In this moment of increased violence and attacks (financial, legal, physical, institutional, etc) on our communities, it is crucial for our coalitions, community organizers, and leaders to connect, build trust, practice skills, and share vision together. We would love to build on the work everyone is doing to better align and define solidarity practices with each other, and to practice them!
We envision centering an agenda on collective care, trust-building, advocacy skill-building training, and practice.
Participants from larger or more “established” institutions/organizations/coalitions:
We invite you to practice solidarity by not perpetuating the extraction of resources from communities, but by centering communities most impacted by systemic oppression as leaders.
Please RSVP by Fri. July 31, 2026, midnight and note that we are inviting a maximum of 2 people from your organization / affiliation / coalition / network.
Purpose: Join other local and regional arts & culture warriors/advocates/community weavers to share and strengthen solidarity practices in this time of increased violence and budget attacks on our communities. We intend to leave with tangible ways to stay connected.
Outcomes:
Strengthen and build trust across coalitions/networks and the region.
Define and co-create shared language and understanding of advocacy and a common frame for solidarity practices and advocacy that uses arts and culture as part of larger justice efforts.
Map different cultural infrastructure assets, networks, and focus areas with each other.
Skill-building on advocacy strategies and tactics
Agenda
10am: Arrival, Meeting folks, light snacks
10:30am: Welcome | Purpose | Community Agreements
10:40am: Opening Circle + Introductions
11:10am: Co-create frame for solidarity
12:30pm - 1:30pm: Networking Lunch
1:30pm: Skill building + practice as Action
3pm: Action Items + Closing Circle
About the Coalition
The Greater Bay Area Arts Coalition (GBAC) is a regional network of artists, culture bearers, creative workers, organizers, and leaders working across public, private, nonprofit, and philanthropic sectors.
We are dedicated to advancing arts and culture advocacy through a community-driven approach that uplifts grassroots leadership, self-determination, and strategic policy engagement.
About the Planning Partners:
MixedKollective is an artist cooperative & collective working at the intersections of art, culture, and community; modeling equity, shared ownership and non-extractive frameworks for Artists - helping artists to live, work, and thrive. www.mixedkollective.com/
Vital Arts envisions a world in which groundbreaking arts and culture that are essential for the continued health and vitality of society at large are recognized and cultivated. We seek to bring this about by implementing projects to meet the needs of low income artists in the Bay Area. https://www.vitalarts.org
Peacock Rebellion We’re a queer and trans BIPOC crew of artist-activist-healers making sassy, sexy art for collective liberation. Through performances, workshops, and cultural strategy, we center healing justice, disability justice, and joy. https://peacockrebellion.org/ourstory
EastSide Arts Alliance uses arts and culture as a way to build community power and self-determination. We have been serving our neighborhood for over 20 years. www.eastsideartsalliance.org
Creative West was established in 1974 as a nonprofit U.S. Regional Arts Organization (USRAO), Creative West was founded on the belief that place matters to the creative process. Fifty years later, communities of place, practice, experience, and identity remain fundamental to our work, framing our understanding of how culture is creatively produced and collectively experienced. https://wearecreativewest.org
California for the Arts champions arts and culture as essential to vibrant California communities through statewide programming, services, and advocacy networks that foster public awareness and generate resources to cultivate an equitable and thriving arts and cultural workforce sector and creative industries. www.caforthearts.org
Scansion For over a decade, Scansion has helped some of the leading organizations, progressive foundations and companies, and disruptive start-ups meet their most strategic challenges. Based in San Francisco, California, we've worked with clients all over the country and the world. www.scansion.com
