Big Day of Giving is May 6

The Big Day of Giving is this Thursday, May 6! There are over 100 arts and culture non-profit organizations participating this year; see the full list here. Already know which organizations you want to support? You can make donations in advance! Every gift, no matter the amount, will make a difference. However you give, be proud that you are part of the movement that has raised more than $52 million for nearly 700 local nonprofits since its inception.


"California Cathedral" installed at SAFE Credit Union Convention & Performing Arts District

Sacramento native, Kimberly Garza (Atlas Lab Inc.), debuts California Cathedral a sculpture commissioned by the City of Sacramento, located at the corner of K and 15th Streets, as part of the SAFE Credit Union Convention & Performing Arts District.
California Cathedral is a homage to the forests of California and the awareness of the loss in California’s forest landscape. In the last decade, 147 million trees have died, significantly altering the landscape, and increasing fire risk for a large portion of California.

The public artwork used salvaged wood from Ponderosa Pine, Incense Cedar, Engelmann spruce, and Douglas Fir trees. The declining status of these four indicator trees are representative of the overall condition of the ecosystem. Their wood has been milled down to trapezoidal profiles, cladding a 25’ tall steel frame made up of 10’ diameter horizontal steel rings. From the exterior the viewer can walk around an undulating spiral that moves with your point of prospectus and from the interior, standing in the center underneath the spiral of wood your gaze is sent upward and soring to the sky.

“Visitors are encouraged to view the sculpture’s interior. Looking upwards, a circle of wood planks frames a view of the sky, mimicking the forced perspective created in a forest of soaring trees. The sculpture provides a space for contemplation and reflection of habitat loss, a break from the adjacent urban scene, a place to reconnect to California’s changing landscape,” said Kimberly Garza.
A Message from Sacramento Film Commissioner, Jennifer West

As I reflect on this last year of working through a pandemic, I am truly grateful to our film community. Many of you have reached out to offer your guidance, help and support. Together, we are arriving towards the end of this pandemic stronger and more focused on creating a better Sacramento. As we move from Purple to Red and soon to Orange, I want to remind everyone to stay diligent with COVID safety precautions on set. Now is not the time to let your guard down. As well, production is picking up so please register to Get Listed in our website data base so staffing these projects is easier for production. Many of you continue to work on commercials, some are on a feature film, a few are working hard on a fast-paced reality TV series, students are completing their senior films, and still others are working hard to complete A Place Called Sacramento that was pushed last year. I continue to receive inquiries for projects hoping to film in Sacramento as travel to other states is not ideal. So be ready with your A-game, do not take work above your expertise, keep that positive Sacramento attitude, and be ready to show filmmakers that Sacramento is the BEST place to film!


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Race and Cultural Equity Highlights & Resources

Un/Equal Freedoms: Expressions for Social Justice

Join Sacramento State's Center on Race, Immigration, & Social Justice for the virtual launch party on May 13, at 7pm. The artworks in this exhibition reckon with the unequal freedoms embedded in our social structures. These pieces were made by professional and emerging artists, individuals and groups, students, and community members. Viewed as a group, these works offer artistic expressions for social justice, laying bare these unequal freedoms, including marginalized voices, representing forward action, and ultimately offering a vision for an improved society with greater equality and freedom for all. 

"When white people fail to have the courage to talk about race, the default racial context for conversations is whiteness. BIPOCs’ lived experience of racism continues to be invisible and suppressed."
 
"Allies, which includes all of us, but especially white colleagues, thank you for giving Black, Indigenous, AAPI, Latinx, disabled people, neurodiverse people, LGBTQIA+ time and space to rest. You do this by being loud and vocal when you see injustice and inequity to save us from having to do it ourselves. You do this by amplifying our messages, letting us vent without judgement, and “collecting” your people when they’re being ridiculous. You do this by not expecting the people most affected by injustice to jump into every conversation, and by understanding that just because we’re silent on something doesn’t mean we don’t care."

"First things first, “allyship” frames our work as a solo act, when this is about joining a movement. Remember, we are joining a long Black-led movement striving for Black Liberation. This is why we are here. To paraphrase author Ibram Kendi: If you are only here because of guilt, once you do something to relieve that guilt are you done? We need to frame our work here as being in solidarity with a larger movement."
Opportunities & Resources

The Media Wall open call for proposals (RFP) is part of the Public Art CA public art program, a contemporary collection of artworks commissioned for the California Natural Resources Headquarters and the California Health and Human Services building in downtown Sacramento.

The Native Americans in Entertainment COVID-19 Relief Fund will grant eligible Native American writers, directors, actors and all above the line and below the line workers in the entertainment industry who have experienced loss of employment due to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Grants of $2,000 will be awarded until the program funds have been depleted. The objective of this program is to provide economic relief for American Indians, Alaskan Natives and Native Hawaiians impacted by COVID-19 and to provide support for additional unanticipated expenses resulting from the pandemic. Grant applicants may not apply more than once.

The Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant supports emerging and established writers who write about contemporary visual art. Ranging from $15,000 to $50,000 in three categories—articles, books, and short-form writing—the grants support projects addressing both general and specialized art audiences, from short reviews for magazines and newspapers to in-depth scholarly studies. 

Artist Rescue Trust (A.R.T.) exists is to provide relief funding to musicians and artists whose ability to perform, tour and earn a living has been negatively affected by COVID-19. 

NALAC will distribute $2,500 grants to Latinx artists and cultural workers and $5,000 grants to Latinx arts organizations facing critical financial emergencies due to the impact of COVID-19. Cycle 3 applicants need to reside in one of the following states or territories: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington.
Finally, May is a great month to visit our art installation at Sojourner Truth Park on Gloria Drive in Sacramento. "Living Quilt for Sojourner Truth," a work by Jane Ingram Allen, is in full bloom with red and gold poppies, purple sweet peas, and other native flowers forming a natural quilt on a bed woven from mulberry canes and grapevines. This work was created as part of our Sacramento Artist-in-Residence programming, bringing visual and performing arts to the neighborhoods of Sacramento. 

To learn more and see more photos, visit Jane's website.