Sacramento Arts, Culture & Creative Economy Commission Meeting - November 8, 2021

The Sacramento Arts, Culture, and Creative Economy Commission met virtually on Monday, November 8, 2021, beginning at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time via Zoom, under AB361 teleconference rules due to the COVID-19 state of emergency. The commission approved its consent calendar, discussed commissioners' advocacy work, reviewed the proposed ARPA creative economy programmatic approach, and provided feedback on the Cultural Arts Award grant rubric. No members of the public submitted comments.

Consent Calendar

• Minutes approval: Motion by Commissioner Gott, second by Commissioner Wilson Ramey, to approve the commission meeting minutes. The agenda identified the minutes as dated September 13, 2021, but the linked attachment was labeled Minutes 10.11.2021; this discrepancy was not noted during the meeting. The motion passed unanimously by roll call vote with all present commissioners voting yes.
• Teleconferencing under AB361: Received and filed the report on teleconferencing meetings during the COVID-19 state of emergency.

Discussion Items

Discussion of the Work of the Commission

• Chair Dr. Steven Winlock outlined the commission's three main functions: advocacy, providing advice to the cultural arts department, and networking/community representation.
• Commissioners described their advocacy activities:
  • Commissioner Gott promoted the new $5,000 film grants to friends and contacts in the film community.
  • Vice Chair Blumenstock met with Councilmember Jennings, spread word to arts organizations, and helped secure rapid-testing supplies for arts groups through a meeting with Dr. Kassiri.
  • Commissioner Wilson Ramey shared grant opportunities and attended reopening events, praising theaters' new safety protocols.
  • Commissioner Enriquez worked to learn about economic development and permitting, and noted the county receives roughly three times as much ARPA funding as the city, urging advocacy to the Board of Supervisors.
  • Commissioner Hastings revived the arts section 'To Do' in her publications and personally attended events to support the arts.
  • Commissioner Naranjo promoted opportunities via the artist roundtable and spotlighted underrepresented artists, such as photographer Roberta Alvarado.
  • Chair Winlock worked with the education consortium to advance the Creative Edge goal of arts education for every child.
• Support needs identified by commissioners included: more detailed information on film grants, a directory of past grantees, a heat map of public art, stronger city communications support, district-based creative economy town halls, and more opportunities for commissioners to network with each other.
• The chair proposed making 'providing advice' the topic of the next meeting's discussion. The item was received and filed without a vote.

Proposed ARPA Programmatic Approach Regarding Creative Economy

• Cultural and Creative Economy Manager Megan Van Voorhis presented staff's proposed programmatic approach for distributing American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to the creative economy, using both a community investment approach and an infrastructure approach.
• Four target constituencies and proposed funding allocations:
  • Individual artists: $2.75 million, possibly funding 125 artists at $500 per month for three years as a guaranteed basic income pilot, plus professional development cohorts (e.g., public art, social/civic practice, entrepreneurial, teaching artist).
  • Arts and cultural nonprofits: General operating support through the Cultural Arts Awards (CAA) program, currently with $925,000 confirmed (nearly double the previous round's $450,000), and potentially augmented with ARPA dollars.
  • Creative businesses: Deeper support packages through Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), combining grants, loans, rent subsidies, and accelerator/startup support.
  • Youth workforce development: Digital arts/new media career technical education, in partnership with the city's workforce development office and the Sacramento County Office of Education.
• Infrastructure proposals included updating marketing infrastructure (e.g., SAC 365, arts and cultural tourism task force) and investing in a city-owned former Office of Emergency Services building on Meadowview Road (~2,000 square feet, near light rail) as a potential community arts space in District 8, which received only seven CARES grants previously.
• Commissioner feedback was generally supportive. Commissioner Naranjo praised the plan for following the 'solidarity not charity' framework and incorporating artist input. Commissioner Enriquez called the guaranteed basic income groundbreaking and suggested advocating for county matching funds. Commissioner Gott expressed concern that working actors (e.g., at B Street Theatre) should not be excluded from basic income support. Questions were raised about eligibility criteria for guaranteed income, youth age range, and the need for a more substantial marketing component.
• The item was received and filed without a vote.

Cultural Arts Award (CAA) Grant Program Rubric for Funding

• Megan Van Voorhis and staff member Melissa presented the CAA program overview and a proposed scoring rubric. CAA is a long-running, city-county general operating support grant for nonprofit arts organizations; the last round was awarded in 2017 for 2018-2020. The current confirmed funding is $925,000, almost double the previous $450,000.
• The rubric contains four main criteria: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Access; Artistic Impact; Community Impact; and Organizational Accountability. Each criterion includes two sub-criteria with specific indicators, and panelists would rate applicants as 'does not meet,' 'satisfactorily meets,' 'meets,' or 'exceeds expectations.' Staff consulted 10-12 organizations during development.
• The criteria have not yet been weighted; staff asked commissioners to provide feedback on how to allocate 100 points across the four criteria.
• Commissioner feedback included: ensuring the application uses plain language and is not overly onerous for smaller organizations (Commissioner Naranjo); providing definitions (Commissioner Wilson Ramey); incorporating DEI-related questions throughout all categories (Commissioner Blumenstock); considering organization size in accountability indicators (Commissioner Blumenstock); addressing COVID-related disruptions in the application context (Commissioner Wilson Ramey); offering informational webinars (Commissioner Blumenstock); and simplifying the rubric so that application questions align with the indicators (Commissioner Gott).
• Staff noted that the rubric is only the evaluation framework; the application itself will be concise, and the rubric will be included in the guidelines. They aim to open the application in December.
• Megan requested that commissioners email their weighting suggestions and simplification feedback by the end of the week. The item was received and filed without a vote.

Director's Report

• Megan Van Voorhis reported on:
  • A partnership with the Center for Sacramento History on a series of short documentaries about the history of racism in Sacramento (one has been completed; three or four more are planned).
  • Upcoming work on a monument policy and audit.
  • The Sacramento Film and Media Incentive program is live, offering $5,000 grants (guidelines to be redistributed).
  • Engagement with Caltrans' Clean California program for potential mural projects at the Second Avenue and 21st Avenue underpasses along Highway 99, in coordination with the Oak Park Neighborhood Association, Franklin Boulevard Partnership, and the WX Mural Museum; internal policy work on maintenance is ongoing.
• The report was received and filed without a vote.

Chairperson's Report

• Chair Winlock shared that he attended a performance at the new community theater and would like to organize an open house to showcase the facility's public art, with commissioner involvement.
• Commissioner Naranjo raised concerns about the permit process for music venues, describing a potential investor in a Broadway venue who faced barriers; he hoped for improvements to remove 'artificial barriers.'
• Commissioner Gott asked about returning to in-person meetings; Megan Van Voorhis confirmed the December meeting will still be held via teleconference.
• The report was received and filed without a vote.

Key Outcomes

• The consent calendar was approved unanimously.
• All discussion items (Items 3-7) were received and filed; no formal votes were taken on them.
• Commissioners were asked to submit feedback on CAA rubric weighting (100 points across four criteria) and simplification suggestions to Megan Van Voorhis by the end of the week.
• Staff will follow up on distributing film grant guidelines, exploring a directory of past grantees, sharing public art maps, and considering enhanced communications support.
• The next meeting is scheduled for December and will continue the discussion of the commission's work, focusing on the 'providing advice' function; it will be conducted via teleconference.