Over the last few days there has been a couple of emails that have ‘apologized’ for ‘divisive’ comments, particularly calling people of color advocating for equity as ‘fringe members’. \u00a0First from Theater Bay Area and Brad Erickson:<\/p>\n
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An Apology and an Update<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n June 23, 2014<\/em><\/p>\n Dear Friends,<\/em> ——————-<\/p>\n While it was good to see Supervisor Mar’s name cleared of the lies leveled against him\u00a0 there was never any attempt made to move any money from San Francisco’s Cultural Equity Grants so why even bring it up? \u00a0More on that later…. \u00a0But who is the prominent San Francisco arts advocacy group<\/em>“?<\/p>\n The answer came from another apologetic email this time from San Francisco Arts Town Hall:<\/p>\n ——————-<\/p>\n \u00a0Dear Friends,<\/span><\/em> ——————-<\/p>\n What does the second apology letter tell us: First, it reveals that the prominent San Francisco advocacy group, referenced in Theater Bay Area’s apology was Arts Town Hall. \u00a0Second, it reveals that Arts Town Hall, SF Arts Alliance and BMWL can be considered one in the same. \u00a0Why else would a letter written in the first person by the Alliance be distributed on Arts Town Hall letterhead referring to Arts Town Hall in the third person?<\/p>\n It points to the fact that Arts Town Hall\u2019s messaging and email systems are controlled by BMWL and Partners, the lobbying firm retained by the Arts Alliance. This would explain why the Arts Alliance was first distancing itself from – then re-aligning itself with BMWL all within the same email.<\/p>\n Though referenced as a “consultant” in the Arts Alliance apology, BMWL is in fact a lobbying firm that makes regular filings with the San Francisco Ethics Commission with one of their main clients being: The San Francisco Arts Alliance.<\/p>\n Some facts about the Arts Alliance relationship with BMWL from about two minutes of internet research and exactly one google search:<\/p>\n This is from the San Francisco Ethics Commission’s website<\/p>\n
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\nLast Friday, I asked that an email action alert, received from a prominent San Francisco arts advocacy group<\/span>, be forwarded from\u00a0Theatre\u00a0Bay\u00a0Area, under my name, seeking action and support from\u00a0Theatre\u00a0Bay\u00a0Area’s San Francisco members.\u00a0<\/em>
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\nThat letter contained some unfortunate\u2014and untrue\u2014language about \u201cfringe members\u201d of the arts community.\u00a0I am deeply sorry for not noticing this language in the original template and for forwarding this assertion to our San Francisco members.<\/em>
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\nNot an excuse, but an explanation:\u00a0I was out of town most of last week attending the TCG\u00a0theatre\u00a0conference in San Diego\u2014and on the first day I was in Tijuana with a contingency exploring ways to encourage cross-cultural exchange and greater awareness about the horrific issues along the border and around immigration.\u00a0I absolutely admit, and deeply regret, not reading closely enough the template letter forwarded to the arts community.\u00a0Because I read the action alert too quickly, I missed the “fringe members” language, a phrase which is itself demeaning and divisive.<\/em>
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\nSince\u00a0Friday\u00a0I have been greatly relieved to learn that there is no current move to take funds away from either Grants for the Arts or the Arts Commission and its Cultural Equity Grants<\/strong>.\u00a0Indeed, there is redoubled effort on behalf of the field to win more support for both. I also want to gratefully acknowledge Supervisor Eric Mar\u2019s leadership on this issue\u2014and his commitment to this city and the arts.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>
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\nThis is a moment when our city is experiencing another economic boom.\u00a0Some are reaping tremendous benefits, but many others are not\u00a0and are in fact being squeezed out of what they have struggled hard to achieve.\u00a0It is a time of scarcity, yes, but also abundance.\u00a0We must take this opportunity to tap that abundance for all.<\/em>
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\nBrad Erickson<\/em>
\nExecutive Director\u00a0<\/em>
\nTheatre\u00a0Bay\u00a0Area<\/em><\/p>\n
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Thank you for your support over the last few weeks to help advocate for increased funding for the arts on the state and city levels.\u00a0 Your active participation has been invaluable, resulting in a $5 million increase in funding for the California Arts Council and strong efforts to increase local arts funding<\/span><\/em>
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Recent emails sent to this list have raised a few questions and concerns, so we wanted to provide clarification.\u00a0 We also want to apologize for any miscommunication or confusion.<\/strong><\/span><\/em>
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First, last week an email was circulated to this list in an effort to communicate about a budget proposal to cut funding from Grants for the Arts in an effort to increase funding for cultural equity grants from the Arts Commission.\u00a0 That email was sent by a consulting firm that the San Francisco Arts Alliance works with to help us organize and communicate with the City called BMWL & Partners.<\/strong>\u00a0 That email mistakenly referred to the supporters of that proposal as \u201cfringe\u201d \u2013 and for that BMWL is deeply apologetic.\u00a0\u00a0That language was inappropriate and divisive and it does not reflect the viewpoint of the San Francisco Arts Alliance.<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0Instead, we believe \u2013 along with BMWL \u2013 that we should all be working together to find ways to address inequity in the City and to support increased funding as one way to accomplish that goal. \u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/em>
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Second, we want to explain who the Arts Alliance is and what the Arts Town Hall is, and their relationship to these emails.<\/span><\/em>
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The Arts Town Hall is an event that has been occurring since 2011 and focuses on bringing together arts and cultural organizations in San Francisco to educate policymakers about the role of the arts and to advocate for our common goals.\u00a0 Candidates for San Francisco Supervisor are invited to participate in these discussions to ensure they are thinking about the arts, our impact on the community, and ways to work together to help support arts organizations and artists.\u00a0 The goal is to advance policy to lift everyone up \u2013 through increased funding for all arts organizations, creative policies to protect housing for artists and space for arts organizations, investing in arts education and more.<\/span><\/em>
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The Town Hall is planned by a volunteer organizing committee of about 10 people that varies year by year, representing a wide variety of arts organizations. These people dedicate their time to help planning a successful event, and have not been directly involved in recent communications regarding City funding<\/strong>.\u00a0 The event itself is funded by a combination of donations from arts organizations and direct financial contributions from the San Francisco Arts Alliance.\u00a0 The logistics of this event are supported by BMWL in their capacity as the consultant to the San Francisco Arts Alliance.<\/strong><\/span><\/em>
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The San Francisco Arts Alliance is a coalition of the 15 largest budget arts organizations that has been in existence for many years.<\/strong>\u00a0 It was founded to create an opportunity for the leaders of these organizations to share best practices and mutual concerns.\u00a0 In response to significant budget cuts made to arts funding over the last ten years, the organizations decided to also work together to advocate for increased funding for the arts community from the City.\u00a0 We have always advocated for more funding for all arts groups no matter where their funding comes from \u2013 the goal is to raise the bar for all arts funding in San Francisco.\u00a0 Supporting the Arts Town Hall is an example of the Arts Alliance\u2019s commitment to bring the arts community together to advance strong policy.<\/span><\/em>
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As we move ahead as an arts community, we hope we can work together to solve the important issues facing all artists and arts organizations.\u00a0 These are incredibly tough times, as we face the devastating impacts of the affordability crisis after years of state and city underfunding.\u00a0 By standing together, we can turn the tides in San Francisco and protect the arts.<\/span><\/em>
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Sincerely,<\/span><\/em>
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The San Francisco Arts Alliance<\/span> <\/em><\/p>\nSan Francisco Arts Alliance<\/h4>\n