Roberto Bedoya

About

Roberto Bedoya is the Cultural Affairs Manager for the City of Oakland where he shepherded the City's Cultural Plan. - "Belonging in Oakland: A Cultural Development Plan". Through-out his career he has consistently supported artists-centered cultural practices and advocated for expanded definitions of inclusion and belonging in cultural sector. His essays “Creative Placemaking and the Politics of Belonging and Dis-Belonging” ; “ Spatial Justice: Rasquachification, Race and the City” and “ "Poetics and Praxis of a City in Relation" has reframed the discussion on cultural policy to shed light on exclusionary practices in cultural policy decision making. He is the recipient of the United States Artist 2021 Berresford Prize given annually to a cultural practitioner who has contributed significantly to the advancement, well-being, and care of artists in society.

Agenda

Apr

Belonging and the Civic We, with Roberto Bedoya

The City of Oakland’s Cultural Affairs Manager Roberto Bedoya has been building belonging for decades, through his work in creative placemaking that expands our definitions of who belongs in the cultural and government sectors. Roberto led the implementation of “Belonging in Oakland: A Cultural Development Plan,” for the city, its first in 30 years, a roadmap to elevate the role of culture in building a just and equitable city – so that every Oaklander in every neighborhood has access to cultural amenities. Roberto’s work has been deeply invested in how belonging in and to place contributes to...

Apr

Cultural Equity & Operationalizing Belonging: Recent Efforts from Oakland

In 2018, Oakland's Cultural Affairs Division released a cultural development plan guided by the framework that, "Equity is the driving force. Culture is the Frame. Belonging is the goal." In this panel, we'll hear from artists and City staff about how arts and culture have been core to operationalizing belonging in Oakland through building resident capacity for self-governance, creating networks of care and capacity, and shaping City practice and policy to address systemic Othering. The panel will highlight some of the key initiatives that have supported this work and will identify some of the...