Fernando Pujals & Rachel Osajima- How their using the Arts for Economic & Community Development

"So of course, the pandemic was a struggle for all of us, and so we all know the arts organizations are the first to close and last open, especially the performing arts are really still struggling" - Rachel OsajimaThis episode is the long form of our one-on-one interview with Fernando Pujals, the Deputy Director of the Mid-Market Business Association & Foundation and a great deep dive into how he and his team our supporting artists, arts organizations and leveraging the power of the arts to help bring back the Mid-Market neighborhood in our post pandemic world. As part of our great roving reporter team of Isa Nakazawa and Eric Estrada at the Arts For A Better Bay Area State of The Arts Summit; this episode includes an interview with Rachel Osajima who serves as the Executive Director of the Alameda County Arts Commission, which is a division of the County of Alameda. Rachel provides us with some wonderful insights into how a funder has continued to support artists and arts organizations through the pandemic and in the post pandemic marketplace.To find out more information about our guests and their respective organization’s programs, and services, how to volunteer and make a donation please visit our episode landing page with links to resources for the arts and culture sector. And if you have been enjoying the show please leave us a rating and review on the podcast platform of your choiceWe welcome your participation in our next virtual and live in-person community dialogue event. You can also watch this episode and please Sign Up for our Newsletter to stay up to date on future episodes and to participate in our next live show. We would love to hear from you with feedback and show ideas, so send us an email to [email protected] consider donating to Voices of the Community - Voices of the Community is fiscally sponsored by Intersection for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, that allows us to offer you tax deductions for your contributions. Please consider making a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. 🎧Explore Our Award-Winning Special SeriesIf you enjoyed this episode, dive deeper into our 4-part legacy of impact:Where Art Meets Impact: How creativity drives systemic change. Season 1 and Season 2From Bankruptcy to Reinvention: The story of Stockton’s resilience. COVID-19’s Impact Series: Navigating the pandemic's effect on our community.Making the Invisible Visible: Discover the untold stories of finding home.