December 16, 2025
Economic Development
DATE: December 16, 2025
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM: Nannette Beacham, Director of Economic Development Jordon Nesbitt, Administrative Assistant
Subject: Neighborhood Public Art (NPA) Mini Grant Awards Selection for Fiscal Year 2025-26
FINANCIAL IMPACT: The proposed $160,000 expenditure is partially included in the approved fiscal year 2025-2026 Arts & Culture
Division budget. Funding in the amount of $110,000 has
already been allocated for this grant program. An
additional contribution of $50,000 from the General Fund is recommended to award a total of $160,000 in the Arts & Culture Division budget (Account String: 01364065 -
400201).
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
None.
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
Since 2010, the Richmond Arts and Culture Commission
(RACC) has awarded funding to Richmond community
members for art projects throughout the City. City staff is bringing forth funding recommendations from the RACC
for the Fiscal Year 2025-26 Neighborhood Public Art
(NPA) Mini Grant Program for review and approval by the City Council.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: APPROVE a recommendation from the Richmond Arts and Culture Commission (RACC) for Fiscal Year (FY)
2025-26 to award grants to thirteen selected artists, for a total combined amount not to exceed $160,000, for a
term beginning January 1, 2026, and ending December
31, 2026; APPROPRIATE an additional $50,000 from the
General Fund; and AUTHORIZE the city manager or their
designee to negotiate and execute agreements with
approved grantees in a form substantially similar to the AGENDA
REPORT
December 16, 2025
draft agreement attached hereto as Attachment 1 -
Economic Development Department/Arts & Culture
Division (Nannette Beacham 510-621-1306/Jordon
Nesbitt 510-620-6787).
DISCUSSION:
For more than a decade, the Richmond Arts and Culture Commission (RACC) Neighborhood Public Art (NPA) Mini Grant program has awarded grants ranging from $500 to $8,000 to Richmond community members for art projects throughout Richmond.
With an increase in General Fund budget appropriations requested by staff and approved by City Council, and in an effort to better support local artists, the RACC voted to increase the award range beginning with a minimum award of $7,000 up to a maximum of $15,000.
The solicitation process for fiscal year (FY) 2025-26 included a Request for Proposals (RFP), which was distributed on August 18, 2025, to over 1,000 artists (Attachment 1).
The distribution list included artists who attended RACC Community Outreach workshops, artists who had Richmond business licenses, non-profit arts organizations, including those located locally in Richmond, and previous NPA Mini Grant award winners and applicants. The RFP was also posted in the City Manager’s Weekly Newsletter and several Social Media platforms, including Facebook, etc. The proposal deadline was October 17, 2025.
On September 17, 2025, and October 1, 2025, respectively, City staff and RACC members hosted mandatory workshops (pre-bid meetings). A total of 71 people attended the mandatory information sessions. By October 17, 2025, the deadline, the City received 21 successfully submitted applications. The range of proposals included murals, art exhibits, instrumental music classes, dance performances, culinary arts, music production, film-making workshops, etc. The written applications included a project description, resume/bio, project budget, and optional items such as images of prior work and supporting materials, including articles, artist statements, postcards, etc.
On November 5, 2025, the RACC met to review their evaluations of the submitted proposals and to identify finalists and runners-up based on the cumulative scores and rankings for each submission (Attachment 2). Each applicant’s total score (100-point max) reflects the combined points awarded by all four participating commissioners.
The commissioner’s scoring rubric provided a maximum of 25 points per proposal, with up to five points allocated for each of the following criteria:
project description
artist experience
community outreach and engagement
overall feasibility—including the proposed timeline and budget
December 16, 2025
Proposed NPA Awardees:
Artist Project Title Award Amount
Chef Marshawn Howard
/ Art at Vibe Community Culinary Project $14,900
Cindy Serrano /
Empowering Youth
Through Music (EYTM)
Cindy’s Creative Corner $8,500
Jayson Johnson, Strike
Five Films, LLC /
Independent Arts &
Media
What’s Reel About Richmond
Workshops $15,000
John Boychuk Miraflores Rising Roses $15,000
Mark Anthony James /
EYTM EYTM: Music Education $10,000
Shahrzad Dance Daastan: From Story to Body $9,400
Shawnie Bennett /
Melanin Unlimited I AM / ACTwOKE $15,000
Stephen Bruce Skidmore Project $10,700
Washington Elementary
School PTA
Washington Elementary
Mural Project $11,500
Tiara Amar /
Whippoorwill Arts
(Runner-Up)
Music aLIVE Concert &
Advocacy
$12,500
Fred Franklin / Iron
Triangle NC (Runner-
Up)
Senior Circle of Love $12,500
The Latina Center
(Runner-Up)
Con la V de Victoria! $12,500
Shiree Dyson / Sage &
Needles (Runner-Up) Fix-N-Mend Community Day $12,500
Award Total $160,000.00
On November 7, 2025, the RACC voted to recommend that City Council approve the nine selected finalists, including the four runners-up for NPA Mini Grant awards not to
December 16, 2025
exceed $160,000. Once under contract, the artists will have until December 31, 2026, to complete the awarded project.
City staff members recommend that City Council approve the nine finalists, including the four runners-up, selected by the RACC and grant authority to the City Manager or their designee to negotiate and execute contracts substantially in the form of the draft agreement attached hereto as is (Attachment 3).
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – RACC NPA Mini Grant RFP, Guideline and Application FY25-26 Attachment 2 – RACC NPA MG FY 2025-2026 Scoring Matrix, Council Recommendations, and nine Selected Project Summaries
Attachment 3 –City of Richmond Standard Contract -Type 5 Insurance, NPA MG(Draft)