Over $1 Million in Cultural Funding Grants Awarded

On September 17, 2018, the Oakland City Council approved $1,131,254 in fiscal year 2018-19 grants to Oakland-based nonprofit organizations and individual artists through the City’s Cultural Funding Program. The 79 arts grants range from $4,999 to $37,500 and have been awarded to 69 different recipients.

The grant funds will support over 50,774 individual arts events and activities, most of them offered free or low-cost to the public and will expose over 320,454 participants (87 percent Oakland-based) to cultural arts services and programming. Additionally, over 8,811 Oakland Unified School District students will be served through 64 artist residencies funded by the program.

“Arts are at the center of vibrant and diverse communities, and are critical to our city’s health and well-being,” said Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. “These grants help foster cultural experiences for Oaklanders while lifting up our artists and artist organizations. When our local artists and arts organizations are supported and firmly rooted, the entire city benefits.”

The grants support a wide range of Oakland-based artists and nonprofit organizations providing arts and cultural services in Oakland; infuse Oakland’s neighborhood with arts and cultural activities that increase exposure to, understanding of and respect for diverse cultural heritages as well as support arts activities that engage the community; and support arts education activities in Oakland’s schools.

Organizational activities supported range from first-time grantee Hip Hop 4 Change’s culturally-responsive, multidisciplinary hip hop education and music residency in West Oakland and East Oakland schools to the Oakland Symphony’s hands-on orchestral music program that will be offered in every Oakland City Council district. Individual artist grants will support projects like Jazz on Sunday, a jazz concert series at Golden Gate Library, and the completion of filmmaker Spencer Wilkinson’s documentary on the Alice Street Mural. This year’s funding will also support The Unity Council’s Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) Festival and Women’s Audio Mission’s Girls on the Mic (GOTM) program.

The Cultural Funding Program has seven core funding categories, and will award FY2018-19 in two rounds, with the second round of $100,000 awarded in early 2019. The Individual Arts Project funding category supports work by Oakland artists that culminates in a local public activity or event for the benefit of the community. Art in the Schools funds activities that expose young people in Oakland public and charter schools to quality, hands-on arts experiences in a school setting. Organization Project grants support Oakland-based nonprofit organizations producing arts activities for the Oakland public’s benefit. Strategic Development for Emerging Organization is specifically designed to promote the health and stabilization of Oakland’s nonprofit arts and culture providers. The program supports general operating expenses and promotes the health and stability of Oakland-based nonprofit arts organizations through the Organizational Assistance grant.

The two categories for the second round of funding to be awarded in early 2019 are:

1. An Artist-in-Residence program will bring new approaches to civic challenges and service delivery by embedding artists in City departments.
2. The Neighborhood Voice program will support art-based civic engagement projects throughout the city that will enliven a healthy, just and vibrant civil society.

Grantee Celebration

On Tuesday, October 9, the City’s Cultural Affairs Division will host a reception from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. at Oakstop 14, 274 14th Street. In addition to recognizing the grantees, the event will serve as an opportunity to celebrate the release of the Oakland Cultural Plan, the City’s first in 30 years, which provides a roadmap to support and lift up the role of culture in building a just and equitable city.

Grant Application Review Process

Following the grant application deadline, review panels comprised of Bay Area professional artists and arts administrators combed through 143 eligible applications to prepare for public review panels held in June 2018. In July 2018, the panels’ rankings were forwarded to the Funding Advisory Committee (FAC) which was charged with the allocation of funds. The FAC recommended 80 grants in this round to support the arts and cultural activities in the local community and public schools.

Funding for the Cultural Funding Program’s grants comes from General Purpose Fund allocation as outlined in the City’s FY 2016-18 Biennial Budget and voter-approved Measure C which added a Transient Occupancy Tax surcharge.

Grant Recipients by Funding Category

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About the Cultural Affairs Division

The Cultural Affairs Division is housed in the City’s Economic & Workforce Development Department. The division includes the City’s cultural funding program, which provides approximately $1 million in grants to support the arts in Oakland; the public art program, which has more than $1 million in funds currently dedicated for public art installations across Oakland and staff working on special events, film production permitting and a walking tours program.