Photo credit: Photo by Oaktown Art of “Oakland Super Heroes Mural Project” by Attitudinal Healing Connection, Inc. (AHC)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Andrew Hattori
East Bay Community Foundation
(510) 208-0823
Over $300,000 Awarded In Grants to Local Artists and Nonprofit Organizations
Funding supports artwork that elevates and celebrates BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities.
OAKLAND, Calif., December 13, 2022 – East Bay Community Foundation (EBCF) announced the 2022 awardees of the East Bay Fund for Artists, which will provide $316,608 to eight local artists and 11 arts and culture organizations. All grants from the East Bay Fund for Artists support Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) artists and BIPOC-led organizations.
“It is an honor to be able to support the work of BIPOC artists in our communities,” said Debrah Giles, program director for Arts and Culture for Social and Racial Justice at EBCF. “Too often, the beautiful work we create is not seen by us, as if we are not worthy. To see a vision come full circle is powerful and opens the door for the next generation of visionaries and storytellers. Art provides a vital means of communication, inspiring us to learn our histories, recognize our present condition, and imagine how our society could be. Funding arts projects for our people is imperative for a racially just future.”
Awardees were selected to create new and diverse works of art that would be presented in the East Bay. Funding will support pieces in various media, including film, theater, multimedia, music, and murals in West Oakland and Chinatown. Funding enables artists to build on their past work and envision future projects while also increasing their access to additional funding opportunities.
“The award from the East Bay Fund for Artists will allow me to collaborate with other artists. It means I am free to dream and create with confidence,” said Daziè Grego-Sykes, associate artistic director at Skywatchers. “I have the tools I need to manifest my vision. This is a huge gift that legitimizes my commitment and will make me more attractive to other funders. It truly opens up a whole different world for me as an artist and is already inspiring me to reach higher goals.”
Collectively, the works supported by the East Bay Fund for Artists will celebrate, preserve, and promote the pride and identity of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities.
“This award will support Chapter 2 of a multi-chapter dance piece titled, A Ballad for John Henry. This piece draws a straight line from the unbroken lineage between slavery, convict leasing, and mass incarceration,” said Tonya Marie Amos, founder and Artistic Executive Director of Grown Women Dance Collective, “The ballet is a love letter to the Black community that holds onto family and joy at all odds, an ode to our resistance and resilience, and a call to action to end the carceral system.”
The 2022 awardees include:
- Afro Urban Society / Dancer’s Group, “‘One Thing About Us? We Move!’ (WM!)”
- ARTSCCC / Independent Arts and Media “Cultural Corridor Project”
- Attitudinal Healing Connection, Inc. “Oakland Super Heroes Mural #5 (The Finale)”
- BoomShake / Intersection for the Arts Music “The Roots Are Strong”
- Cut Fruit Collective / Possibility Labs ”Chinatown Futures”
- Dads Evoking Change “Hear Us, Heal Us”
- Dariane Beamon / People’s Community Foundation, “A Village of Voices”
- Darren Colston / Brothers on the Rise “Hella Love”
- Dazié Grego-Sykes / QCC-The Center for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Art & Culture, “The Changer and the Changed”
- dNaga / Dancer’s Group ”Where Am I Now?”
- Grown Women Dance Collective / Dancer’s Group “A Ballad for John Henry, Chapter 2”
- Fei Tian Dancers / Associated Students of the University of California “Fei Tian Dancers: Heritage 传承 Showcase”
- Ishika Seth / Fractured Atlas, “Pehchaan (Identity)”
- Nadhi Thekkek / Nava Dance Theatre “Foreign Bodies”
- Nia Imara / EastSide Arts Alliance “Generation of Oakland”
- Oaklash “Putting the Cheese in Machismo”
- Tony Nguyen / Farallon Films ”TO BE”
- Valerie Troutt / QCC-The Center for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Art & Culture “Because of Black Music IAM”
- Wolfe Pack Arts / Bay Area Mural Program “Immersive Arts Residency”
The East Bay Fund for Artists, a program of East Bay Community Foundation, is administered through a multi-step process. Following an open call for applications, submissions are reviewed by a panel with deep knowledge in the arts and culture field representing the diversity of Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
Since 2003, the East Bay Fund for Artists has partnered with more than 200 nonprofit organizations to commission new works by over 300 local artists. The Fund has leveraged $3 million in new financial support for composers, playwrights, choreographers, and visual and media artists in the East Bay. The Fund is part of EBCF’s core program strategy for arts and culture with a social and racial justice lens.
The East Bay Fund for Artists is currently supported by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, MacKenzie Scott and Dan Jewett, and the generous donors of East Bay Community Foundation.
About East Bay Community Foundation
Founded in 1928, East Bay Community Foundation (EBCF) connects donors with community-led movements to eliminate structural barriers, advance racial equity, and create an inclusive, fair, and just East Bay. Recognized as 2019’s “Boldest Community Foundation” by Inside Philanthropy, EBCF is committed to ensuring that all members of our community are treated fairly, with equitable opportunity and outcomes. EBCF is supported by 600 local donors and has charitable assets under management of over $600 million.