Cultural Districts: As a Tool for Community Self Determination

On June 25th, CA for the Arts hosted the culminating event of our inaugural Grassroots Artist Advocacy Program in San Francisco. ⁠ ⁠ Over the past nine months, five inspiring artist-advocates from Oakland and San Francisco have been developing Artist Advocacy Plans rooted in their creative practice, community knowledge, and visions for systemic change.⁠⁠ Each fellow presented their plans to implement real change benefiting artists and culture bearers across the Bay Area’s cultural landscape.⁠

GAAP is a first-of-its-kind fellowship program designed to equip artists with the tools to advocate for just and equitable policies in their communities. This pilot cohort was made possible through generous support from the Kenneth Rainin Foundation.⁠

Natalia Neira (she, her) is a cultural worker, curator, and strategist based in Huichin, Ohlone Territory (Oakland, CA). A Chilean immigrant of Mapuche, Andean, and Spanish heritage, she focuses her artistic practice on cultural revitalization projects rooted in ancestral knowledge and traditional art forms. 

Working closely with Indigenous and traditional arts cultural bearers, she creates gatherings that revitalize ancestral wisdom, lifeways, and language for well-being and collective liberation. These projects form The Caracol Collective, a framework and network that emphasizes healing ourselves to heal society and Mother Earth. With nearly a decade of experience, Natalia supports BIPOC artists and the ecosystems sustaining them across the Bay Area arts landscape. 

As the former Executive Director of La Peña Cultural Center, she became attuned to BIPOC artists' needs across the Bay (2016-2024). She also co-chaired the Berkeley Cultural Trust’s Equity & Inclusion Committee from 2019 to 2023, leading advocacy efforts that centered racial justice. 

Currently, Natalia is a Creative West Greater Bay Area Arts & Culture Coalition Fellow, where she advocates for racial and economic equity. Her fellowship project documents coalition-building practices rooted in Indigeneity and racial justice, creating frameworks and tools to share with the field.