As the cost of living and doing business have skyrocketed; as the City’s support for development Downtown has expanded;  as elders, families, and people of color are displaced from the city at alarming rates; so are a cross-section of artists, arts workers, and culture bearers being driven out of the city that has fueled their creative flame. Artists, arts enterprises and non-profit arts organizations are struggling to remain here. We need to be able to say “Stayed in Oakland” not just “Made in Oakland.”  We are all challenged to keep the arts affordable and accessible to everyone.  

We envision art and culture leading community development pathways towards a healthy, equitable, diverse and vibrant city….we see steps towards this vision through community-led organizing for the Chinatown Improvement Initiative, Black Arts Movement Business District, Black Culture Zone, the Art and Garage District, and others.

WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY:

1. Join the Thunderclap campaign HERE by 3/30, 10pm
2. Share theThunderclap campaign with 5 people in your network – WE NEED YOU to help us reach more artists, local arts organizations, and ALL neighborhoods in Oakland.

WHEN – #ArtsDayOakland launches Tuesday March 21st and the Thunderclap message is released Friday, March 31, 2017 @8:45am

What is Thunderclap? - Thunderclap is the first-ever crowdspeaking platform that helps people be heard by saying something together, ALL AT ONCE. It allows a single message to be mass-shared, flash mob-style, so it rises above the noise of your social networks. More here:FAQ

A Local take on #NationalArtsAvocacyDay:

Art is not a luxury, it’s a necessity.  Art and Culture are the hallmarks of a strong and flourishing civilization.  The arts have the ability and the inherent power to create space for the reflection, reinvigoration, and revitalization of an individual, a place, a community or a nation.  The arts are an economic driver that enhances tourism, creates jobs and adds to the vibrancy and livity of public places, by creating spaces of civic engagement, and discourse.  Art should not be restricted by barriers to the means of production, nor should the public be without access to diverse, robust, quality driven art that is reflective of the communities, histories, and lived realities from which it arises.  Artisans should not be made cultural refugees as an effect of rapid development, rather artisans should be valued as being central to placemaking; not viewed as “assets” to be managed, plug and play, or inter-changeable game pieces, but rather as integral parts of communities, cities and this nation’s dream of itself.

About National Arts Advocacy Day:

On March 21st, Americans for the Arts will bring together 85 national arts organizations & over 500 grassroots arts advocates to visit their Congressmembers in D.C. to develop strong public policies investing in the creative cultural life of our cities, focusing on saving support for the National Endowment for the Arts this year.

Key Messages:

• .@LibbySchaaf I urge you to invest $3M for the Cultural Funding Program to fight displacement! #ArtsDayOak
• #IAmTheCreative & I want YOU to invest $3M in anti-displacement policies with Cultural Preservation as a tactic!  #ArtsDayOak  
• We believe Oakland needs to invest in cultural equity by funding Oakland cultural preservation and arts

Overall Frame:

Celebration of Oakland arts and culture, and the people who create them.

Some Social Media tips to increase reach & engagement:

• Stay on message using the prompts provided below
• Always use the hashtag for the day.
• You can increase reach of your post with 1 or 2 additional hashtags that relates to the local or national issues e.g #ArtsDayOakland, #NationalArtsDay. [See list of hashtags below]
• Post photos with your message -- you are more likely to get more views!
• Use shortened links if you have data/stats to back your message- include them in your post, and link the report (you can shorten links on most apps, or use bit.ly)

• Post messages that directly tag decision makers for example:  .@LibbySchaaf #IAmTheCreative & I URGE YOU to nvest $3m in anti-displacement policies with Cultural Preservation as a tactic!  #ArtsDayOak
• TWITTER: On twitter, remember to use the period symbol before tagging the decisionmaker [highlighted in example above]
• FACEBOOK/INSTAGRAM: Tag decision makers in a photo using the “Who’s in this photo?” feature and tagging their handle
• Using Instagram App allows you to post on facebook and twitter on the “SHARE” feature (you have to link your accounts first, as prompted in the “Settings” section)
• SHARE OTHER PEOPLE’S POSTS to amplify each other’s voices… tag your friends to share!

• #ArtDayOakland
• #IAmCreative

• I believe in funding for Oakland Arts because ____ #ArtsDayOak
• .@[decisionmaker] I support the Cultural Funding Program… do you? #IAmtheCreative #ArtsDayOak
• Preserving Oakland Culture also means keeping the Town affordable for artists #IAmTheCreative 

Example Post:

Twitter Handles for Decision Makers: