After many years in a career dedicated to racial justice, through community activism, arts administration, and nonprofit leadership, I now find myself in the midst of a hot topic of the day — Racial Equity in Philanthropy. And it’s about time!

Traditional art draws from ceremony, celebration, and community. These are important for passing on the cultural values in our ethnic communities from generation to generation. The richness of our neighborhoods is the displaying and sharing of the traditional arts in the community.

Storytellers, for instance, commit feats of valor too. Take the Bay Area film festival, production company, and film collective BraveMaker. “At our heart,” says Founder and Executive Director Tony Gapastione, “we really exist to elevate brave stories for justice, diversity, and inclusion.” He leans forward, elbows on knees, revealing a lens shutter tattooed on one forearm. “[We] talk about things that we know in culture are necessary to talk about… Let’s get better at having hard conversations!”

How do we care for our loved ones well? This question, simple in theory, isn’t always so straightforward. A group of San Jose State University students explore this concept in their story Felt Love, a 2D and stop motion animated short film. In Felt Love, a mom/seamstress finds her son peeking his head through her sewing room doorway, hopeful of story time, and must figure out how to balance work and family. It’s a straightforward film, but it’s sure to strike a chord — especially considering current events. Moms and dads attempting to work from home during the pandemic will feel a pang of sympathy for this mother and her internal battle as she’s torn between spending quality time with her family and providing for them.

Chuck Palahniuk was an honored guest of Cinequest Film Festival 23 as a Maverick Award recipient, earning the award for his unique outsider voice that continues to have an impact on mainstream culture. In addition to receiving a Maverick Award, Palahniuk attended the festival in support of a screening of the short film “Romance,” written and directed by Andy Mingo and based on Palahniuk’s short story of the same name.

So much of makers’ making takes place outside of the public eye, the effort is embedded deeply and meaningfully in their products, but is perhaps not readily apparent to the naked eye. There is a particular joy that comes from encountering a maker like Allysarhaye Graciano of BlackSheepMade, who can often be found during events crocheting or hand-knitting something on the spot for a customer, such as one of her incredibly popular pet beds, one-of-a-kind rugs, or elegant plant hangers.

In this shelter-in-place season, arts organizations and creatives have faced new hurtles in engaging audiences, donors, and artists. But what better way of overcoming the odds than with a little creative problem solving? Navigating Communications & Engagement for the Arts, a three-week series created by SVCreates, San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs, and genArts Silicon Valley, supports the arts community by sharing strategies employed by a variety of sectors. This is the first of three classes held on October 20th.

May Yam, founder and CEO of My Studios and the film and VR department manager for Cinequest, is bridging the wonders of storytelling and the experience of living them first-hand. In the months leading up to Cinequest, Yam and her team went through the festival submissions and created a program ready for participants to interact with.