Meet the 15 artists and groups receiving $275,000 through the East Bay Fund for Artists.
East Bay Community Foundation (EBCF) has this year awarded $275,000 to 15 East Bay artists and groups through the East Bay Fund for Artists (EBFA), uplifting a strong and diverse cohort of local individuals and organizations.
All works supported by the East Bay Fund for Artists highlight narratives of cultural identity, resistance, healing, and belonging, centering the histories and futures of BIPOC communities in the East Bay.
“Artists in the East Bay are doing essential cultural and community work, yet they remain among the most underfunded contributors to our region’s vitality,” said Debrah Giles, Senior Program Director. “Through the East Bay Fund for Artists, we’re investing in creatives who are deeply rooted in their communities, ensuring they have the resources to tell stories, demand change, and build collective power.”
Funding will support visual arts, dance, music, film, and interdisciplinary projects across Alameda and Contra Costa counties. With this support, artists are able to generate new works while imagining new landscapes that bring East Bay communities together.
Ariana Proehl, an EBFA awardee, is creating “Art and Everyday People: The Story of the Betti Ono Foundation.” The film follows visionary curator Anyka Howard, who created the original Betti Ono gallery to “smash the box of your typical art gallery experience” and follow in the footsteps of Oakland’s Black Panther Party and the Black Arts Movement.
“When community members experience [the documentary], I hope they are reminded of our power to radically imagine and create the spaces we want to see and experience — and to fight for them,” Proehl said. “I hope they feel motivated to turn an idea or a dream into a reality. And I hope the film underlines the importance of unapologetically championing the art and lives of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists, especially in these times.”
EastSide Arts Alliance will also receive funding for a 14ft tall by 7ft wide mural by artist Xochitl Nevel Guerrero, titled “Corn Goddess.” Guerrero is a legacy artist of over 50 years with deep roots in Oakland and a lifelong commitment to community arts, education, and mentoring generations of artists.
“Through her murals and paintings, [Guerrero] invites audiences into her visions and dreams, exploring the entanglements of ancestral life and community life, while expressing modalities of healing and transformation,” according to EastSide Arts Alliance. “This exhibition will mark the first major survey of her practice, spanning works from the 1960s to the present, and will serve as a testament to her lasting artistic and cultural impact.”
Read the full list of Grantees
- Amara Tabor-Smith/Dancers’ Group, in commissioning of “(May There Be) Good Atmosphere Between Us: The Parables of Now”
- Ariana Proehl + Art and Everyday People/Betti Ono Foundation, in commissioning of “Art and Everyday People: The Story of the Betti Ono Foundation”
- Bay Area Independent Chinese Dancers/Shawl Anderson Dance Center, in commissioning of “What Makes Us Great: The Hajj of Syed Muhammad Shamsuddin Al Bukhairi (Admiral Zheng He)”
- Brotherhood of Elders, in commissioning of “Real Talk About the Town”
- Civic Design Studio/Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, in commisioning of “PROPA”
- DANCE ELIXIR, in commissioning of “Happy Days Finale”
- Dimensions Dance Theater Inc, in commissioning of “Healing to Joy III”
- EastSide Arts Alliance, in commissioning of “Xochitl Nevel Guerrero: Corn Goddess”
- Living Jazz, in commissioning of “Tribute to Dr Martin Luther King Jr”
- NAMI Contra Costa, in commissioning of “Healing Through Art at the Hub”
- Priyanka Suryaneni/Filmmakers Collaborative SF, in commissioning of “Inkilab (Revolution)”
- Richmond Art Center, in commission of “Tomorrow Stories”
- Sheilby Macena/Oakland Public Education Center, in commissioning of “Hold Me Tender”
- Timothy B/Bay Area Mural Program, in commissioning of “We The People!”
- Walter Hood and Sarita Flor-De Schreiber, in commissioning of “Indigenous Voices: Home, Land, and Language”
EBFA is administered through a multi-step process. Following an open call for applications, submissions are reviewed by a panel with deep knowledge of 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. If you are interested in funding the next round of grants for the arts, please contact philanthropy@eastbaycf.org.
ABOUT EAST BAY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
Founded in 1928, and supported by over 400 local donors, the 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.
Photo Credit: John Hefti, Oakland Ballet Company Dancers
