|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
October 26, 2004
Arts Forum San Francisco: Election 2004
City Supervisor Candidates Arts Questionnaire
Survey conducted by Arts Forum San Francisco
Note: Due to the limits of our small editorial staff, candidate responses -- including spelling, grammar, usage and style -- are reprinted "as received."
ABOUT THE SURVEY: Arts Forum SF is coordinated by a host of organizations and arts activists including Theatre Bay Area and Intersection for the Arts. For more information, sign up for their mailing list.
Newsdesk.org hosts Arts Forum SF publications, but is NOT a contributing member.
DISTRICT 1
Lillian Sing
DISTRICT 2
Steve Braccini
DISTRICT 5
Lisa Feldstein
Robert Haaland
Tys Sniffen
Andrew Sullivan
DISTRICT 7
Pat Lakey
DISTRICT 9
Tom Ammiano
Renee Saucedo
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Heather Hiles
Jane Kim
Eric Mar
Jill Wynns
DISTRICT 1
Back to the top
Lillian Sing
1. What is your vision for the Arts in San Francisco?
San Francisco has a wonderful history of supporting the arts, I would like to see the arts curriculum expanded in our schools, especially in minority communities. I would also like to see a better partnership between arts organizations and schools.
2. As a supervisor how will you work with artists and arts organizations in your district to communicate the value of the work they do to other community based constituencies and to encourage and facilitate partnerships and alliances (e.g merchants groups, neighborhood associations, trade unions, social service and healthcare non-profits)?
These types of partnerships have long served the public interest. As supervisor I will facilitate more cooperation between communities, to include more public art, murals, etc. The arts are very important to me and I look forward to bringing everyone together and tackling new projects in the arts community.
3. Would you support the Mayor’s stated position to re-evaluate the City’s current arts funding infrastructure?
Yes
4. How will you work with the Mayor and the rest of the Board of Supervisors to better integrate the arts into a broader range of the City’s annual requests for State and Federal funding? What is your commitment to working with the arts community to preserve and expand existing funding?
I will work with the Mayor, Board, and the Arts Commission to access more arts funding from State and Federal sources. I will continue to support existing funding and future funding for projects that are beneficial to the community.
5. What is your evaluation of and commitment to city funding for the arts, existing agencies and priorities (such as Grants for the Arts and the Arts Commission’s Cultural Equity and Individual Artist Commission Programs, etc.)? What are your priorities and plans for arts funding?
San Francisco should be commended for its commitment to the arts. The collaborative relationship between private and public funding must continue to pave the way for diverse, sustainable art programming. Since its inception in 1961, Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund (GFTA) has distributed over $145 million to hundreds of non-profit cultural organizations in San Francisco. We should continue to fund the arts through Grants for the Arts and I look forward to further advancing future projects in our city.
6. What ideas do you have for working with the local arts industry to increase City revenue streams through promoting cultural tourism?
The city should put more of an effort toward promoting cultural tourism. I look forward to working with the various organizations in the city to see how the Board of Supervisors can help facilitate this effort.
7. How will you work to develop and maintain long-term affordable space for individual artists and arts organizations?
The sustainability of the arts is intrinsically connected to affordable workspaces, affordable housing, and more jobs in the city. That’s why I will work to create more affordable housing, protect rent control and grow our economy.
8. What role will you take in helping arts organizations in your district work with the Building and Fire Departments to make sure their facilities are up to code?
I think the Building and Fire Department does a good job working with organizations in our district. If my involvement is necessary, I would be happy to get involved.
9. What is your position on special arts and entertainment districts? What are the positive aspects of this idea and what are the potential negatives? Do you have any ideas on how to overcome possible negative impacts of arts districts?
The creation of arts and entertainment districts is a good way of growing the arts in our community and helping small businesses. I would be happy to work with arts organizations and merchants to study the possibility of these districts as a way of further improving our neighborhoods.
10. How do you see the Board of Supervisors working in concert with the Board of Education, the Mayor’s Office and the social service sector to provide arts education opportunities for children and youth outside of school hours?
I strongly support the expansion of after-school arts education opportunities for children. I would work with schools, community groups, and government organizations to make sure we can provide more programs to our youth and keep them off the streets.
11. If elected, will you commit to displaying art created by local artists in your office at City Hall and attend arts events in your district? What arts events have you participated in recently?
Yes, I would be honoured to support displaying local artists at City Hall and in my office. I have personally attended exhibitions at the Asian Art Museum and at the Legion of Honor.
12. Give an example of an urgent issue in your district and how you would work with artists/arts organizations to address that issue?
Since Golden Gate Park is within District 1, the DeYoung Museum and the parking garage will have a significant impact on the surrounding neighbourhoods. I will work with artists and arts organizations to ensure that the museum hosts exhibits that will attract patrons, yet will not negatively impact the residential neighbourhoods.
DISTRICT 2
Back to the top
Steve Braccini
1. What is your vision for the Arts in San Francisco?
San Francisco is not San Francisco without its rich artistic heritage, which is the perfect complement to our beautiful topography. My vision for the arts in San Francisco is to make our city the undisputed West Coast hub for artistic study and production. We have many good art schools here, including a public high school campus dedicated to the arts, but we have no city policy of linking them for better promotion. Similarly, our rich Jazz and literary history waxes and wanes because we have failed to make many of our festivals and fairs permanent and premier. To this end, I want to push for the successful completion of the Jazz Quarter project and find more creative ways for promoting our writers.
2. As a supervisor how will you work with artists and arts organizations in your district to communicate the value of the work they do to other community based constituencies and to encourage and facilitate partnerships and alliances (e.g merchants groups, neighborhood associations, trade unions, social service and healthcare non-profits)?
District elections enable us with an opportunity to hold events that promote artists within each district, followed by a citywide event. While arts are too subjective to declare winners and losers, competitions can go along way to acquainting the community with its artists.
3. Would you support the Mayor’s stated position to re-evaluate the City’s current arts funding infrastructure?
I would support any effort by the Mayor to re-evaluate the City’s current arts funding infrastructure, provided it begins with and includes artists themselves in all decisions.
4. How will you work with the Mayor and the rest of the Board of Supervisors to better integrate the arts into a broader range of the City’s annual requests for State and Federal funding? What is your commitment to working with the arts community to preserve and expand existing funding?
This question calls out for the obvious answer of an arts czar. Some one has to be a conductor for all the moving parts.
5. What is your evaluation of and commitment to city funding for the arts, existing agencies and priorities (such as Grants for the Arts and the Arts Commission’s Cultural Equity and Individual Artist Commission Programs, etc.)? What are your priorities and plans for arts funding?
I would like to work with the local arts industry first in finding out how we can compact the various arts. For instance, our theater district works well because tourists know that they can have dinner at a number of fine restaurants before or after a play, and because there is more than one theater in the area, it contributes to a sense of vibrancy. What I would like to explore is some way of replicating this for neighborhood theater, jazz, and for writers.
6. What ideas do you have for working with the local arts industry to increase City revenue streams through promoting cultural tourism?
7. How will you work to develop and maintain long-term affordable space for individual artists and arts organizations?
The city has an opportunity on such lands as Treasure Island, its own parks and recreational areas, and working with the Presidio to have permanent art workshops and lecture halls so arts organizations and individuals do not have to shop for affordable space.
8. What role will you take in helping arts organizations in your district work with the Building and Fire Departments to make sure their facilities are up to code?
Building and fire department codes are for everyone to maintain, not just any one group.
9. What is your position on special arts and entertainment districts? What are the positive aspects of this idea and what are the potential negatives? Do you have any ideas on how to overcome possible negative impacts of arts districts?
As you can tell by my responses above, I believe in experimenting with arts districts. That is why I support the Jazz Quarter project and would like to see that duplicated with other aural and visual arts. Arts districts draw a greater amount of people who know they can spend a day sampling. Having one location of something minimizes patronage.
10. How do you see the Board of Supervisors working in concert with the Board of Education, the Mayor’s Office and the social service sector to provide arts education opportunities for children and youth outside of school hours?
I think this question perfectly dovetails into my earlier answers calling for an arts czar and for maximizing our focus on making San Francisco an education hub for artistic study. I am big supporter of after-school programs and believe offering young minds the opportunity to explore their artistic side the best possible primer for future citizens.
11. If elected, will you commit to displaying art created by local artists in your office at City Hall and attend arts events in your district? What arts events have you participated in recently?
Absolutely! I’ll proudly display works by local artists in my office. As to the second half of the question, I attended La Dolce Vita night at the Museo Italo-Americano at Fort Mason and attend the opera regularly.
12. Give an example of an urgent issue in your district and how you would work with artists/arts organizations to address that issue?
An example of an urgent art issue in my district is the Union Street Art Festival. I agree with many that it is becoming too recognized as a giant street party, and it is losing sight of its original mission of promoting the creations of local artists. I will work to restore its original intent. Also the Chestnut Street Farmers Market was an issue. Like many I support moving this one-block, Saturday-only, enterprise to the parking lot of Marina Middle School and adding a component allowing artists to display their works.
DISTRICT 5
Back to the top
Lisa Feldstein
1. What is your vision for the Arts in San Francisco?
My vision of the arts in San Francisco is that we are blessed with an incredibly rich array of arts and opportunities to partake of them. The arts are imbedded in the soul of San Francisco in a way that is totally unique among American cities. Part of being a Supervisor is providing the leadership to protect and nourish this vital resource. Sudden or drastic changes in the city’s economic health – for the better or for the worse – can endanger this resource. The recent economic boom associated with the dot-com business displaced many artists and dispersed their communities. Current conditions have caused huge losses in funding from all traditional sources – public and private. Good civic stewardship includes making sure that San Francisco’s diverse and vibrant arts can weather these changes, and I will provide that stewardship. My vision for the arts in San Francisco is that they continue to thrive.
2. As a supervisor how will you work with artists and arts organizations in your district to communicate the value of the work they do to other community based constituencies and to encourage and facilitate partnerships and alliances (e.g. merchants groups, neighbourhood associations, trade unions, social service and healthcare non-profits)?
The arts are absolutely central to San Franciscans’ vision of their city, whether they realize it or not. The best way to protect the arts in San Francisco is to build its constituency – to demonstrate it’s value to those who don’t actively seek out cultural experiences. I believe in integrating the arts into a variety of activities, as I have demonstrated in my campaign events including an event that featured hip-hop dj’s a live music night,, and several events at cafes that also featured local artists.
I believe that local leaders can do a great deal to encourage partnerships between the arts communities and other local groups, and I will do what I can to facilitate those alliances with social service agencies, neighborhood associations, and others. The incorporation of an arts component into social services will enhance the services delivered. Many local merchants feature local artists in their rotating displays, and I’ll encourage merchant groups to outreach to artists to expand on this relationship. I’ll welcome local artists wishing to exhibit in my office. Further, I will always welcome artists and arts organizations to the table when plans are being made for facilities, programs, events, and improvement projects.
3. Would you support the Mayor’s stated position to re-evaluate the City’s current arts funding infrastructure?
I believe that City government must be able to respond to changing needs, especially during difficult economic times. When the City’s budget needs to be reduced, all programs must be evaluated. It is critical to look at how cuts are made, not just where. For instance, if a department or division is top-heavy, it’s better to save money by addressing inappropriate staffing than to say that one department is sacred and another is to be sacrificed. I would rather see funding to arts organizations continue at previous rates that to simply say, “The Arts Commission and Grants for the Arts must cut their budgets by 15%.” I am willing to consider merging the two departments if the savings can keep grant levels up and the reconstructed department will continue to support the multitude of arts provided for by these programs.
4. How will you work with the Mayor and the rest of the Board of Supervisors to better integrate the arts into a broader range of the City’s annual requests for State and Federal funding? What is your commitment to working with the arts community to preserve and expand existing funding?
I know from my work in affordable housing that some Federal and State funding programs allow cities to integrate works of art and art programs into their projects – one just needs to show the will and the creativity to do so. I will work with arts organizations, the Mayor, and fellow Supervisors to seek out those opportunities. However, the pass through of funds to cities continues to shrink, in spite of San Francisco’s and other cities’ efforts to prevent it. Other than lobbying, there is little local government can do, and I can’t commit to give the arts a larger slice of a shrinking pie. I will work closely with the arts community to identify potential State and Federal funding for arts programs, and will pursue available funding. I strongly agree with Mayor Newsom’s decision to cut funding from the four largest of the arts organizations receiving City funds rather than cutting a percentage of all the recipient organizations, recognizing that smaller arts organizations are less able to make up the difference in funds. I would see that the same priority is carried through in the allocation of State and Federal funds.
5. What is your evaluation of and commitment to city funding for the arts, existing agencies and priorities (such as Grants for the Arts and the Arts Commission’s Cultural Equity and Individual Artist Commission Programs, etc.)? What are your priorities and plans for arts funding?
The City’s commitment of 8.5% of the Hotel Tax to the arts is an excellent expression of San Francisco’s commitment to the arts. I support maintaining this as a dedicated source that cannot be diverted to other uses. This provides arts organizations with some certainty about their future funding – but ties their fates to hotel occupancy rates. I would support supplementing this funding with other, less volatile sources. I would also be willing to look into expanding and/or enhancing the “1% for Arts” requirement, which I believe could be utilized more effectively to provide a stronger public art presence.
As for my priorities for funding, I think the arts are very important to the cultural diversity that is a San Francisco trademark. The arts create a pathway for people from different cultures to become familiar with one another. An excellent example of this is the annual Ethnic Dance Festival. The arts in education is also very important – both teaching students to make art and exposing them to the arts in their many forms. Some young people who aren’t good in the “3 R’s” part of school are good in art, and that keeps them interested in school.
In addition, I am a strong advocate for more street art, and would work to increase our City’s commitment to this important component of a vibrant urban landscape.
6. What ideas do you have for working with the local arts industry to increase City revenue streams through promoting cultural tourism?
The sfarts.org web site is a great resource for tourists, but not every art lover who visits San Francisco also spends time in cyberspace. We need to make it easier for them to access the incredible variety of arts experiences this city has to offer. I would work to create a stronger connection between the arts community and the Chamber of Commerce. Businesses know that the arts are important to the city’s economic well-being, and such an alliance would put the city’s entrepreneurial minds to work for artists. Businesses that cater to visitors could certainly help develop ideas of how to connect visitors to the arts, if made aware of the full variety of choices. Together these groups could develop package tours that expose visitors to the latest offerings in a variety of performing arts, fine arts, and crafts. Or perhaps some version of Open Studios for could be set up for visitors who can’t make it to the city in October.
7. How will you work to develop and maintain long-term affordable space for individual artists and arts organizations?
Because artists are an important part of our social and economic fabric, it is important that the City work to create space that is affordable to them. Project Artaud and 18th & Arkansas are examples of affordable housing and studio space for artists – what “Live/Work” was supposed to be. These housing and workspace resources are very important for artists, and I will work with San Francisco’s housing development community to make sure that models that provide truly affordable housing and workspace for artists continue to be included in our housing priorities.
I am willing to investigate a variety of possibilities for creating and maintaining arts space in the city. It may be possible to dedicate some ground floor level space in an affordable housing development or other City-funded project. City-owned buildings should include exhibit space. Opportunities might exist in the City’s redevelopment areas, where the Redevelopment Agency has broad powers in determining the program of buildings developed there; I will work with the Arts community and the Redevelopment Agency to explore these opportunities.
Earlier this year, Supervisor Chris Daly sponsored legislation requiring that surplus City-owned properties be identified, and then transferred to the Mayor’s Office of Housing to provide affordable housing and/or services for the homeless. There may be opportunities to create mixed use space that includes residential units for formerly homeless people and arts space.
8. What role will you take in helping arts organizations in your district work with the Building and Fire Departments to make sure their facilities are up to code?
I will advocate a proactive approach to addressing possible code violations in arts facilities. I will work with the Building and Fire Departments to ensure that they educate arts organizations on code regulations so that they know what is expected. I would then ask that when a violation is found, the departments recognize the financial constraints these organizations work within and consider granting them a grace period for making corrections.
9. What is your position on special arts and entertainment districts? What are the positive aspects of this idea and what are the potential negatives? Do you have any ideas on how to overcome possible negative impacts of arts districts?
I support the founding of special arts districts, as I believe the focused and very specific planning that goes on for such districts can have a profound effect. I have seen groups come together to improve their areas, spark creative solutions among each other, and also band together against those elements that are hurting the quality of life in their communities. Also, a district makes a better case for grants and other funding than an individual effort. It is more accessible to both residents and visitors who seek out the arts – they will invariably discover artists and companies that they weren’t originally seeking. The greatest potential negative effect is gentrification. If we really want to give artists and arts organizations respite from their nomadic existences, safeguards must be put in place as the district is being formed to protect both those in residential and commercial / performance spaces from becoming victims of their own success.
San Francisco has also seen problems with entertainment districts becoming popular for residential use, with new residents then complaining that noise and traffic are interfering with their quiet enjoyment of their property and seeking to have curtailed the operation of the entertainment venues. By creating districts, we have a better tool with which to fight these problems when they arise, keeping our entertainment districts focused on entertainment.
On the positive side, mixed use districts often have a vibrancy and “round the clock” activity that make for great neighborhoods. We must be careful in creating districts not to overplan, lest we lose out on the synchronicity that can arise from these communities.
10. How do you see the Board of Supervisors working in concert with the Board of Education, the Mayor’s Office and the social service sector to provide arts education opportunities for children and youth outside of school hours?
The Board of Supervisors has very influence over the Board of Education; they are separate bodies with separate scopes of authority. However, there are opportunities for them to work together, and at this time the Board of Supervisors has an historic opportunity to work in collaboration with the Board of Education, and to get to our schools the resources they need to achieve excellence. Tom Ammiano’s Proposition H commits the City to provide funding to the School District for such essential educational components as art, physical education, foreign language, and music education. Prop H was overwhelmingly supported by San Francisco voters this past March, including 80% of District 5 voters. Now the Supes must act to implement this program. As Supervisor, I will work to make this connection between Supervisors and educators a strong one - one that will improve arts education for all students.
As for non-school hours, there are many excellent programs in San Francisco that get children involved in the arts. While the Board of Supervisors does not set priorities for these organizations, it can play a coordination role. Because of the Board’s management of the budget, it can work through the budgetary process to make sure these entities are coordinated is such a way that these programs are available where and when they are needed. I will absolutely work with community groups and after-school programs to make sure they have an arts component.
11. If elected, will you commit to displaying art created by local artists in your office at City Hall and attend arts events in your district? What arts events have you participated in recently?
I will commit to displaying art created by local artists in my office; I think this is one of the great, positive elements Matt Gonzalez has brought to City Hall. I will also attend arts events in my district, as I do now when family obligations permit.
While it has been difficult to attend or participate in non-campaign related arts events during the campaign season, I have been to several art shows/sales of the work of a neighbor, who is a painter. I’ve attended literary readings and a play, as well. Arts-related campaign events have included dj’d hip-hop event, and several events at cafes that also featured local artists. Tonight my campaign is the beneficiary of an event being put on by local bands at a Haight Street café.
12. Give an example of an urgent issue in your district and how you would work with artists/arts organizations to address that issue?
Among the top three issues facing District 5, violence – especially youth-on-youth violence – is particularly appropriate for art-based solutions. The arts can provide young people with a means to express who they are in a positive, constructive way. Performing arts can even let young people pretend to be someone else, and get idea of possibilities outside the scope of their day-to-day world. In working with the communities in District 5 that are most affected by violence, I will promote the arts as a means to deal with the problem, and work with these communities, social service agencies and the arts community so they can coordinate an effective response.
Back to the top
Robert Haaland
1. What is your vision for the Arts in San Francisco?
The arts are an embodiment of the appeal of San Francisco -- a creative place where expression is valued. At times, the official vision for the arts in San Francisco has been over-focused on large instutions, rather than the support of new voices. I would like to see a San Francisco where it will still be possible for people to live and have the opportunity to create art. There is a strong need to help individual artists, in light of the fact that almost all funding for individual artists and for actually doing art has been cut on the national and state levels.
2. As a supervisor how will you work with artists and arts organizations in your district to communicate the value of the work they do to other community based constituencies and to encourage and facilitate partnerships and alliances (e.g merchants groups, neighbourhood associations, trade unions, social service and healthcare non-profits)?
The arts community is often perceived as disconnected from the politics of the city. I think this perception can isolate the arts community and weaken its political power. I have strong connections to both organized labor and the broader non-profit communities and will use those connections to build support for an arts agenda. Therefore, I would like to work with the arts community to develop closer ties with these sectors of the workforce.
I think the arts often miss opportunities to build coalitions with groups that could be their allies when it comes to pushing an arts agenda at City Hall. As a supervisor I would work with leaders in the arts community to build bridges to potential allies. For example, the hotel workers are currently locked out of their jobs by the corporate hotels. They are engaging in what is essentially guerrilla street theater on the picket lines. If some of San Francisco's radical musicians and performance artists joined the picket lines with the hotel workers, even if it was just for a couple of hours, and got television news to cover it they would be showing an act of solidarity that would make it easier for us to get the unions to support an arts agenda in the future.
Similarly, there are currently important tax measures on the November ballot. If they do not pass then the City’s budget will once gain be in deficit. This is a huge issue for the non-profit health-care providers because they know that it is their budgets that are first in line to be cut. If the arts community were to show support for the ballot measures this would show the other non-profits that the arts community is in solidarity with them.
3. Would you support the Mayor’s stated position to re-evaluate the City’s current arts funding infrastructure?
I support the idea that there should be an arts task force to re-evaluate a number of issues that are pertinent to the arts including leveraging additional state and federal funding through the city, leadership in the arts, increasing cultural equity, increasing cultural tourism and maintaining long-term affordable space for artists and arts organizations. If the mayor agrees with these priorities then I will work with him to implement them.
4. How will you work with the Mayor and the rest of the Board of Supervisors to better integrate the arts into a broader range of the City’s annual requests for State and Federal funding? What is your commitment to working with the arts community to preserve and expand existing funding?
See 3
5. What is your evaluation of and commitment to city funding for the arts, existing agencies and priorities (such as Grants for the Arts and the Arts Commission’s Cultural Equity and Individual Artist Commission Programs, etc.)? What are your priorities and plans for arts funding?
The merger of Grants for the Arts and the Arts Commission should addressed through a task force that looks at the broader picture of arts funding and priorities in the City.
6. What ideas do you have for working with the local arts industry to increase City revenue streams through promoting cultural tourism?
I would support Supervisor Tom Ammiano's proposed legislation to develop an International Arts Festival for San Francisco that would boost cultural tourism and increase the hotel tax fund.
7. How will you work to develop and maintain long-term affordable space for individual artists and arts organizations?
I will use the knowledge and experience that I gained working as a tenant activist and apply it to developing legislation that will protect artist spaces. There are a number of ways to do this. It could be that the city buys buildings and leases them at low cost to arts organizations; land trusts are another possibility that we could investigate. This is something that can be addressed by a task force.
8. What role will you take in helping arts organizations in your district work with the Building and Fire Departments to make sure their facilities are up to code?
It is not reasonable to think that small non-profit arts organizations can bear the full cost of capital improvements to their facilities. Applying my experience working on behalf of tenants, I will work with artists and arts organization and the relevant city departments to encourage landlords to invest in their own buildings to get them up to code.
9. What is your position on special arts and entertainment districts? What are the positive aspects of this idea and what are the potential negatives? Do you have any ideas on how to overcome possible negative impacts of arts districts?
I would support them if they were part of a thorough community planning process. Entertainment districts can have unintended consequences such as the displacement of low-income tenants (both commercial and residential), including artists if they are not planned carefully. We have to balance economic development with protecting the rights of the most vulnerable.
10. How do you see the Board of Supervisors working in concert with the Board of Education, the Mayor’s Office and the social service sector to provide arts education opportunities for children and youth outside of school hours?
I will always advocate for after school opportunities for arts education and will support well-crafted ideas and legislation to fund arts education as a priority in San Francisco.
11. If elected, will you commit to displaying art created by local artists in your office at City Hall and attend arts events in your district? What arts events have you participated in recently?
Matt Gonzalez' art openings have been a monthly tradition for the consitutents of the district, a tradition which I would like to continue. Among the arts events in which I have participated recently are Fairy Butch's cabaret nights at which I have served as a judge and in the past have performed at.
12. Give an example of an urgent issue in your district and how you would work with artists/arts organizations to address that issue?
An issue frequently cited by residents of District 5 is the eruption of street violence. Arts programs which involve youth and artists in the community could be one of the ways to divert people from the path of violence.
Back to the top
Tys Sniffen
What is your vision for the Arts in San Francisco?
Much, much more. We have an amazingly creative population, and not many venues for that creativity to flourish. I’m impressed by work done by groups that are taking over empty spaces and creating galleries and things like the Rolling Gallery series on MUNI. We don’t have nearly the live music scene we need to have in a city like this. Our major art performances (symphonies, opera, ballet) seem not to be marketed to the general public… though the new opera ads are well done. As a classically trained violinist playing in professional symphonies and ensembles throughout the first 25 years of my life, I’m quite aware of a lack of performed music in SF. My vision for San Francisco’s arts would be that we would be more known for our creative energy than our wacky politics.
As a supervisor how will you work with artists and arts organizations in your district to communicate the value of the work they do to other community based constituencies and to encourage and facilitate partnerships and alliances (e.g merchants groups, neighbourhood associations, trade unions, social service and healthcare non-profits)?
As the only candidate in this race for Supervisor with any real connection and past work with those exact groups and having been a leader in many of the community based ones in D5, I am uniquely aware of how we can bring these groups and the arts together. It’s a vastly untapped resource that some artists in D5 are beginning to venture into. Only recently I promoted an art event to my neighbourhood group because the artist had sent the information out to me. We need to create lines of communication between the arts community and the ‘neighborhood community’, as well as all the other communities we interact with.
I also will continue to include artists and musicians in public events, like Supervisor Gonzalez did by using his office as a gallery of sorts.
Another small example of how I’d like to connect the worlds of politics and arts: Using tickets as thank you gifts to community leaders. We have amazing amounts of people spending volunteer time working to make SF a better place, and I’d like to, if necessary, personally purchase tickets to the symphony, art shows, performances of different kinds, etc. and use those tickets as thank you gifts to those dedicated community leaders. One more small way to get the arts into the minds of the community.
Would you support the Mayor’s stated position to re-evaluate the City’s current arts funding infrastructure?
I’m open to finding ways we can save money in fixing inefficiencies while increasing our public support of arts and arts education.
How will you work with the Mayor and the rest of the Board of Supervisors to better integrate the arts into a broader range of the City’s annual requests for State and Federal funding? What is your commitment to working with the arts community to preserve and expand existing funding?
My commitment to the arts is very high, and I will work with any groups who can help define strategies to find funding for arts and arts education. As a community leader looking to empower the many different communities in district 5, I intend to be a facilitator of discussions and projects that make San Francisco a more culturally full and creative city. I don’t have a specific set of policies or ideas in this area as of yet, but please be assured I am a leader who will be able to bring the energy, time, organizational skills, and leadership to all aspects of the job.
Back to the top
Andrew Sullivan
What do arts organizations contribute to the City of San Francisco?
The diversity, quantity and quality of arts organizations in San Francisco distinguish it from most other cities. The arts are critical to San Francisco and are what makes San Francisco the city it is. San Francisco has a diverse arts scene that includes a large number of small and large arts organizations.
They city of San Francisco needs to promote and market the arts to visitors.
Re: existing programs, it is important that the Arts Commission and GFTA remain separate entities.
How should City government help arts organizations? Comment on existing programs or any new initiatives you would recommend.
San Francisco leaders and the Mayor’s Office, etc… should attend, contribute to and participate in arts events in the city (big and small). The Mayor’s Office should be setting an example by being active in the arts. City Hall should also be made more a venue for artists—a great example is what Matt Gonzalez has done opening his office up to monthly art openings.
How can arts organizations have more impact on city policy?
Arts organizations should create a clear, organized group with a concise agenda and a strong director to advocate for the arts, for public funding for the arts, and so on. The group should empower its director to lobby in City Hall.
Describe your personal involvement in/familiarity with the arts or arts organizations here in SF.
I have been a valued board member of Crowded Fire for the past three years and have attended every one of their shows. I am an eight-year veteran of Burning Man, a festival and phenomena I believe is very important. I attend arts events frequently.
DISTRICT 7
Back to the top
Pat Lakey
1. What is your vision for the Arts in San Francisco?
I believe that Neighborhood arts deserve even more attention than the large organizations like the Opera and the Ballet that are largely self serving and only serve a small portion of our community.
2. As a supervisor how will you work with artists and arts organizations in your district to communicate the value of the work they do to other community based constituencies and to encourage and facilitate partnerships and alliances (e.g merchants groups, neighbourhood associations, trade unions, social service and healthcare non-profits)?
Yes, I am the Labor Candidate and will work with all groups to initiate partnerships and coalitions.
I have been doing this in my work as a Business Agent for over 5 years, in my life as a Master Carpenter of 24 years, and 15 years as a small business person.
3. Would you support the Mayor's stated position to re-evaluate the City's current arts funding infrastructure?
This depends on who does it for him and who is involved in the evaluation. Perhaps a community task force should be developed to take this on.
4. How will you work with the Mayor and the rest of the Board of Supervisors to better integrate the arts into a broader range of the City's annual requests for State and Federal funding?
All funding requests must be coordinated with State and Federal monies, however, if the chances for a community group are better to do it outside of SF, than so be it...
One government agency does not know what is best for our communities.
I would like to see a long range realistic plan from the Mayor on exactly where the funds are going now, how they are (inequitably) distributed. I would also introduce legislation to make a certain percentage to go to the community arts groups out of the general fund, before the Mayor gets the funds.
What is your commitment to working with the arts community to preserve and expand existing funding?
5. What is your evaluation of and commitment to city funding for the arts, existing agencies and priorities (such as Grants for the Arts and the Arts Commission's Cultural Equity and Individual Artist Commission Programs, etc.)? What are your priorities and plans for arts funding?
More integration with the monies from the general fund and more participation from corporations who routinely just give money to the big arts here.
6. What ideas do you have for working with the local arts industry to increase City revenue streams through promoting cultural tourism?
I would like to see an annual calendar that is promoted to potential sponsors directly from city hall.
City hall needs to professionalize itself to be able to adequately promote all of our arts organizations.
Perhaps a special fundraising drive with a person retained just to do this for the cultural tourism industry. And I do mean someone who will really do this, not just talk about it.
7. How will you work to develop and maintain long-term affordable space for individual artists and arts organizations?
The city own thousands of square feet that are not used. They need to give it up to arts organizations now, not later. The non-profits are struggling and in many instances, disapearing.
Our Arts community is rich with talented people who need to be recognized and rewarded. As a Supervisor who is an artist himself (I paint), I will make sure that we introduce legislation that will enhance our arts programs with money as well as promotional material.
8. What role will you take in helping arts organizations in your district work with the Building and Fire Departments to make sure their facilities are up to code?
There are many buildings that need work. In my experience as a carpenter and in the building trades, we will put together a team to assist in this endeavor.
9. What is your position on special arts and entertainment districts?
I believe we need to have special districts, this way we can promote and enrich ourselves and the tourists.
10. What are the positive aspects of this idea and what are the potential negatives?
I see no negatives to this idea.
11. Do you have any ideas on how to overcome possible negative impacts of arts districts?
If we have negatives, we should handle them in an open process and hold teach ins if necessary for the un-initiated.
DISTRICT NINE
Back to the top
Tom Ammiano
What is your vision for the Arts in San Francisco?
San Francisco is the greatest City in the United States. Because of many years of continuing protest and struggle for social justice, we have become world renowned for advocating the values of democracy, tolerance, equality, creativity and freedom. The arts have played a critical role in creating this national and international recognition that allows San Francisco to be such a unique place that is culturally and politically distinct from the rest of this country.
However, the vital role the arts community has played in securing San Francisco's unique status has not always been acknowledged as well as it might have been and the infrastructural care required to maintain and promote a healthy and diverse arts community is often neglected to the detriment of the arts community and the city as a whole. My vision is for San Francisco to be as renowned throughout the world for the achievements of its arts community as it is for protesting injustice, or for establishing Gay Pride or for building the Golden Gate Bridge.
For San Francisco to be able to promote the arts community in such a way, the city has to be able to support the community by developing an integrated infrastructure that will create the conditions for artists to be able to develop their work. This means we have to establish a healthy arts eco-system by taking stock of who and what the arts community is and then organically developing plans to sustain and nurture it. Indeed, to have any chance of achieving this vision, we need to address three basic fundamental elements to insure a firm foundation from which all other things will be possible.
a) The building blocks of the arts community are the individual artists. Each artist exists as part of a community. If the artists are the building blocks then the communities are the foundations, or the soil in-which they grow. These communities are not confined to one part of the city. Artists live and work in all neighbourhoods, drawing their inspiration and material from all of the elements around them. They reflect all ethnicities, income brackets, belief-systems and lifestyles. If the city wants a healthy arts community that can keep on representing San Francisco to the world, it must first support artists and artistic companies working in community.
b) The conduits between artist and community are arts organizations and venues. There are many types of venues including theatres, studios, educational institutions, galleries, halls, clubs and restaurants. Some do not even consider themselves as arts organizations but if they are providing the meeting place and the context through which artists interact with the public they are performing a vital role in connecting artists to community and contributing to the creative process. In addition, venues and galleries are the permanent manifestations of the arts in neighborhoods. They are the arts industry's main interface with the rest of the population. If San Francisco wants to have a thriving arts economy that helps bring vibrancy and prosperity to neighborhoods throughout the city, then the city must invest in and protect the infrastructures of the organizations that facilitate the point of contact between artists and the public.
c) For artists to thrive there needs to be a population that understands and appreciates what they do. The process of understanding begins at a very early age. This is just one of many reasons why it is critical thatchildrenhaveaccesstoqualityartseducation. It helps them think, it helps them imagine, it helps them develop as people. The city needs to advocate for arts education and support arts educators. There cannot be a healthy arts community if the population is not well versed in and supportive of the arts.
Visions require work, lots of it, and they begin with taking care of the basics that provide a solid foundationonwhichtobuild.
As a supervisor how will you work with artists and arts organizations in your district to communicate the value of the work they do to other community based constituencies and to encourage and facilitate partnerships and alliances (e.g merchants groups, neighbourhood associations, trade unions, social service and healthcare non-profits)?
In my vision (see 1, above) the arts are a fully integrated element of the broader community, the qualitative and quantitative value of the arts are recognized by all and we all advocate for each other.
Until then, the need here is for the arts community to develop allies in other constituencies that will help move an arts agenda forward. I think the drawback is organizational capacity, or lack thereof, for arts organizations to be able to dedicate the extra time required for connecting to other constituencies outside of the arts. In that regard a Supervisor or any elected official inviting arts organizations to participate in discussions on topics related to other issues will not help very much.
If we think strategically we might be able to settle on a couple of things that the arts community sees as a priority and look at how that fits with other interest group's agendas. Then it would be worth a supervisor trying to make an introduction.
Also, if there are any funds identified from State or Federal sources (as discussed in Q4 below), then that would make forming alliances a greater imperative to the arts community.
I think one simple thing we could do to get the arts community a little more connected is make a point of always including the arts on the agenda at District 9 town hall meetings as a way for local arts organizations to be able to articulate what they are doing and invite others to participate.
Also, if arts organizations have data on audiences and/or students attending their facilities perhaps we can also compile that information into a district-wide impact report and present it at a meeting to show the impact of the arts on the local community.
Would you support the Mayor's stated position to re-evaluate the City's current arts funding infrastructure?
I think we need to take a broader look at the state of the arts community than just focusing on merging Grants for the Arts with the Arts Commission. I am going to introduce legislation at the Board of Supervisors that will call for the formation of an arts task force to look at a number of different topics that are of concern to the arts. Topics to be covered by the task force will include funding priorities, increasing funding, structure and leadership, cultural tourism and real estate.
Recommendations on any future merger of Grants for the Arts and the Arts Commission would take place as part of this broader discussion.
How will you work with the Mayor and the rest of the Board of Supervisors to better integrate the arts into a broader range of the City's annual requests for State and Federal funding? What is your commitment to working with the arts community to preserve and expand existing funding?
From what I have heard of his position, I think I agree with Mayor Newsom on this issue. I believe he told the arts community that he is in favour of us looking at State and Federal sources of funds that the city can apply to and have a portion of the funding earmarked for artists and arts organizations. Areas that come to mind include inner-city redevelopment, stopping gang violence, programs for youth, etc. Money could be set aside for artists and arts organizations to create work and/or provide services related to these sorts of areas. I think this is a topic that should be covered by the arts task force.
During the space crisis in 1999 I sponsored legislation that secured $1.5 million in emergency funding for arts organizations facing eviction through spiralling rent increases. More than thirty San Francisco arts organizations were able to take advantage of the fund and were saved from having to close their doors and move out of San Francisco. Some of the funding was also allocated towards building acquisition and capital improvement costs for arts organizations.
In November 2003 I sponsored a ballot initiative that was passed by the voters that approved $80 million a year for sports, recreational and arts activities in the San Francisco Unified School Disrtict.
I have been working for the last year to get a new funding source for the arts that would create an annual sum that is dedicated to support Bay Area artists participating in international collaborative projects and for Bay Area artists to perform/exhibit their work alongside artists from other countries.
What is your evaluation of and commitment to city funding for the arts, existing agencies and priorities (such as Grants for the Arts and the Arts Commission's Cultural Equity and Individual Artist Commission Programs, etc.)? What are your priorities and plans for arts funding?
See my answers to 3 and 4 above.
What ideas do you have for working with the local arts industry to increase City revenue streams through promoting cultural tourism?
This will also be a topic covered by the arts task force.
How will you work to develop and maintain long-term affordable space for individual artists and arts organizations?
Affordable space is another topic that will be considered by the task force.
Artists and arts organizations need to be protected from the pressures of the market place when it comes to buildings and real estate.
There are a number of ways this can be done. Having the city purchase and own buildings for the long term use of the arts community is one way, as is the case with the city owned cultural centers.
My office has also been doing some research on land trusts and talking to people in the community about that as an idea.
Again, some of the $1.5 million emergency legislation was used by arts organizations towards purchasing their own property to secure them for good.
What role will you take in helping arts organizations in your district work with the Building and Fire Departments to make sure their facilities are up to code?
This is a topic that will be discussed by the arts task force. I think the issue is that a lot of times we see artists and arts organizations taking over older buildings and really making them economically viable as venues and studios only to realize after the fact that there are a number of problems inherent with the space from a safety point of view.
I have interceded on behalf of several arts organizations such as Cell Space with the police and fire departments when they were having difficulties getting up to code. But this is a city-wide problem and, whilst as a Supervisor I can jump in to help in individual cases in the district, it is more important to have a city-wide policy and plan for bringing all arts facilities up to code and thinking about providing funding towards helping to do it.
What is your position on special arts and entertainment districts? What are the positive aspects of this idea and what are the potential negatives? Do you have any ideas on how to overcome possible negative impacts of arts districts?
I would support them as part of a thorough community planning process that took into consideration all of the implications and impacts of creating such a zone.
The positive aspects to an arts or entertainment zone are that they create a critical mass and synergy of arts activities, which makes for a more interesting and stimulating creative process and it increases earned income opportunities for artists.
Entertainment zones also provide a boost to the economy for local merchants who run bars, restaurants and retail stores as audiences attracted by the art also spend their money in the neighbourhood, which also helps the City's tax base. Not only that, but a lot of the jobs created by that type of retail activity are the sorts of jobs many artists take on to augment their income as artists.
However, it is important to understand the broader socio-economic impacts of this type of activity. Simply declaring an area as an entertainment zone without undertaking the necessary community planning can lead to problems such as gentrification, displacement and quality of life issues.
These are things that effect artists as much as they do the rest of the population. For example, there were far more artists living in Districts nine and six five years ago than there are now. That has a lot to do with the fact that the City's Planning Department under Mayor Brown let developers build all kinds of things in these districts without doing the proper planning. It led to the closing of artist spaces and the eviction of artists. The debacle at Bryant and 20th is a case in point. Dozens of artists and small arts organizations were evicted from that building to build offices that could not be legally built at that location, yet the Planning Commission backed the plan in contradiction to their own rules and guidelines. Five years later the site is still a large hole in the ground. There are other examples such as Brady Street Dance Center, which was closed after illegal market-rate housing was built next door under the guise of artist live-work spaces and the neighbors continually complained about the noise.
The same thing could happen with an arts or entertainment district created without the proper planning. Artists in studios that have traditionally relied on cheaper rent could find themselves forced out if high end restaurants and clubs are suddenly springing up all around them driving up the price of land.
The point is that most artists tend to be in the lower income bracket and they need affordable space to in which to live and work, in the same manner as other lower income people. Any major change to the ecosystem that occurs without the necessary commitment to a community planning process, be it from a dotcom boom or from an entertainment district, can have large negative repercussions. It is important that all of these potential negative impacts are thought through and mitigated before moving ahead with such ideas.
How do you see the Board of Supervisors working in concert with the Board of Education, the Mayor's Office and the social service sector to provide arts education opportunities for children and youth outside of school hours?
Last year I introduced Proposition H which gives the SFUSD $60 million dedicated to arts and music education. I pledge to make sure that this money is spent on arts and music, and isn't siphoned off or hidden in other programs. I will work with District 9 artists and non-profits to strengthen programs like Precita Eyes, which bring youth and working artists together.
If elected, will you commit to displaying art created by local artists in your office at City Hall and attend arts events in your district?
Yes!
What arts events have you participated in recently?
I am the only candidate for Supervisor in District 9 who is a performing artist. Most recently, I have performed at the Great American Music Hall at a benefit for the Coalition on Homelessness and at the Brava Theatre.
Give an example of an urgent issue in your district and how you would work with artists/arts organizations to address that issue?
The space crisis and emergency legislation is one example that comes to mind.
Also, see question 8, above as regards Cell Space and code violations.
Back to the top
Renee Saucedo
What is your vision for the Arts in San Francisco?
My vision for the Arts in San Francisco, generally, is that artists be valued and appreciated through adequate funding and acknowledgment, and that art be aggressively incorporated into the different areas of San Francisco life and accessible to underrepresented communities.
Artists, particularly community artists, must be valued and given priority by San Francisco. The Mission, for instance, has the most per capita art organizations in the city, and is part of the neighborhoods' fabric. This means that they should receive, minimally, access to basic resources and full recognition for their role in our community. As Supervisor, I will aggressively advocate for:
--The accessibility of art space.
--The availability of long-term, affordable and sustainable art facilities and art districts.
--Equity in art funding. Community-based art, and art in oppressed communities, must receive resources as do more elite organizations.
--Better marketing by the City of artists' work and role in San Francisco so residents and tourists may more effectively access the artists.
--Public recognition for the role artists play to the social growth of our communities. For example, Youth Speaks serves 16,000 children each day and received no or little city recognition.
Furthermore, I will provide strong leadership so that art is integrated into San Francisco daily living, and is more accessible to underrepresented communities, including people of color, youth, immigrants and poor people. A few strategies include:
--Funding art projects to raise awareness around social issues such as youth violence, the lack of affordable housing, etc. For example, through the "Teatro Jornalero" ("Day Laborer Theatre"), day laborers were able to share their experiences as undocumented, immigrant workers with a broader public.
--Sponsoring art events in historically neglected sections in order to educate, mobilize and organize community residents. For example, many children and youth in the Alemany Public Housing complex in Bernal Heights currently have no access to art.
--Help connect artists and artists' organizations with community non-profits and organizations to find methods of collaboration and art incorporation. For example, as a member of the Mission Anti-Displacement Coalition (MAC), I worked with community artists during the anti-displacement movement to fight gentrification and displacement in the Mission.
--Ensuring that the San Francisco Arts Commission is representative of San Francisco's communities. I would work on strengthening the relationship between the Board of Supervisors and the Arts Commission to ensure accountability and collaboration as much as possible.
As a Supervisor, how will you work with artists and arts organizations in your district to communicate the value of the work they do to other community-based constituencies and to encourage and facilitate partnerships and alliances (merchants groups, neighborhood associations, trade unions, social service and healthcare non-profits)?
As a civil rights lawyer and community organizer in my District for many years, I have had the honor of establishing working relationships with artists and art organizations, as well as many, many other community-based groups and labor unions. As Supervisor, I will communicate the value of artists' work to these other groups by:
--Proposing and bringing these groups to the table to plan co-sponsored, community events. For example, ODC and MAC collaborated by holding a series of community meetings and fundraisers at the theatre. The Mission Cultural Center and Galeria de La Raza have co-sponsored events with organizations like La Raza Centro Legal and the Day Labor Program to promote the community's rights through art.
--Including artists and artists' organizations in all community-based meetings and hearings to address art and incorporate it into any community strategies and solutions.
--Including artists on my Supervisors Office "Organizing Board," which will help provide the vision and strategies for the District 9 office.
--Including artists in regular meetings with other community members around issues impacting the District.
Would you support the Mayor's stated position to re-evaluate the City's current arts funding infrastructure?
The Mayor's failure to solicit input and decion-making by the artists' community made the process flawed. For example, he said he would convene a task force on the issue, but never did. However, the possibility of more funding and resources going to community art over more elite art institutions might increase through a new funding structure. The key issues include ensuring reprentation by community artists in the decision-making process and accountability of the Arts Commission if granted more funding allocation power.
How will you work with the Mayor and the rest of the Board of Supervisors to better integrate the arts into a broader range of the City's annual requests for State and Federal funding? What is your commitment to working with the art community to preserve and expand existing funding?
I am 100% committed to work with the art community to preserve and expand existing funding. One of my main goals as Supervisor will be to increase funding by ensuring that downtown corporations pay their fair share. I believe that this is simply a matter of political will. For example, I paln to reinstate a fair gross receipts tax, to implement a Transit Impact Fee, and to ensure that the city renegotiates PG&E's franchise tax fee.
I will work with the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors to better integrate the arts into requests for funding by:
--Helping to settle the hotel workers' strike. The largest percentage of arts funding comes from the hotel tax. The current hotel strike is negatively impacting arts funding and must be settled favorably.
--Traveling to Sacramento and Washington D.C. to talk to elected officials about issues impacting San Francisco, including possible revenue sources for the city, known internationally as an arts center.
--Approach state and national foundations about San Francisco's art community and about innovative artists'/community collaborations. As a non-profit administrator for many years, I have developed many relationships with the foundation world at a national level.
What is your evaluation of, and commitment to, city funding for the arts, existing agencies and priorities (such as Grants for the Arts and the Arts Commission's Cultural Equity and Individual Artist Commission Programs, etc.)? What are your priorities and plans for arts funding?
My evaluation of existing priorities is that "major art institutions," or more elite art organizations, receive more in city funds from Grants For the Arts than community-based artists. As Supervisor, I would make the city's Arts institutions accountable and responsive to community-based artists.
What ideas do you have for working with the local arts industry to increase City revenue streams through promoting cultural tourism?
The San Francisco Visitors' Bureau, Convention Bureau and other city tourist organizations must more aggressively include descriptions of the city's rich art resources and institutions in their brochures, advertisements, etc. Moreover, tourist advertisement must include the fact that tourists are contributing to build to a famous art center.
Finally, I will pressure the Mayor to speak of San Francisco's vibrant art community whenever he travels on official city business, attends official meetings and conferences, etc.
How will you work to develop and maintain long-term affordable space for individual artists and arts organizations?
I have worked for many years in local struggles to maintain affordable housing and to fight against gentrification and displacement in the neighborhoods. Some of my ideas to develop and maintain long-term, affordable spaces include, but are not limited to:
--Invest a full-time lobbyist as part of the SF Rent Board to lobby in Sacramento for the repeal of state laws which make it impossible for us currently to expand rent control.
--Create a tenant Eviction Defense Office to ensure adequate legal representation.
--Legalize in-law units.
--Use city surplus property only for the development of affordable units, not to sell to pay for the budget deficit.
--Support community-based planning processes and zoning rules that give priority to affordable units, light industrial businesses, and healthy spaces for neighborhood residents.
What role will you take in helping arts organizations in your district work with the Building and Fire Departments to make sure their facilities are up to code?
I will solicit government funds, including ADA grants, to assist arts organizations' buildings to be brought up to code. I will also help negotiate time extensions with city departments to allow art organizations more time to meet code requirements.
What is your position on special arts and entertainment districts? What are the positive aspects of this idea and what are the potential negatives? Do you have any ideas on how to overcome possible negative impacts of arts districts?
I support art and entertainment districts or zones. The positive aspects include that these generate significant revenue for the city and are local stimulants to the economy. Also, they provide safe spaces for the artist community to network, support each other and live and work in San Francisco affordably. The problems arise when designated, artists' live-work spaces are not habited by artists, but rather by wealthier property-owners who complain about the requisite movement that surrounds such a district. Therefore, the city should enforce its rules that only artists should be allowed to live in these designated units.
How do you see the Board of Supervisors working in concert with the Board of Education, the Mayor's Office and the social service sector to provide arts education opportunities for children and youth outside of school hours?
I will facilitate collaborative relationships between the community organizations and artists who are providing arts education and after school activities for our school children. I will work to make these relationships easier. I will also work with these groups to leverage funding for their arts education activities and to look outside the school district for support.
If elected, will you commit to displaying art created by local artists in your office at City Hall and attend arts events in your district? What arts events have you participated in recently?
If elected, I would definitely display the work of local artists in my office, particularly youth artists. I am passionate about Juana Alicia's art work and will prominently display her work. Recently, I attended a poetry reading, a community-based concert to benefit a local non-profit, an art exhibit and reading by Guillermo Gomez Pena at the Galeria de La Raza.
Give an example of an urgent issue in your district and how you would work with artists/arts organizations to address that issue?
One urgent issue in District 9 is that youth services and youth programs are not adequately funded. Young people lack access to after-school programs, mentorship, recreation and job training. One of my goals as Supervisor will be to develop a new youth center for Mission youth. I will work with local artists and arts organizations to ensure that young people have access to art in the new center.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Back to the top
Heather Hiles
What is your vision for arts education in SFUSD?
My vision for arts education includes a FTE arts educator in every school, a collaboration of SFUSD teachers, major arts organizations, and community arts educators offering a variety of arts classes to all school kids, and a relocated and renovated SOTA in the civic center serving as a central resource for these programs.
I supported Proposition H that will provide the funding necessary to hire FTE arts teachers. The SFUSD has initiated the development of a Master Plan that will include public/private partnerships. And the SOTA Move Task force is also underway tackling the logistics of renovating 135 Van Ness and the Norse Auditorium to make this vision a reality.
Do you support the development of an SFUSD Master Plan for arts Education? Why or why not?
Yes, I do, and it is already happening. The committee for the Master Plan will include leadership from the SFUSD and representation from local arts education organizations.
If yes, how would you ensure that a Master Plan is implemented?
The Master Plan committee is key in the implementation process. The SFUSD is currently in the hiring process of an individual to write the plan who has strong experience in working with collaborations and implementing strategic initiatives.
What is your take on the SOTA move?
I strongly support SOTA's move to 135 Van Ness and the Norse Auditorium. We all need to support Proposition B on the current ballot to help fund this renovation. Private monies will be needed as well. I am currently working with individuals such as Carole Shorenstein Hays to help lead this fundraising.
What do you propose to do to ensure that the SFUSD's contracting Procedure (from inception to payment) is improved?
The Superintendent has taken many steps to improve on the district fiscal system. We must support her efforts regarding the "check and balance" process of ensuring that all funds are spent for the purposes they were intended.
What should the school district be doing that it's not in terms of fundraising?
We have not done a good enough job of securing every possible dollar from every possible source - public and private. I will fight aggressively to fund critical needs for excellent schools.
I have 15 years experience finding new streams of revenue from federal, state and private sources (foundations and individuals). I have helped author a funding proposal to the federal government and have met with Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi to get federal money earmarked for the school district. I strongly supported Proposition H, which will bring more money into our schools. I have worked with the philanthropic community for over 10 years and developed the Mayor's Resource Development Plan. I will help do the same for the district.
What is your take on the Dream Schools?
Turning around low-performing schools is one of my highest priorities. We have made a significant investment in the Dream Schools initiative as a way to turn around San Francisco's low-performing schools. I believe it is a wise investment and my intention is to bring together a coalition of elected officials, community leaders and citizens to support the initiative.
That is not to say that achieving excellence will be easy - I too have concerns about implementation and realize the rollout may not be as smooth as we would like. Despite the challenges, I believe it is our best way to move forward.
How do you think community organizations should best interface with the district in terms of providing services? In what ways would you further facilitate and support community groups working with the schools?
Community organizations can often offer schools expert artists to lead classes and support our full time teachers at low costs to the district. These partnerships should be encouraged by and even facilitated by district staff. The more formal, supported and celebrated the partnership is, the more seriously the artists and schools will take their responsibilities to one another. This is a win-win situation that the school board should explore seriously.
I will support resolutions and other board actions to increase the number of community organizations who are involved with the schools either directly or in an advisory role.
Do you have ideas about increased/improved staffing for the Visual and Performing Arts Dept.?
This should be an inherent outcome of the Master Plan and the SOTA move. The relocation of SOTA with additional funding for it's arts programs and for the SFUSD arts programs as a whole, should improve the quality of arts education and staffing for all disciplines.
How do you see the Board of Education working in concert with the Board of Supervisors and to what end?
We already have a joint committee that can expand the issues we have a mutual interest in. Working cooperatively has increased the ways the City provides financial and direct services to support all of our students.
What is your take on the Elementary Arts Program? Will you maintain and expand this funding?
Elementary Arts programs are essential to my vision of arts education for all SFUSD children. With the addition of FTE arts teachers at all schools, arts education will be introduced strong and early. Alvarado School, under the leadership of David Weiner, has shown how arts as a core part of the curriculum can dramatically improve a school's overall performance. Community arts groups can assist with elementary schools in offering a variety of arts training.
Back to the top
Jane Kim
1. What is your vision for arts education in SFUSD?
We first must value the arts as an integral part of education that provides critical development of children’s creativity. As an active organizer and advocate for the arts, (co-founder of community arts venue, Locus Arts, board of director, Asian American Theater Company, contributing member of 5 other SF arts organization), I am a strong proponent of making actual art classes (versus a minimum number of hours of arts per year) and programs an option for every student in every grade, K-12 in SFUSD.
2. Do you support the development of an SFUSD Master Plan for arts education?
YES! Currently, the Arts Commission is working towards developing arts curriculum for our schools and I would not only support the Commission, but also spend time working in partnership with the Commission as a school Board member. San Francisco is one of the few cities in California that does not have a master arts education plan with a strategy for implementation.
I am also currently serving on the Proposition H Community Advisory committee, appointed by the school board and Superintendent. I was asked due to my work experience in both the youth development and arts world, and knowledge of the resource map of arts organizations in the city that SFUSD could potentially partner with.
3. If yes, how would you ensure that a Master’s Plan is implemented?
4. What is your take on the SOTA move?
I support SOTA’s move to the Civic Center area. This is a neighborhood rich with resources for students interested in theater, visual arts, curation and music.
However, SOTA should not be viewed as the only beacon of arts opportunities in San Francisco. We need to make sure that the arts is a real program in all the schools of SFUSD.
5.What do you propose to do to ensure that the SFUSD’s contracting procedures is improved?
There needs to be more vigilant monitoring of SFSUD contracts from the board and district staff. In addition, we need to fight to fund an independent comptroller to work year-round with the district, auditing its finances and contracts. This position cannot be solely hired by the Superintendent, but must be hired by a community advisory committee or a combination of the school board, community leaders and the Superintendent.
6. What should the school district be doing that it’s not in terms of fundraising?
The current district is doing a strong job in fundraising for schools in San Francisco. We need to ensure a level of equity in fundraising so that it is being equally distributed throughout the district, in particular to schools that have weaker parent and alumni fundraising. Much of current parent and alumni fundraising goes to arts, librarians and athletics in many of the schools and we need to ensure that the same resources go to needier schools.
We need to continue private fundraising for our schools. However, we also need to be advocating for more progressive taxes in San Francisco and California to bring in more funding for our schools district-wide. This includes split-rolling Proposition 13, which took out 1/3 of funding for our public schools in 1978.
In addition, locally, we should be advocating for more city funding for our schools and programs for youth. For example, the police department gets funding to do “anti-gang” workshops and work in schools. This money could be more appropriately assigned to youth service organizations and after-school programs that can really provide viable alternatives to youth. The money could also be used to hire more counselors in schools.
7. What is your take on Dream Schools and how the arts should be part of them?
I support these schools, but hope all the “Dreams” are not identical, as we need to meet needs of diverse students that learn differently. All schools in SFUSD should be great schools, but I think the Dream Schools initiative is a step in the right direction because it raises the bar on expectations and shows openness to innovation in the schools. That said, I have three significant concerns. First, I disagree with using API (based on standardized testing) as the main performance metric for a school. We need to use other factors such as the student retention rate, the number of electives and after-school programs, and the number of students that go on to post-secondary and higher education. Using testing as the only measure of school performance can hurt programs such as the arts, creative writing, and athletics in school which cannot be tested!
Second, while a highly standardized curriculum may serve some students well, we need to keep in mind that different students have different learning styles and needs. There needs to be room for flexibility and different approaches in all schools in order to meet these diverse learning needs. Finally, when new programs such as the Dream Schools are launched, the community and existing teaching/paraprofessional staffs need to be involved early in the process and have the opportunity to provide meaningful input. New programs should not be presented to the community and staffs as a take-it-or-leave-it proposition.
Arts curriculum need to be an integral part of the curriculum in Dream Schools as in all other SFUSD schools.
8. How do you think community organizations should best interface with the district in terms of providing services?
A central part of my platform is increasing and establishing partnerships with schools and local community-based organizations to provide after-school programs, curriculums and expertise to SFUSD. CBO’s are an incredible resource in San Francisco and have expertise and existing curriculum and programs in the arts, mental health and counseling, anti-violence, leadership development that they can bring to schools, both after-school and into the classrooms.
As a youth service provider, I know the map of youth resources in San Francisco and personally have relationships with many Executive Directors and youth workers to facilitate these partnerships between CBO’s and schools.
We need to create a better resource map for teachers, principles and staff on the internet and books distributed to schools with contacts, expertise of organization and what they could offer teachers and schools. Examples are also increasing and funding project-based learning arts classes, such as the one that Youth Map provides to Downtown High School, a filmmaking and media literacy class. In addition, we need to keep all schools open later and give students the option to stay. Various CBO’s could share sites on school to provide services and programs to these students.
Back to the top
Eric Mar
What is your vision for arts education in SFUSD?
As a teacher/parent/activist and current SF school board member I have been influenced by the various multicultural arts and social justice movements in our communities, from the Asian American arts movement of the 80's to the Black Arts movement of the 60's and the Latin American muralists and their movements of this century.
In my teaching at SF State since 1992 [and as a former jazz trumpeter], I have found that when I bring art into my Asian American Studies and Ethnic Studies and Critical Thinking classes and use it as a foundation for learning, I can more easily create a sense of community in the classroom where my students and I can draw from the strength of each other, where each individual can be acknowledged as worthy of help at times and at other times capable of giving help to others, where the task of leadership is shared, and where everyone is responsible for encouraging each other. That to me is what education in SFUSD should be about? not just pushing for academic achievement, but nurturing thoughtful, creative, well-rounded young people who care about their peers and communities and will be able to meet their full potential as leaders for the next generation.
I am the parent of a 4 * year old. My partner Sandi has taught in SFUSD elementary schools for over 17 years. We know first hand that our daughter Jade learns very differently than many of her classmates. She rarely can sit still and often can't control her enthusiasm. Yet, rigid curricula [like those imposed on our schools by the federal and state high stakes test driven ones] which focus almost solely on language and math skills, it seems to me, really harm the education of students since many students who won't immediately engage in these areas can get left behind. I believe that a curriculum which is infused with arts can allow teachers to develop the variety of other intelligences that our children possess: musical, spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal and kinesthetic, etc.
It is well established too that 'Infusion' of the arts into the school curriculum is more than just a good idea. Studies have shown that students involved in the arts are more likely to stay in school, more likely to do well academically in all subjects, and more likely to go on to college. And lastly, I believe arts infused into the whole curriculum in SFUSD can also help with our district's struggles to support the lowest income, most challenged students in the District. I believe the arts can help as the great equalizer in our education system.
My vision of arts education for SFUSD is also driven by a few other assumptions. All children learn best when taught through a lens that values and acknowledges all cultures. Art allows teachers to bring out cultural awareness in students so that they can understand each other more deeply. It also helps to foster new collaborations between teachers and artists to improve the educational process for students. The infusion of the arts into the core curricula can also help students develop better problem-solving skills and interdisciplinary connections. Lastly, art is important to community, and School Board members and community leaders must understand the role that the arts play in learning and community building. Tom Ammiano's School Funding measure [Prop H, march 04] which I helped to author is a big step forward with a strong local commitment of funding for arts and music for our schools.
Lastly, my vision or arts education for SFUSD includes:
SEEING THE COMMUNITY AS PARTNERS - SFUSD needs to tap the artists, Arts organizations and movements in our City to help change the education system to better serve our students.
EQUALIZING POWER RELATIONS - In developing our improved SFUSD arts education plan, grassroots groups and low income communities need to be at the table with teachers and staff to balance out the dominance of the big dominant arts groups and central office bureaucrats that have tended to dominate arts education discourse.
FIGHTING FOR ADEQUATE FUNDING WITH RESOURCES RE-DISTRIBUTED TO THOSE WITH MOST NEED ? progressive taxation, closing of corporate loopholes and tax breaks to the wealthy and other measures must be taken to ensure adequate resources are in place to effectively implement any arts education model for the district. We shouldn't have to go begging to big businesses and corporations for support. It should be their civic responsibility to support the public schools. Every school from pre-K to higher education should have arts infused throughout the curriculum with well-trained teachers and adequate learning support and arts resources.
Do you support the development of an SFUSD Master Plan for arts Education? Why or why not?
Yes. See above. We shouldn't be trying to copy LA, Santa Cruz or other cities' efforts, but instead trying to develop a plan in SF that is unique to our communities and jointly developed with arts providers, grassroots arts groups, parents, students, teachers and other stakeholder groups. We need buy in and a feeling of ownership from the majority low income diverse communities of color that make up our 58,000 student school district.
If yes, how would you ensure that a Master Plan is implemented?
Advocate for strong School Board support; strong arts providers, parent and community organization support and pressure; and develop a school board appointed oversight committee that has real teeth ? to develop a process for timelines, fundraising support plan, identifying key allies, meeting deadlines, and getting regular reports from SFUSD staff of the progress, challenges of implementing the plan.
What is your take on the SOTA move?
I support the SOTA community's efforts to raise funds and build support to move to the Civic Center area of the City to be closer to arts groups and facilities of the City. I believe they will thrive with a new facility built specifically for the unique SOTA arts education model.
However, when the district proposed in 2001 to close down McAteer High School and to allow the much smaller SOTA to take over the McAteer facility without any input from McAteer community [teachers, parents, students, etc.] I opposed that top-down decision. I felt that the closure of McAteer harmed a school made up of mostly lower income students of color with a much less diverse more middle-class community of SOTA. Many of the former McAteer students have unfortunately fallen through the cracks in the district because of a lack of follow through to give more support to those students after the closure of McAteer.
In my 4 years on the school board I have consistently worked to elevate the voices of low income students and parents in the district and to involve them in decision-making.
What do you propose to do to ensure that the SFUSD's contracting procedure (from inception to payment) is improved?
As the former Vice-President of the Board and former chair of the Budget committee, I worked with others to streamline the contracting process, reduce bureaucratic red tape and to shorten the time for artists and arts providers to receive their checks for work within SFUSD. We need to work more closely with the Arts Providers Alliance and others to further improve the process and to have better communication between the district and arts providers and community based organizations.
What should the school district be doing that it's not in terms of fundraising?
As a teacher and parent activist, I have fought for 20 years for adequate funding for our public schools in SF and throughout the US. I believe progressive taxation, closing corporate loopholes and promoting of corporate responsibility for supporting the public schools are important goals our district ought to be working towards. Because of the inequities of fundraising between schools with affluent or more middle-class parents vs. schools with concentrations of low income parents, I also support the creation of an 'equity fund' in the district which would direct money raised to the schools with most need.
What is your take on the Dream Schools?
I support the general concept of the District making major academic and cultural changes in chronically low performing schools. But I feel it should be coming from the bottom up with parent and community groups creating more autonomous small schools, not top-down dictates that scapegoat students, parents and teachers for their 'failures'. For schools to be successful there must be 'buy in' from parents, communities and especially the teachers.
One arts teacher told me that the Dream Schools are just a "fancy word for reconstitution" which is a process that has not improved schools in the past. Dream schools also provide a very rigid model that many arts teachers and others believe is harmful to our goals of expanding arts education, especially to schools with the concentration of the lowest income students.
The recent resistance from the Sanchez Elementary School, O'Connell High School and other schools which were told that they were to become Dream Schools is cause for concern. I expect to be listening to the affected stakeholder groups to ensure that their concerns are heard by the district.
How do you think community organizations should best interface with the district in terms of providing services? In what ways would you further facilitate and support community groups working with the schools?
One very high level district administrator once told me that she believed that community-based groups existed to simply 'pimp off the community' and we should leave education to the educators. I believe that this administrator's narrow view is too dominant in our district. We need to work more closely with CBO's [community-based organizations] to develop mutually respectful partnerships to improve education for our students.
At least with community-based arts groups, I support the work of the arts providers alliance and increasing regular structured communication and meetings with the district to address concerns and challenges. Schools should be the center of community life for neighborhoods and our district should be looking towards CBO's to help improve our education system locally.
Regarding the distribution of the Prop H funds [Ammiano's March school funding measure which will increase local funding of schools arts, music and others programs to the tune of $60million per year] I believe community based organizations should have a strong say in how the money is spent to meet the needs of the students and our district.
I believe there must be much stronger District-wide commitment to groups like Youth Speaks and the smaller arts organizations that have been contributing so much to our students over the years while receiving little in return.
Do you have ideas about increased/improved staffing for the Visual and Performing Arts Dept?
Development of a broadly diverse group of community arts providers and artists to help give regular advice to our department.
Better and more opportunities for meaningful professional development for teachers and staff
Hiring of teachers and eductors with classroom experience and appropriate arts backgrounds
How do you see the Board of Education working in concert with the Board of Supervisors and to what end?
Since we established the joint board of education board of supervisors regular monthly meetings I believe there has been better interaction and communication with the board of supervisors. With the passage of Prop H though there is an even more urgent need for the school board to be in close communication with the first 5 commission [pre-k], the Dept of Children Youth and Families, and other City departments. I will continue my close communication and interaction with members of the board of supervisors and Cedric Yap, the Mayor's liaison to the schools, to ensure that we are building solid relationships with our City leaders.
What is your take on the Elementary Arts Program? Will you maintain and expand this funding?
Strongly support. I will work to expand funding while also striving to cut waste like the expenditure of money on music texts from publishers versus spending our money on getting artists and musicians in the schools working directly with our students.
Thank you so much to the Arts Forum folks like Deborah Culllinan of Intersection for Arts, the Theater Bay Area crew and Andrew Wood of the SF International Arts festival for keeping our eyes on prize of excellent arts education for all students!
Back to the top
Jill Wynns
What is your vision for arts education in SFUSD?
I envision a school district where art and music is taught in every school and every grade. The curriculum should be sequential and integrated into each class. I believe that the community-based arts provider system needs to work with a system of arts educators or teachers. This is the missing piece of the current elementary arts program.
Do you support the development of an SFUSD Master Plan for arts education? Why or why not?
I am very supportive of the Master Plan development process and have played a key role in facilitating the initial stages, including working with the Mayor's liaison to get the city and the district working together. There is still a belief among many that arts is not a part of the core curriculum and should be funded and taught as a supplemental activity. Having a Master Plan for the Arts will help to bring arts education into the school planning process and make it an integral component of every school's instructional program.
If yes, how would you ensure that a Master Plan is implemented?
Proposition H gives us the resources to make sure that the Master Plan is implemented. The most important thing is to monitor that the arts plan is integrated into the school plans. Each school plan must have a requirement that all of the subjects listed in the enrichment fund of Prop H are incorporated into their school plans. The Labor/Management/Community Committee, of which I am a member, must review the school planning process.
What is your take on the SOTA move?
I have been able to get funding for SOTA at 135 Van Ness included in the 2003 Prop A bond and to get Mayor Newsom to include SOTA in the Civic Center as one of his priorities. The move to Van Ness has been the desire of SOTA since they were separated from McAteer High School in 1992. Board members should embrace the responsibility of helping to fund the move. Dr. Kelly and I were also able to get the remaining FEMA money set aside in a separate fund to begin to fund the needed renovations.
What do you propose to do to ensure that the SFUSD's contracting procedure (from inception to payment) is improved?
I have worked hard to get the master contracts for the major arts providers in place to make it possible for community-based providers to be paid in a timely fashion. I will continue to advocate for simplification of the payment process for arts providers. I think that approval of the school budgets should enable payment of consultants hired by individual schools as much as this can be done within the law.
What should the school district be doing that it's not in terms of fundraising? We have created a Chief of Development position, but there has not yet been good coordination of grants information and facilitation. We should have grants experts to support schools and programs. Our public grant infrastructure is better, but has not been as aggressive as it can be regarding arts funding.
What is your take on the Dream Schools, and how the arts should be part of them?
The movement to focus on basic skill acquisition for low-performing students and schools has eroded the arts and elective programs in many schools. Longer days in the Dream Schools can help to provide time for more subjects to be integrated into the instructional day. As new Dream Schools develop their own areas of focus, arts may play an expanded role.
How do you think community organizations should best interface with the district in terms of providing services? In what ways would you further facilitate and support community groups working with the schools?
The district should have staff whose job is to facilitate partnerships between community groups and schools, including access to facilities. Currently too many people have to re-invent the wheel.
Do you have ideas about increased/improved staffing for the Visual and Performing Arts Dept?
The Master Plan will help us to identify the administrative needs of the department. I believe that we should have more staff to support schools, but in times of budget cuts the pressure to cut administration is irresistible. As the Prop H money begins to flow, we should be able to increase staff as needed.
How do you see the Board of Education working in concert with the Board of Supervisors and to what end?
The Boards should work together on issues of common interest. The Select Committee of both Boards has been used mainly for the Board of Supervisors to question the School District, but should be evolved into a forum for developing joint programs and working together on issues of mutual interest, like recreation programs, facility joint use and others.
What is your take on the Elementary Arts Program? Will you maintain and expand this funding?
This program has been extremely beneficial for our students and must be maintained. As I referenced above, I believe that this "artists in the schools" program can be enhanced by adding the educator perspective with teachers and arts trainers for both teachers and providers.
