A cohort of five artist advocates will receive $12,000 each to participate in a nine-month curriculum.

Contact:

Eduardo Robles
Director of Communications
eduardo@caforthearts.org

For Immediate Release

September 24, 2025

California for the Arts (CA for the Arts) is proud to announce the five members of the second Grassroots Artists Advocacy Program (GAAP) cohort. Building on the success of the nation's first artist advocacy fellowship, launched in 2024, GAAP Cohort 2 brings together diverse San Francisco and Oakland artists and culture bearers who are ready to transform their creative storytelling into strategic action for systemic change.

This year's cohort demonstrates a powerful evolution in artist advocacy, with fellows united by their commitment to translating deep cultural work—from ancestral memory preservation to reparations-focused healing—into concrete policy solutions that support artists of color, immigrants, caregivers, and marginalized communities. “What truly sets this cohort apart, and what I find incredibly inspiring, is the inherent advocacy work they've already been engaged in through their artistic practices,” stated Julie Baker, CEO of CA for the Arts. “They've used their creativity as a powerful platform to speak out and drive change, and now, they are poised and ready to develop the sophisticated strategic tools necessary to amplify that impact at the systems level. This is about equipping them to influence policy, engage with decision-makers, and truly embed their artistic vision into the fabric of societal change.”

The GAAP Fellows will engage in a nine-month curriculum developed with knowledge designer Raquel Vigil, focusing on developing advocacy plans that generate lasting change for artists and cultural bearers. Members will learn the foundations of effective advocacy, build relationships with policymakers, and engage at the local, state, and federal levels. The cohort will meet regularly as a community of practice, with participants also attending the CA Arts & Culture Summit and Arts Advocacy Day in Sacramento.

This second cohort reflects a shared recognition that artists possess unique insights into community needs and systemic barriers, but often lack access to the strategic advocacy tools necessary to influence policy. "I've spent years honoring ancestral memory and cultural resilience through performance," said incoming fellow Joti Singh. "I'm ready to more fully step into my role as an advocate who not only creates art that moves people emotionally, but also mobilizes structures, funding, and policy to support artists of color, immigrants, and caregivers."

“My work as a dance performer, cultural organizer, and arts leader has shown me both the power of creative communities and the barriers we face in advocacy,” stated fellow Ronice “Ro” Stratton. “GAAP offers the knowledge, relationships, and strategy I need to bridge those gaps: to strengthen collective advocacy, translate advocacy plans into artist-friendly language, and build sustainable pathways for cultural workers to thrive.” Fellow Eric Avery echoed this sentiment, "As an artist focused on reparations and collective healing, I'm constantly striving to position my creative practice to allow for impacts in the real world." This bridge between artistic practice and policy advocacy represents a growing movement of artists who refuse to separate their creative work from advocacy organizing.

The program's success has sparked interest beyond the Bay Area, with CA for the Arts actively seeking funding to expand GAAP to other regions in California. GAAP represents a crucial breakthrough for arts advocacy at a time when some larger foundations are pulling back from this work. While some major funders have reduced support for arts advocacy initiatives, the Kenneth Rainin Foundation has doubled down on this innovative approach that centers artists as primary advocates for their own communities." As a former funder, I've seen how traditional arts philanthropy often talks about artists rather than empowering them to advocate for themselves," said Ted Russell, Program Consultant Lead. "GAAP fundamentally shifts that dynamic by investing directly in artists' capacity to engage in democratic processes and shape the policies that affect their lives. We're not just funding individual projects—we're building civic infrastructure that strengthens community-driven arts advocacy and democratic participation. This model demonstrates how strategic philanthropy can support grassroots organizing that builds long-term power for artists to create systemic change on their own behalf."

The 2025 GAAP Fellows are:

Eric Avery (they/he) is a Black, queer, working-class interdisciplinary artist and cultural organizer based in West Oakland with over nineteen years of experience in theatre, interactive performance, and community-based projects. Avery was born and raised on the Eastside of Topeka, Kansas, a place shaped by redlining, disinvestment, and environmental harm. They earned a Bachelor's degree in Theatre & Film from the University of Kansas and an MFA in Theatre Arts from Towson University. Since 2018 Avery has focused on creating projects using a reparations framework that centers healing and historical repair. They have independently created over 25 original productions and led organizing projects concerning food sovereignty, environmental justice, reparations, clean energy, and cooperative development. Their work has received recognition from the Bessie Awards, Elliot Norton Awards, and Lavender Magazine, and support from the MAP Fund, Zellerbach Family Foundation, and Kenneth Rainin Foundation.

Guillermo "Yiyo" Ornelas is a Bay Area-based performer, teaching artist, grant writer, and advocate for arts education and cultural equity. A queer, first-generation Mexican-American, Yiyo has dedicated their career to empowering youth, families, and artists through creative expression and structural support. They have worked with Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, San Francisco Youth Theatre, and the Teatro Project, and served as Vice-Chair of the Arts Education Alliance of the Bay Area. They also received SFAC support for Fantasmitas: Cinco Sueños Regresando al Sur, which premiered nationally in 2024. Alongside advocacy, Yiyo performs with Magic Theatre (The Travelers, Dirty White Teslas Make Me Sad), Los Angeles Theatre Company, Brava Theatre, and dances with Afro-Peruvian ensemble Jaranón y Bochinche. They hold a B.A. in Sociology and Theatre & Performance Studies from UC Berkeley, where they earned the Mark Goodson Award for Distinguished Artistic Talent.

Joti Singh is a Punjabi-American choreographer, cultural organizer, and educator whose work lives at the intersections of tradition, resistance, and community. She is the Co-Artistic Director of Duniya Dance and Drum Company, which she co-leads with her partner, Guinean musician Bongo Sidibe. Joti’s choreography draws from Bhangra, Punjabi folk traditions and West African dance from Guinea, using these forms as vessels of memory, protest, and belonging. Her work uplifts South Asian radical histories and builds solidarity across diasporas, particularly between South Asian and Black communities. Joti’s choreography includes "Half and Halves" about Punjabi-Mexican farmworker histories and "Ghadar Geet: Blood and Ink," inspired by her great-grandfather's leadership in the anti-colonial Ghadar Party. Joti’s work has been supported by the Creative Work Fund, California Arts Council, San Francisco Arts Commission, and the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, and she is the 2024 recipient of the Gerbode Special Award in Dance and the 2025 New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) National Dance Project grant. She founded the World Dance Program at Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts and continues to teach widely. A mother of two, Joti’s practice is rooted in cultural advocacy, storytelling, and creating spaces of joy, resistance, and liberation.

Maddy Clifford is a writer, musician, and arts leader with deep roots in Oakland. For over a decade, she worked as a teaching artist across the West Coast. This allowed her to share her curriculum on college campuses, in community centers, and even inside youth detention facilities. She believes in the power of creative writing, performance, and other artistic disciplines to boost emotional intelligence and literacy rates—two essentials for building an equitable society. Maddy previously served as Cultural Strategist in Government for the City of Oakland and was part of Intersection for the Arts’ THRIVE cohort of BIPOC arts leaders. As an arts-worker, she’s done everything from composing the score for Flyaway Productions’ aerial dance piece Apparatus of Repair, to producing a hip-hop album about climate change (downCHANTS), to helping launch a Black feminist podcast called What’s Pimpin’? Maddy’s writing has appeared in KQED Arts, Hammer & Hope, and Teen Vogue. She’s been featured on Last Week Tonight and collaborated with More Perfect Union.

Ronice "Ro" Stratton (she/they) is the Executive Director of Oakland Art Murmur, where they advance public access to the East Bay’s visual arts by leading initiatives that amplify local artists, expand equity programs for emerging artists, and produce citywide events such as East Bay Open Studios and Oakland Style Week. Ronice is also a dance artist and cultural organizer. With Dancing Earth, Ronice performs and teaches at the intersection of dance, ecology, and cultural resilience, and with Diana Lara Projects, they collaborate in international residencies and performances exploring Honduran ancestry and Indigenous resistance. Ronice is a co-founder of RECLAIM, a dance gathering for BIPOC and/or Queer communities. RECLAIM creates intentional spaces where dance, rest, and solidarity become tools for liberation and collective care. Through these roles, Ronice is dedicated to cultivating inclusive spaces where creativity drives belonging, justice, and collective transformation.

The five GAAP Fellows were selected through an open application process, with a CA for the Arts review panel prioritizing cohort diversity, representation of San Francisco and Oakland communities, and collective impact potential for policy change and advocacy.

GAAP continues to be supported by a two-year grant from the Kenneth Rainin Foundation.

About California for the Arts

CA for the Arts is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary advocacy service organization focused on building resources and public awareness of the value and impact of arts, culture, and creativity across California