Posts

Posted on

Nightlife Fund Proposed

As reported on SFGATE and NBC Bay Area, Supervisor Matt Haney has proposed creating a recovery fund to save ‘the heart and soul of S.F.’ —  its nightlife.

According to Haney, the San Francisco Music and Entertainment Venue Recovery Fund is desperately needed as many of the businesses are facing permanent closure as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.

“What this pandemic has done to our economy and our way of life has been nothing short of a nightmare, and for our city’s venues, there has been no reprieve. They were the first to close and will likely be the among the last to reopen,” Haney said in statement.

Matt Haney, SF District 6 Supervisor

“When we talk about the heart and soul of San Francisco, many of us think of our city’s venues,” Haney said. “The many shows we’ve seen and the bands and artists and music that have all come out of San Francisco, they inspire us and bring us together. These spaces are a reflection of who we are and what we love, and they are in danger of disappearing.”

A recent report from the city controller’s office revealed nightlife businesses generate $7.2 billion for the local economy and create more than 63,000 jobs, which in turn generates some $80 million annually in payroll and sales taxes for the city.

Haney’s legislation is set to be heard at a Board of Supervisors committee in January, 2021.

 

Posted on

Historical Society Celebrates Queer Culture

The GLBT Historical Society has announced a new program series for 2021:  the “Queer Culture Club,” a monthly series on the second Thursday of each month that focuses on LGBTQ people who are defining the queer culture of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Terry Bestwick

These programs feature GLBT Historical Society executive director Terry Beswick as he interviews queer culture-makers, including authors, playwrights, historians, activists, artists and archivists, to learn about their work, process, inspirations, hopes and dreams.
Mark Chester
In this first installment, legendary San Francisco gay “radical sex” photographer Mark I. Chester will discuss his forthcoming new book of contemporary photography, “Street Sex Photos”(2021).

The event will take place online, on Thursday, January 14, 2021 from 7:00 to 7:30 pm. It is free, with a suggested donation of $5.00. After you register, you will receive a confirmation email with a link and instructions on how to join the Zoom webinar as an attendee. The event will also be livestreamed on Facebook and then archived on YouTube.

For full information on the event, visit the event page on  Facebook or on the GLBT Historical Society website.

Registration and tickets are here.

Posted on

Arts Commission Seeks Panelists

The San Francisco Arts Commission is seeking individuals with expertise in the arts and culture sector to participate in the 2021-2022 peer review grant panels. This is a paid opportunity.
 

They are looking for applicants who:

  • Have a deep knowledge about the arts, cultural equity, promising practices for nonprofits, facility and capital needs.
     
  • Are practicing artists, cultural workers, and/or arts administrators who have experience in advancing cultural and racial equity.
     
  • Have an interest in taking a behind-the-scenes look at the grant-making process.
     
  • Represent San Francisco’s demographics and the specific 2020 applicant pool in terms of race/ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ and differently-abled representations.

Apply to be a Panelist

Posted on

Focus Groups Continue

The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District has been gathering input from all corners of our community, to help us to create our District’s Cultural History, Housing and Economic Sustainability Strategies (CHHESS) report, which will guide our organization’s efforts — and help shape San Francisco city policy and priorities — for the next 3 to 5 years.

We are doing this through a variety of methodologies, including individual interviews, a major Town Hall event, and a series of  Zoom-based “Focus Groups”, each one targeting either a specific area of concern or a specific demographic group.  In this way we can get honest input from a diverse, varied and representative set of people, even if some individual focus groups are not, in themselves, socially or culturally diverse.

Here is a list of some of these events, past and upcoming:

  • Arts and Culture Focus Group, 7/20/2020
  • Economic Vitality Focus Group 11/30/2020
  • Sex Workers’ Focus Group, 8/13/2020
  • Town Hall, 8/25/2020
  • BIPOC Focus Group, 9/17/2020
  • Transgender Focus Group 10/6/2020
  • Women’s Focus Group, 10/15/2020

    Upcoming

  • Disabled Persons’ Focus Group:  Monday, November 9, from 6 to 8 pm: Register/attend here.
  • Tenant / Land Use Focus Group: Tuesday, November 17, from 6 to 8 pm,  Register/attend here.
  • Leather Folks’ Focus Group: Thursday, November 19, from 6 to 8 pm: Register/attend here.
  • Kinky Folks’ Focus Group: Tuesday, December 1, from 6 to 8 pm: Register/attend here. 

If you have not participated in one of our Focus Groups yet, we want to hear from you. 

Please select a group and register or attend using the links above.   (If you register in advance, we’ll send you a confirmation email.  If you click on the link just before or during the meeting, registration will take you directly into the meeting.  Registration is needed to discourage “zoom-bombing” by intruders.)

Focus Groups are recorded for our internal use only:  you are encouraged to keep your camera off and/or use a different display name if you wish greater anonymity.

If you can’t attend any of these dates, there is a Google Form you can use to provide similar input, here.

The CHHESS Report we write will go to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors for their approval; once approved, it will be used to guide and direct public policy for our neighborhood, in everything from art installations to zoning laws.  The Focus Group process will also help the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District to set its own priorities for programming, spending, and public advocacy.

Please let us hear your voice.