Now, more than ever, it is imperative to lift up the radical imagination of Oakland’s communities of color to create new visions of a racially just world.
Moments of profound crisis can turn the world we think we know upside-down, challenge our deepest beliefs, and make us question what we thought was tolerable. Such moments can also spark new visions of how our lives, our city, our country could, and should, be better.
In this new funding round, Belonging in Oakland: A Just City Cultural Fund will provide two-year grants of $30,000-$50,000 per year and networking support to Oakland-based BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) artists/cultural practitioners who work deeply in and with their communities to co-create aspirations to build a racially just city.
Belonging in Oakland: A Just City Cultural Fund recognizes that this moment is an ideal one to ask, and listen, as Oakland artists respond to the vital question:
How might we imagine a truly racially just and equitable Oakland where all belong?
Letters of Inquiry (LOI) are being accepted through East Bay Community Foundation’s online application portal now through Monday, June 14, 2021. Grant awards will be announced by late September 2021.
The Just City Cultural Fund is inspired by a vision of cultural equity lifted up in the City of Oakland’s cultural plan, Belonging in Oakland. It is a unique partnership of Oakland’s Cultural Affairs Division, Akonadi Foundation, and East Bay Community Foundation. Major program funding is provided by the Surdna Foundation’s Radical Imagination for Racial Justice initiative, with additional funding from Akonadi Foundation.