Gay Poet to Oversee Oakland Cultural Affairs

Oakland officials have appointed Roberto Bedoya, a gay man with years of experience in the arts, to serve as the city's first cultural affairs manager, a position that will oversee everything from grant making to film production permits.

"Roberto is an inspiring leader who is passionate about supporting - and advocating for - local arts communities," Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said in a news release. "He is a thought leader when it comes to ensuring equity and inclusion in the arts and civic engagement through the arts at a moment when these issues are critical to Oakland."

Bedoya, who wasn't made available for comment and didn't respond to a Facebook message, starts his new post September 12. He'll oversee the city's Cultural Affairs Unit, which is housed in the Department of Economic and Workforce Development.

For nine years, he served as executive director of the Tucson Pima Arts Council in Arizona, where he oversaw grant making, policy development, cultural advocacy, and other areas.

In December, Tucson Weekly published a story about Bedoya's resignation from TPAC in which he said, "I'm really proud of [Tucson Pima Arts Council], and what it's accomplished. I'm ready to go. I'm just exhausted."

The story said his "tenure at TPAC was marked by prodigious fundraising, as well as many budget battles with the city and county. Although he lassoed some $600,000 in grants from private foundations, the annual TPAC budget went from $1.2 million when he arrived in Tucson in 2006 down to $750,000 now."

In an emailed statement to the Bay Area Reporter , Tom DeCaigny, San Francisco's gay director of cultural affairs, said he's "thrilled" for Oakland and called Bedoya "a stellar hire" and "a perfect choice for the role."

"The new cultural affairs manager position speaks volumes about Oakland's commitment to advancing arts and culture," DeCaigny stated. "Having worked closely with Roberto through the U.S. Urban Arts Federation, I have immense respect for his national leadership on advancing racial equity in the arts and his understanding of the role of the arts in community development. He is a true innovator in the field. I look forward to working closely with him in his new role to nurture and strengthen the arts throughout the region."

Oakland's cultural affairs office includes the public art program, which has more than $1 million dedicated for public art projects, as well as the cultural funding program, which provides over $900,000 in grants to support the arts.

Bedoya's staff also work on special events, film production permitting, and a walking tours program. Additionally, he'll provide leadership for new projects, including completing a cultural plan for the city, supporting cultural districts, and growing a technical assistance program to assist artists and arts organizations with capacity building.

Among other achievements, Bedoya, who's a poet, designed and implemented the nationally recognized People, Land, Arts, Culture, and Engagement (PLACE) initiative, which supports art-based civic engagement projects. He's also previously worked as the managing director and literary director at San Francisco's Intersection for the Arts.

Last year, Schaaf worked with the Housing Cabinet she'd established and convened a task force to identify strategies for better supporting the stabilization of Oakland's arts community and helping to stem the displacement of artists and arts organizations.

The task force recommended expediting the hiring of a senior-level cultural affairs manager to bolster the city's "internal capacity to support the arts," city officials said. The hiring of Bedoya is just the first in a series of actions Schaaf and City Administrator Sabrina Landreth plan to implement in order "to ensure the arts community continues to thrive in Oakland."

"Roberto is a national thought leader around arts and civic engagement, cultural equity and creative placemaking, with deep ties to the Bay Area," Landreth said in the city's news release. "We are thrilled to welcome Roberto and increase our ability to support and nurture the arts in Oakland."

Pamela Peniston, artistic director for San Francisco's Queer Cultural Center, said in an email that the news about Bedoya is "fantastic," and she hopes to see San Francisco and Oakland collaborate "on more arts initiatives."

"As the queer (especially younger) artists and audiences are forced to migrate to Oakland and the East Bay (Oakland is almost out of reach as well) because of the evictions and cost of living in SF, we need to be serving those members of our community," Peniston said.

QCC produced nine programs in Oakland for its 2016 National Queer Arts Festival, and citing surveys, Peniston said 51 percent of the group's audiences live in the East Bay.

"We would love to see Oakland venues, artists, and production companies be supported with consistent grant programs obviously and especially for queer artists," she said. "I'm hoping that Roberto Bedoya has a hand in making that happen."

In a Facebook post, Ani Rivera, executive director of San Francisco's Galeria de la Raza, called Bedoya's hiring "great news not only for Oakland but for the entire Bay Area."

Oakland District 2 City Councilman Abel Guillen, who identifies as two spirit, said in an email to the B.A.R. , "I do not know Roberto but I am happy that we finally have a cultural arts manager. Art is part and parcel of who we are as a city, so I'm glad we have someone with his qualifications to help us continue to move our city forward."