August 26, 2026 · Civic Arts Commission
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From: Carianna Arredondo, Assistant to the City Manager; (Attachment 1) Recommendation: The Civic Arts Commission may request additional information or edits to the information, reserving an opportunity to review and take action at a later meeting.
From: Mark Salinas, Public Art Lead (Attachment 2) Recommendation: Approval of Cube Space Exhibition featuring Lena Coletto on display from October 2026 to January 2027. Presentations and Discussion Items
From: Mark Salinas, Public Art Lead (Attachment 3)
From: Commissioner Eduardo Pineda, Public Art Subcommittee Chair Page 2 of 146 Information Items and Updates
From: City Staff a) Grants Program Updates, Hilary Amnah b) Public Art Program Updates, Mark Salinas c) Civic Arts Program Updates, Carianna Arredondo Committee Updates
From: Civic Arts Subcommittees a) Grants • Dana Blecher, Chair • Lisa Bullwinkel • Cameron Woo b) Public Art • Eduardo Pineda, Chair • Jonathan Bachrach • Devi Dutta-Choudhury c) Policy Subcommittee • Lisa Bullwinkel, Chair • Dana Blecher • Cameron Woo • Audrey Truc-Dao Kramer d) Representative on Design Review Committee • Devi Dutta-Choudhury Items for Future Agendas These items are not scheduled for discussion or action at this meeting. The Commission may schedule these items to the Action Calendar of a future Commission meeting. • Requests by Commission members to add items to the next agenda Minutes for Approval Draft minutes for the Commissions consideration and approval.
From: Commission Secretary (Attachment 4) Recommendation: Approve the draft minutes of the July 22, 2026, Regular Civic Arts Commission Meeting Page 3 of 146 Commissioner Announcements Adjournment Notices Notice of Public Record Communications to Berkeley boards, commissions or committees are public record and will become part of the City’s electronic records, which are accessible through the City’s website. Please note: E-mail addresses, names, addresses, and other contact information are not required but, if included in any communication to a City board, commission, or committee, will become part of the public record. If you do not want your e-mail address or any other contact information to be made public, you may deliver communications via U.S. Postal Service or in person to the secretary of the relevant board, commission, or committee. If you do not want your contact information included in the public record, please do not include that information in your communication. Please contact the secretary to the relevant board, commission, or committee for further information. Any writings or documents provided to a majority of the commission regarding any item on this agenda will be made available for public inspection at the City Manager’s Office located at 2180 Milvia Street, 5th floor, Berkeley, CA 94704 Communication Access Information This meeting is being held in a wheelchair accessible location. To request a disability-related accommodation(s) to participate in the meeting, including auxiliary aids or services, please contact the Disability Services specialist at ada@berkeleyca.gov, (510) 981-6418 (V), or (510) 981-6347 (TDD) at least three business days before the meeting date. Attendees at public meetings are reminded that other attendees may be sensitive to various scents, whether natural or manufactured, in products and materials. Please help the City respect these needs. Video and audio recordings of the Civic Arts Commission meetings are available upon request. Please contact the Commission Secretary at carredondo@berkeleyca.gov cc: civicarts@berkeleyca.gov or 510-981-7007 to obtain a recording. Certification of public posting I hereby certify that the agenda for this meeting of the Berkeley City Commission was posted at the display case located near the walkway in front of the Maudelle Shirek Building, 2134 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, as well as on the City’s website, on August 20. 2026 Carianna Arredondo, Secretary Page 4 of 146 DRAFT C U LT U R A L PLANNING GROUP Building Creative Society C I T Y O F B E R K E L E Y Arts and Culture Sector Resiliency Plan A Framework for Sustaining Berkeley’s Creative Ecosystem Prepared for the City of Berkeley Civic Arts Program August 2026 Working Draft — Prepared for Review Page 5 of 146 City of Berkeley · Arts and Culture Sector Resiliency Plan DRAFT Table of Contents Executive Summary 3 Introduction and Background 6 Resiliency Plan for Berkeley’s Arts and Culture Sector 12 Strategy Tables 17 Near Term Summary Table (1–2 Years) 17 Mid Term Summary Table (3–5 Years) 22 Long Term Summary Table (5+ Years) 27 Veterans Memorial Building 31 Summary Review of City Arts Policies and Programs 35 Financial Health Assessment 37 Findings from Stakeholder Engagement 41 Comparative Analysis 46 Conclusion and Next Steps 51 Cultural Planning Group · City of Berkeley Civic Arts Program Page 6 of 146 Page 2 City of Berkeley · Arts and Culture Sector Resiliency Plan DRAFT E XECUTIVE SUMMARY Executive Summary 01 Berkeley has an opportunity to be a national leader in arts resiliency policy. The strategies in this plan, implemented with sustained commitment and adequate resources, can preserve and strengthen one of Berkeley’s most distinctive and valuable community assets, and demonstrate to other cities what intentional, holistic support for the arts can achieve. Berkeley's arts and culture sector is at an inflection point. A distinctive and internationally recognized ecosystem of nonprofit organizations and individual artists is showing significant signs of structural financial stress, even as it continues to generate outsized value for the community. This Resiliency Plan gives the City of Berkeley and its arts community a shared framework for responding grounded in financial analysis, extensive stakeholder engagement, and lessons drawn from peer cities, rather than the case-by-case emergency response that has characterized the City's approach to date. Why This Plan, Why Now Berkeley's vibrant arts and culture ecosystem is sustained not only by its nonprofit organizations but by individual artists and artist collectives working throughout the city. This Plan's scope — nonprofit organizational financial health, funding mechanisms, and implementation strategy — reflects the availability of comparable data (primarily IRS Form 990 filings) rather than a judgment about relative contribution or importance. Supporting individual practitioners remains a parallel priority for the City's broader cultural strategy. This plan grew out of a pattern of emergency requests for financial help from Berkeley arts and culture organizations, and a City Council with no consistent framework for responding. A May 2024 Council referral for Aurora Theatre Company was prompted by an acute financial crisis, and a January 2025 referral by Councilmember Rashi Kesarwani1 documented $8.8 million allocated to community organizations outside a competitive process. Together, these cases underscored the need for a more systematic and transparent approach. Former Councilmember Susan Wengraf2 proposed the study that led to this plan, which draws on financial analysis of IRS Form 990 data for nonprofit organizations, comparative benchmarking with six peer cities, and extensive engagement with Berkeley's arts community and City leadership. The plan arrives at a challenging moment: the City faces a structural General Fund deficit for FY27 of approximately $29 million, which has already reduced Civic Arts Program grant funds by approximately 10%. At the same time, the