40th Anniversary Neighborhood Arts poster by Favianna Rodriguez

The Community Arts and Education program celebrates the importance of arts and culture in our daily lives by supporting cultural arts activities and arts education in San Francisco's diverse communities. Our program started in 1967 when a group of artists and arts activists brought a radical notion to the San Francisco Arts Commission: fund artists and arts organizations to work in neighborhood and community settings. The program was called the Neighborhood Arts Program and the total budget for the first fiscal year was $25,000, which was provided by the Arts Commission President at the time, Harold Zellerbach.

Today, the Community Arts and Education program continues to invigorate neighborhoods through innovative arts programs that support economic revitalization and community engagement. Programs include:

• Art in Storefronts temporarily places original art installations by San Francisco artists in vacant storefront windows to reinvigorate neighborhoods.
• The ARTery Project is an exciting series of art events, fairs, installations and performances taking place along Market Street between UN Plaza and 6th Street.
• Arts Education partners with the San Francisco Unified School District to provide arts access to every student every day.
• Cultural Centers serve the community by providing low-cost arts programs and rental space.
• StreetSmARTS is a partnership with the Department of Public works that teaches youth about public art and commissions mural artists to address graffiti vandalism.
• WritersCorps places professional writers in community settings to teach creative writing to youth.

Community Arts & Education Staff

Judy Nemzoff, Program Director
415-252-2596 / judy.nemzoff@sfgov.org

Judy was formerly program manager of arts and tourism for the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau. In addition, Judy is a long-time talent agent and artist manager. She co-founded and directed a business, based in San Francisco and Seattle, that represented a roster of performing artists from throughout the United States and Europe. She has worked with a diverse range of artists and arts organizations as a booking agent, artist manager and consultant, and has produced and commissioned new works for theater, dance, and music. She has served as a volunteer and board member for many local organizations.

Robynn Takayama, Program Manager
415-252-2598 / robynn.takayama@sfgov.org

Robynn is a community artist whose work has been presented through video, web, and gallery installation. She has contributed to national and local public radio programs including the Peabody-awarded documentary on Asian American history, Crossing East. In addition to sitting on the board for Freedom Archives, Robynn served on the CPB-funded Makers Quest Talent Committee, charged with finding the most imaginative producers, reporters, and sound artists and urging them to take public radio beyond its traditional airwaves. She produces an Apex Express, a weekly magazine-style radio show on KPFA featuring the voices and stories of Asians and Pacific Islanders from all corners of our community, with a team of activists, journalists, and DJs.

Cristal Fiel, Program Associate
415-252-3145 / cristal.fiel@sfgov.org

Cristal Fiel holds bachelor degrees in Sociology and Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. During her stint at Berkeley, she was Editor in Chief of the literary and arts organization, Maganda Magazine, where she discovered her calling to work in the arts field. She has served as administrative coordinator and later board member of the Asian American Women Artists Association, and has volunteered with a number of Bay Area arts and cultural organizations including the San Francisco Film Society and Manilatown Heritage Foundation. Cristal was born and raised in San Francisco and recently located to the other city by the bay, Oakland.

Arts Education Program

Tyra Fennell, Arts Education Program Manager
415-252-2597 / tyra.fennell@sfgov.org

Prior to joining us, Tyra served as the director of programs for the Humanities Council in Washington D.C. where she managed all programs including partnerships with public schools, school administrators, and community-based organizations. Tyra was the program manager for Turning the Page, a nonprofit organization that links local public schools, families, and communities to ensure students receive educational resources and high-quality public education. Tyra is also a singer and songwriter and holds a Masters in Education Administration and Policy from Howard University.

Marissa Mossberg, Arts Education Program Associate
415-252-3298 / marissa.mossberg@sfgov.org

Marissa Mossberg joins the CAE team with a background in hospitality and nonprofit management. As the program manager at the Rhode Island Hospitality Association’s Education Foundation, Marissa organized industry job fairs and networking events, in an effort to strengthen Rhode Island’s tourism industry. Marissa is also a Rhode Island School of Design trained graphic designer and has developed marketing collateral for an art installation at Intersection for the Arts. She holds a B.A. in English from the University of Rhode Island.

WritersCorps Program

Melissa Hung, Program Manager, WritersCorps
415-252-4655 / melissa.hung@sfgov.org

Melissa Hung is a writer, editor and native Texan. Prior to joining the Arts Commission, she worked as a journalist, writing stories about people, social issues, and criminal justice. In 2002, she co-founded Hyphen, an award-winning magazine about Asian American culture, and led the publication for more than five years as its editor in chief. Melissa is a graduate of Northwestern University’s creative writing and journalism programs.

Alexandra Wilder,Program Associate
415-252-2546 / alexandra.wilder@sfgov.org

Alexandra Wilder comes to WritersCorps with deep experience in literary programming, including roles as events and marketing director at Strand Book Store and as managing director of the 92nd Street Y Unterberg Poetry Center (92Y), both in New York City. While at 92Y, she directed the organization’s Writing Program, and produced and programmed a wide variety of highly successful literary events, ranging from creative writing workshops to children’s readings. Her experience in engaging diverse constituents includes substantial work with school and teen communities. Alexandra holds an MFA in Poetry from Sarah Lawrence College; has been published in journals such as Tin House, Conjunctions, and RATTLE; and was a winner of the 2009 Amy Award from Poets & Writers.

Photographers

Cole Anetsberger

A recent San Francisco transplant, Cole Anetsberger relocated in August 2012 from San Diego in hopes for something, well, better! He unearthed a love for photography while studying at the University of California, San Diego, and graduated with a BA in Fine Arts Media with an emphasis in Photography. His love for analog photography is undying, but has recently embraced the workflow benefits of shooting both digitally and through analog mediums. Cole currently works at Academy of Art University while freelancing wedding, event, documentary, portrait, and fashion photography in the San Francisco Bay Area.

J. Astra Brinkmann

Born and raised in Falls Church, Virginia, J. Astra Brinkmann moved to San Francisco four years ago to pursue illustration and music after studying journalism for three years in Orono, Maine. A series of epiphanies led her to discover the magic of analog photography, and in 2010 she began her photographic studies at the Academy of Art. Currently, she is freelancing portrait, product, interior and event services, dabbling in digital as needed. She was selected for publication in Photographer's Forum Best of High School and College Photography for 2012, and one of her photos is featured on the Flickr splash page.

Glenn Halog

The middle child in a family of five, Glenn Halog was born in Oakland, CA with a need to create. After attending Academy of Art University in San Francisco and working a couple of dead end jobs he decided to return to his first passion, photography. Though he hasn't swash buckled with pirates or climbed the highest mountain in the world he has met a lot of unique people and captured some very interesting events. A couple of years ago shooting on the streets of San Francisco, a Gypsy card reader named Rain told Glenn "Your role in life is to use technology to spread people's stories and journeys to the masses." Glenn Halog lives and actively shoots in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Supporters