Caring for communities in times of crisis
#CreativeUplift: California’s arts organizations play a fundamental part for preserving communities, providing vital resources and support during difficult times
As the country continues to process the impact of COVID-19, the pandemic has shined a spotlight on many complex issues — systemic racial injustice, food and housing insecurity, and chronic unemployment — afflicting our communities. We are experiencing unprecedented times due to the coronavirus, and through it all, community arts spaces continue to serve as places of comfort — offering aid, resources, and emotional support amid crisis and economic uncertainty.
Arts and culture organizations are activating our sector’s service-based values to meet the evolving needs of California’s communities. As many people are still learning to navigate online workshops and safe social-distancing procedures, groups from across the creative field are coming up with unique ways to care for residents who are patiently awaiting a return to the deep personal connections we knew before.
These organizations spend countless hours strengthening trust in and out of community arts spaces to build a safe culture of belonging. Arts and culture spaces are vital to uplift our communities. Below, you will find a small collection of community support projects from California’s arts and culture sector, including current California Arts Council grantees.
The Crucible (Oakland)
The Crucible, an arts organization and school dedicated to making the fine and industrial arts accessible for all ages, backgrounds, and abilities, created an emergency relief fund for their community of artists and faculty. With the support of an anonymous donor, the organization distributed more than 100 grants to community members experiencing financial uncertainty due to COVID-19. The Crucible also collaborated with Bay Area food providers to distribute free groceries, produce, and pre-made food on a weekly basis to impacted community members. The Crucible is a grantee of the California Arts Council.
Explore Ecology (Santa Barbara)
Explore Ecology, an environmental education and arts organization empowering the next generation of environmental stewards, created Grab and Go Garden kits to support school children and their families. With students unable to participate in the organization’s School Gardens program, Explore Ecology staff host pop-up events distributing fresh fruit and vegetables from various garden program sites to ensure students stay connected while safely learning from home. Explore Ecology is a grantee of the California Arts Council.
School of Arts & Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza (San Jose)
The School of Arts & Culture at the Mexican Heritage Plaza (SOAC), a cultural institution with a mission to catalyze creativity and empower community, partnered with Second Harvest Silicon Valley, Gardner Health Services, and the County of Santa Clara to bring essential services to their East San Jose community. For the next year, SOAC will host bi-monthly food distribution drive-thru events on the first and third Mondays. They plan to disseminate around 10,800 boxes of food to more than 43,000 residents in need. Recognizing the importance of providing trustworthy, safe testing facilities for uninsured and undocumented residents, the organization will offer free COVID-19 testing on Wednesdays through February 2021. SOAC is a grantee of the California Arts Council.
Senderos (Santa Cruz)
Senderos, an all-volunteer arts organization providing free cultural arts programs and educational support to the Latino community through the artistic expression of dance and music, partnered with Community Foundation Santa Cruz County to distribute emergency assistance funds. Since April, the organization has given away more than $86,000 to support vulnerable low-income and undocumented families who are experiencing food, housing, and employment insecurity. Senderos is a grantee of the California Arts Council.
Urban Voices Project (Los Angeles)
Urban Voices Project, an organization bringing the healing power of music directly to individuals marginalized by homelessness, mental health issues, and unemployment, partnered with members of the Skid Row Arts Coalition, including the Los Angeles Poverty Department to create arts care packages for people living in the Skid Row area of Downtown L.A. Unable to continue with weekly in-person arts programming for the second-largest homeless population in the country, the organization began distributing care packages, including masks, headphones, sketchpads, and zines with available arts programming to over 200 of the community’s most vulnerable members. Urban Voices Project and the Los Angeles Poverty Department are grantees of the California Arts Council.
2727 California Street (Berkeley)
2727 California Street, an art and education initiative with an artist-in-residence program, partnered with Portland-based chef and artist Salimatu Amabebe and creative director Annika Hansteen-Izora to host Love Letters to Black Folks every Sunday during the month of June. In response to the nationwide protests against systemic racism and the ongoing murders of unarmed Black people, Black Bay Area residents were invited to pick up free care packages celebrating the beauty and joys of Black life. Each package included fresh flowers, savory vegan desserts and heartfelt love notes. Visitors were also invited to contribute photos to the memorial altar created for the project.
Additional Community Support Projects
We featured only a small number in this story, but impactful work from creative organizations is happening daily in communities across our state. Click the links below for a handful of other examples of how the arts are supporting California’s communities at this time.
Avenue 50 Studio (Los Angeles)
Creative Uplift is a California Arts Council series celebrating California’s arts and culture community. We invite you to follow along on social media as we share the inspirational work of our creative communities far and wide, using the hashtag #CreativeUplift. And we welcome each of you to share your own experiences of art as a source of change, compassion, comfort, healing, and unity in your own communities using the same hashtag.
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