Jaime Cortez served as Barr’s program officer for Arts & Creativity from August 2015-November 2016. He came to Barr with a multi-faceted background, having served as a grantmaker, educator, artist, and activist in a career that spans more than 20 years in the arts. He is an active artist, working in multiple media that span colored pencil drawings and graphic novels to light-box installations to live performance.
Prior to joining Barr, Jaime worked at The San Francisco Foundation and as a program associate at the San Francisco Arts Commission. He partnered extensively with individual artist applicants and with organizations, overseeing more than 1,000 grant proposals and shepherding applicants through the process with a keen eye toward creating opportunities for professional development and capacity-building. He has been an arts instructor for adults, college students, and high school students at institutions including the University of California, Berkeley; the California Institute for Integral Studies; Berkeley High School; and Intersection for the Arts.
“Makers” Unleashed
Jaime Cortez shares how the maker movement is informing Barr’s planning for its Arts program.