the people where they live and work," and the total budget for
the first fiscal year was $25,000, which was provided by the Arts Commission President at the time, Harold Zellerbach.
To honor the 40th anniversary of the program (now called the Community Arts and Education Program), the Neighborhood Arts Festival will feature a series of free events showcasing the dynamic artistic and cultural legacy that defines San Francisco neighborhoods today. The celebration culminates in a reunion party with CETA artists and founding members of the Neighborhood Arts Program. In conjunction with the celebration, a special-edition program guide will be distributed highlighting performances, exhibitions, panel discussions, and walking tours taking place throughout the city this spring. It will also include a guide to San Francisco-based community artists and arts organizations.
The festival takes place in venues throughout San Francisco that honor the past including San Francisco State University, International Hotel Manilatown Center, Glide Memorial Church, SomArts Cultural Center, African American Art & Culture Complex, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, and the Bayview Opera House.
For more information contact Robynn Takayama (415) 252-2598
Neighborhood Arts Festival commemorative art and illustration by commissioned artist Favianna Rodriguez.