Arts Commission approves $3.1 million in Dreamkeepers Initiative awards and amendments

Program Director Coco Duhan Kelly presented the San Francisco Arts Commission's FY24 Dreamkeepers Initiative funding recommendations and the commission voted to approve multiple motions to implement the awards.

Coco Duhan Kelly said the initiative is part of the mayor's roadmap to reinvest in San Francisco's Black and African American communities and described the review panels: "A 4-person review panel convened on Tuesday, October 10 and Wednesday, October 11," she said, and all panelists identified as Black or African American.

The full commission approved three primary funding motions: a package of 17 grants to individual artists totaling $850,000; 13 new organization grants totaling $1,250,000; and four awards for current grantee organizations totaling $1,000,000. Commissioners praised the amount and scope at several points in the discussion, calling the round "momentous" for supporting Black artists and cultural institutions.

After the award approvals, the commission approved two amendments to extend grant terms and authorize additional grant agreements to the African American Art & Culture Complex (AAACC). The first amendment extended grant term(s) for an AAACC award to 01/31/2025 and authorized entering into a grant agreement not to exceed $2,000,000. The second amendment extended mini-grant terms and authorized entering into agreements not to exceed $1,500,000. AAACC leadership provided brief public comment thanking the commission for the extensions.

All Dreamkeepers motions and amendments recorded during the meeting passed unanimously.

Next steps: staff will enter into grant agreements with awardees, finalize any negotiated terms with fiscal sponsors where applicable, and return documentation as required by commission procedures.