A Mutual Aid-based funding and cohort development program for Bay Area artists, arts workers, and culture bearers—Forged out of deep, sustained conversation among arts leaders, the program supports those hardest hit by COVID-19: Black, Indigenous and People of Color, LGBTQIA+ people, people with disabilities, and other historically under-resourced communities.
The program was developed out of deep, sustained conversation among artists, arts workers and grantmakers over the course of 10 months (June 2020–April 2021) with the primary goal of providing structure and funding to historically under-resourced communities (including Black, Indigenous and People of Color, LGBTQIA+ people, and people with disabilities).
Individuals participating in these conversations (right) became members of the advisory circle for our beta round and continue to guide the initiative.
Using a distributed leadership and funding model (below), the program provides grassroots leaders and their collaborators with monetary stipends to meet independently, attend cross-circle gatherings, receive leadership development training (provided by EAP), and utilize $10,000 in flexible funding to implement their plans.
This philanthropic model was created to support artists and arts workers amidst the COVID pandemic. We believe, however, that AAC has the ability to shift how funders engage with and support individual artists. By building upon our established relationships, we can empower historically disadvantaged communities to collaboratively discuss and address their own issues, reaching and supporting artist-initiated projects that fall outside of traditional grant programs and funding priorities.
In its 8-month beta round (June 2021 – January 2022) AAC distributed $100,000 to five circles of 22 diverse artists and arts workers addressing self-identified issues within their own communities. Below are the individual stories of the six artists leading circles in this beta round.
San Francisco, CA (September 18, 2024) – The Artists’ Adaptability Circles (AAC) is a community-driven granting and leadership development program designed to put Bay Area artists, culture bearers and arts workers to work. Following two previous rounds, the initiative is now thrilled to announce its 2024–2025 cohort of five new Bay Area artist circles, including several returning individual artists…
Read the full Press Release here.
Cohort, circle, and individual promotional images can be accessed here.
A heartfelt Thank You to our funders and financial partners for making this program possible!
Group photo of AAC Cohort II, taken at AAC Orientation in September 2024.
AAC is open to new partners looking to join this program and movement. If you are interested in…
1. Providing funding for our expanded 2024–2025 round
(Check out our Cohort I Funder Prospectus for more information)
2. Becoming an artist Mentor/Host
Email Rhiannon Evans MacFadyen at rhiannon@emergingsf.org, and we’d be happy to share more information about these exciting opportunities.
The program is overseen by a shared-model advisory team of arts leaders from our partner organizations and funders.
See below for each cohort’s Advisors Circle
Amber Lee | Program Assistant
amber@emergingsf.org
Rhiannon Evans MacFadyen | Program Lead & Facilitator
rhiannon@emergingsf.org
Reyna Brown | Co-Facilitator
reynabrown@emergingsf.org
The 2024/2025 Round of AAC runs from January 2024 to December 2025, phased as follows:
Amber Lee (they/she)
Program Assistant, Emerging Arts Professionals San Francisco Bay Area
Alyssarhaye Graciano (she/her)
Visual Arts Curator at Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana (MACLA)
Chris Evans (she/her)
Black Women’s Health Reparations Project, AAC Cohort I Alumni
Esailama G. Artry-Diouf, Ph.D. (she/her)
Program Officer, Arts and Culture, San Francisco Foundation
Faiza Bukhari (she/her)
Program Lead, Racial Justice and Arts Build Resilient Communities, Walter & Elise Haas Fund
Lisa Burger (she/her)
Executive Director, Independent Arts & Media
Margot Melcon (she/her)
Program Officer, Arts & Culture, Zellerbach Family Foundation
Michelle Lin (they/she)
Artist Growth Program Director, ARTogether
Reyna Brown (she/they)
Teaching Artist, Co-Director of Emerging Arts Professionals San Francisco Bay Area (EAP)
Rhiannon Evans MacFadyen (they/them)
Artist, Curator, Co-Director of Emerging Arts Professionals San Francisco Bay Area (EAP), Director of Black & White Projects
In our first full iteration of the program (2022–2023), we supported three new circles, one returning circle, and two mentor/leads circles of artists working on specific issues:
A fully-detailed narrative report, broken up by cycle phase, is also available upon request
The program is overseen by an advisory team of arts leaders who began meeting in July 2020 and stayed connected to the project throughout its duration as its funders, partners, administrators, and advisors. This group includes:
Alyssarhaye Graciano (she/her)
Visual Arts Curator at Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana (MACLA)
Carolina Quintanilla (she/her)
Gallery Director, SOMArts Cultural Center
Esailama G. Artry-Diouf, Ph.D. (she/her)
Program Officer, Arts and Culture, San Francisco Foundation
Faiza Bukhari (she/her)
Program Lead, Racial Justice and Arts Build Resilient Communities, Walter & Elise Haas Fund
Kevin Seaman (they/them)
Artist & Artistic Director, Diamond Wave
Margot Melcon (she/her)
Program Officer, Arts & Culture, Zellerbach Family Foundation
Maryela Perez (she/her)
Curator & Program Manager, MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana
Rhiannon Evans MacFadyen (they/them)
Artist, Curator, & Director, Emerging Arts Professionals San Francisco Bay Area (EAP)
Stephan McLeroy (he/him)
Writer & Managing Director, Diamond Wave
Tara Dalbo (she/her)
Deputy Director, La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley
Elizabeth Jiménez Montelongo (Santa Clara), Lead
Nominated by MACLA
Tossie Long (San Francisco), Lead
Nominated by AAC alum Chris Evans
Xtal Azul (Alameda), Lead
Nominated by AAC alum Tricia Rainwater/Alma Leppla
Chris Evans (Alameda), Lead
Keisha Turner (Alameda)
Sheila Russell (Alameda)
Tobe Melora Correal (Alameda)
Yvette Aldama (Alameda)
Nominated by EAP
Alma Leppla (San Francisco) & Tricia Rainwater (San Francisco), Co-Leads
Nominated by SOMArts
Hector Lugo (Alameda), Lead
Nominated by La Peña
In our beta iteration of the program (2021), we supported five circles of artists working on specific issues:
Alma Leppla & Tricia Rainwater-Tutwiler, Co-Leads
Hector Lugo, Lead
Chris Evans, Lead
Thomas Aguilar, Lead
Zackary Forcum, Lead
TEAM
Zackary Forcum (Contra Costa)
Aiano Nakagawa (Alameda)
Heather Stockton (Alameda)
Joslynn Mathis-Reed (Alameda)
Stephanie Hewett (Alameda)
The program is overseen by an advisory team of arts leaders who began meeting in July 2020 and will stay connected to the project throughout its duration as its funders, partners, administrators, and advisors. This group includes:
Esailama G. Artry-Diouf, Ph.D. (she/her)
Program Officer, Arts and Culture, San Francisco Foundation
Armando Castellano (he/him)
Artist & Trustee, Castellano Family Foundation
Tara Dalbo (she/her)
Deputy Director, La Peña Cultural Center, Berkeley
Rhiannon Evans MacFadyen (she/they)
Artist, Curator, & Director, Emerging Arts Professionals San Francisco Bay Area (EAP)
Anjee Helstrup-Alvarez (she/her)
Executive Director, MACLA/Movimiento de Arte y Cultura Latino Americana
Maria Jenson (she/her)
Creative & Executive Director, SOMArts Cultural Center
Frances Phillips (she/her)
Program Director of Arts and the Creative Work Fund, Walter & Elise Haas Fund
Kevin Seaman (they/them)
Artist & Artistic Director, Diamond Wave
Stephan McLeroy (he/him)
Writer & Managing Director, Diamond Wave
