Join Celeste and adrienne as they discuss loving accountability, life, and adrienne’s new book, Loving Corrections.
Join Celeste, David, and Florida State University’s MANCC program for a conversation centering arts, artist sustainability, and life. Making Money Work Together: Conversations for the field and for artists with Celeste Smith, a cultural thought-leader in philanthropy with a finger on the pulse of race and social discourse; this conversation will then spark a dialogue with the facilitators and participating artists. Given the radical changes ongoing in our field regarding funding and the precarity of artists’ circumstances, this conversation will center on what the future can look like. For MANCC and the lab’s facilitators, emerging artists are critical drivers for re-imagining how our field can and will best function.
Each iteration of the MFD program has been designed to identify, support and catalyse the ideas of emergent movement-based artists by providing access to a stimulating environment that encourages experimentation and exploration in a facilitated, process-oriented laboratory setting. Unlike a more typical MANCC residency that encourages artists at all stages of a project to work independently, including just before a premiere, the MFD program is devised for robust collaborative exchange and dialogue among participants. The program also aids MANCC in developing relationships with the next generation of dance makers by learning about and supporting their evolving artistic practices.
, "Faith, Philanthropy, and the Responsible Stewardship of Wealth," will be held at our new offices located at 350 Linden Avenue in Wilmette on Tuesday, August 20, 2025. Breakfast will be provided and begin at 9:30 a.m. The keynote address is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. and end at 1 p.m. , followed by a conversation moderated by Celeste Smith.
Join Celeste at the Love Not Blood Campaign 10+5 Year Anniversary Gala! Celeste will be presented with the Phenomenal Woman Award, as well as a Movement Family Award!
Celebrate a Milestone:
Love Not Blood Campaign’s 10+5 Year Anniversary Gala
The Blueprint
Theme: The Genesis of Action
We cordially invite you to join us on July 14, 2024. Love Not Blood Campaign's 10+5-Year Anniversary Gala and Fundraiser will be an evening of inspiration, celebration, unification, and community engagement.
This milestone event launches a decade and a half of transformative work by the LNBC, honoring our journey of activism, advocacy, and unwavering support for families impacted by police violence, community violence, and the scourges of white supremacy and racism.
Co-founder Cephus “Uncle Bobby” X Johnson began his fight for social justice on January 1, 2009, following the killing of his nephew, Oscar Grant. Co-founder Beatrice “Aunt Bee” X Johnson began her advocacy on July 3, 1971, after the Detroit police took the life of her cousin, Gail Keaton-Smiley. Aunt Bee’s fight for social justice ignited in San Diego with Saigon Penn in 1985. Uncle Bobby and Aunt Bee united front took shape in 2009 with the Justice for Oscar Grant Movement as they stood side by side in the fight for Justice for Oscar Grant.
As we commemorate the LNBC’s 10+5-year anniversary, our inaugural Gala aims to bolster our mission to eradicate police and community violence and foster healing for families torn apart and family members killed by social justice injustice.
Join us at the iconic Geoffrey’s Inner Circle for our first fundraising gala, where we will fortify our bonds of unity with our collective long-time supporters, comrades, and friends in the struggle.
Join us during our social hour to savor the rich legacy of the Historic Bay Area’s “All Power To The People Movement.” paying homage to the trailblazers who fought and continue to fight for justice and equality. Prepare for a sumptuous sit-down dinner and decadent desserts as the evening unfolds.
Our powerful speakers will ignite your passion for unity and a desire to self-activate to a call to action for the liberation of freedom, justice, and equality for all. The live musicians and performers will lift your chakra levels to a most pleasant degree. A lineup of extraordinary guests awaits!
Dress to impress in your finest black-tie attire, and let your light shine brightly in this transformative gathering. Secure your tickets today!
Support Opportunities:
Sponsorships: Discover the array of benefits included in our sponsorship packages on our website. Love Not Blood Campaign
Donations: Contribute directly to the Love Not Blood Campaign and help us achieve our gala fundraising goal. Please donate here
Fund-a-Need: Support our Families United for Justice Network Conference 2024 through our targeted Fund-a-Need campaigns. Click here.
Important Note:
Don't hesitate to contact us for ticket or sponsorship purchases via check, wire transfer, or any other inquiries.
Thank you for your continued support in our mission to be agents of change, offering Love and support to those impacted by police violence, community violence, and the scourges of white supremacy and racism.
You can click the link below to show your support.
Donate Here
FOLLOW US ON THE SOCIAL
FOR THE LATEST UPDATES ON GALA SPEAKERS AND PROGRAM!
Love Not Blood Campaign is a 501(c)(3) organization
EIN #81-4000831
As we continue our fight for justice, we must continue to center humanity. Join us to go behind the scenes of the headlines to present a holistic look at the lives of grassroots artivists who continue to be engaged in the Movement For Black Lives. We’ll shine a spotlight on the personal, family and community challenges and strains that artivists face in their daily lives as an often unspoken byproduct of their work. We’ll also examine progress made in the national struggle for racial justice through the pandemic and since the police killing of George Floyd in the spring of 2020. Shante Needham, Beatrice X Johnson, Bianca Tylek, Jeanelle Austin, Jannah Johari, and Khadijah Muhammad join Celeste for this necessary conversation.
Friday, April 13th, I’m building with @tamarawinfreyharris on freedom. I’m honored she asked me to contribute to her ongoing conversation about liberation! I’ve actually been thinking a lot about what it means to be free…wondering if I am free…and what or who I am trying to get free from. I don’t have the answers yet…but maybe I will by Friday 😂 Looking forward to the conversation Sis! Shout out to @deeshaphilyaw for the connect! Hoping y’all will join us…it’s been a while since I’ve ran my mouth in public 💗
Join Celeste as she walks us through the basics of grantwriting.
Join Celeste for a conversation with Keith Beauchamp, the filmmaker behind the movie Till.
A healing retreat for Pittsburgh mothers impacted by police and/or community violence.
Join Celeste as Keynote Speaker for Literacy Pittsburgh GED Graduation 2023
Join Celeste and 1Hood Media as we discuss the game of grant seeking.
Join Celeste, Paradise Gray (XCLAN), YoYo, and Pete Nice (3rd Bass) for this panel discussion on how Hip Hop changed the world through music, education, philanthropy, & social justice reform.
Celeste joins Hayley Haldeman and Betty Cruz to speak on topics exploring the intersections of non-profit roles, power, and leadership. Nonprofit organizations provide an essential range of services in line with their respective missions. For the overwhelming majority, budgets and staff sizes typically preclude a formal Human Resources department. However, these organizations are still subject to many of the same employment laws, regulations, best practices and workplace issues as their much larger counterparts. Handling these questions falls to the organization’s leadership, who often have competing demands on time and priorities and minimal resources.
This course seeks to address that gap, in order to equip students with a basic, practical understanding of workplace issues that exist in small to mid-size nonprofit organizations, particularly those in the arts. Beyond the nuts and bolts of HR, students will explore the creation and maintenance of a positive, productive working environment that centers equity and inclusion. Class discussion and assignments will address complexities in modern nonprofit administration, including relationship to mission and values, DEAI, hybrid workplaces, pay equity, workplace culture, the role of technology and social media, and board relationships, among other topics. Assignments focus heavily on real-world challenges, requiring practical interpretation and implementation.
Celeste joins Lisa Yancey to discuss preparing to plan. Communal agreements. Naming and understanding the interdependent roles of staff, board, contractors, community members, and donors in planning. Ecosystem analysis and the power of relationship building.
During this episode of Why Change? co-hosts Ashraf and Jeff reflect on disrupting the field of community foundations through Ashraf’s interview with Celeste Smith, Senior Program Manager for Arts and Culture at The Pittsburgh Foundation, and Jonathan Cunningham, Senior Program Officer at Seattle Foundation. In this episode, you’ll hear conversations about systemic change in the way community foundations fund projects and smaller, BIPOC-led organizations, as well as how some foundations are funding beyond trauma and instead focusing on joy.
In this episode you’ll learn about:
How to bring our whole selves to our work;
About powerful racial justice programs in philanthropy; and
Navigating donor and grantee power, interests, and relationships.
Check out some of the things mentioned during this podcast, including:
Please download the transcript here.
Join Celeste for the keynote presentation in honor members of our community with the Aggie Brose Award for their excellence in community activism in Pittsburgh.
OPTICVOICES: Mama's Boys is a provocative exhibit that retracts from romanticizing the loss of sons and encourages the process of what healing looks like for mothers around the world. All captured through the galvanizing lens of Emmy Award-winning, multidisciplinary artist, Emmai Alaquiva. This work is shared through artistic love letters in the form of photography, film, mixed media, and augmented reality.
RSVP HERE:
https://awaacc.org/event/opticvoices-mamas-boys
JOIN US Saturday, October 22nd, 2022:
2p-4p | Symposium featuring
Mama’s of Mike Brown, Eric Garner, Antwon Rose II, Philando Castle, Oscar Grant. Moderated by Celeste Smith, 1HOOD. Appearance by Pittsburgh First Lady, Michelle Gainey.
6p-8p | Opening Reception w/ Emmai Alaquiva + special presentation by City of Pittsburgh’s Mayor, Ed Gainey.
Music: Dj Nate Da Barber
| Exhibit Graphic Assets: (Flyers, Social Cards, Extras)
OVMB Main Social Final (3000 x 3750)
OVMB Main Social Instagram/Facebook Story Final (1080 x 1920)
Social Singles (2000 x 2000) *to be posted throughout, no all at once
EXTRAS (Film Poster)
| Instagram Social Media
August Willson African American Cultural Center: @augustwilsonculculturalcenter
Emmai Alaquiva: @emmai_alaquiva
OPTICVOICES: @opticvoices
Mayor Ed Gainey: @edgainey24 & mayoredgainey
First Lady Michelle Gainey: @mimigainey
Celeste Smith: @hautemuslim
DJ Nate Da Barber: @djnatedabarber
| Social Media of Mama’s
Sybrina Fulton: @Sybrinafulton
Allison Jean: @allie.jean.73
Valerie Castile: @batvalsworld
Wanda Cooper-Jones: @wandacooperjones
Michelle Kenney: @antwonsmother
Rev. Wanda Johnson: @oscargrantfoundation
Lezley McSpadden: @lezleymcspaddenhead
Samaria Rice: @sam_i _am815
| FULL SCHEDULE
12pm | Doors open
12:15pm | A Welcome by Emmai Alaquiva and Janis Burley Wilson (Janis to say a few words about Emmai and then to intro First Lady)
12:20pm | Special Guest Speaker First Lady Michelle Gainey. Mrs. Gainey to speak on youth and education. She will introduce the Teen Preview.
12:30pm – 2pm | Teen Preview (Youth & Education). Light refreshments served.
*2pm – 4pm | Symposium: A Mama’s Narrative:
A shared panel discussion moderated by Celeste Smith of 1HOOD with Michelle Kenney, Lezley McSpadden, Gwen Carr, Valerie Castile and Rev. Wanda Johnson
5pm – 8pm | AWAACC Members Preview and Opening Reception featuring AWAACC resident artist, Emmai Alaquiva. Light refreshments served.
5pm – 6pm | Members Preview and Short Talk & Tour with Emmai Alaquiva
*6pm – 8pm | Public Opening Reception for OPTIC VOICES: MAMA’S BOYS. Music provided by DJ Nate Da Barber
7pm | Special guest of the Office of Mayor Ed Gainey to read a proclamation declaring OPTICVOICES: Mama’s Boys and Emmai Alaquiva Day in the City of Pittsburgh (October 22, 2022).
*OPTICVOICES: MAMA’S BOYS is presented as part of the AWAACC B.U.I.L.D Residency, possible with support from R.K. Mellon Foundation
Independent Sector is committed to bridge building as the anchor of change, building community, and transforming institutions, in other to create a world where all people thrive. In this workshop, independent Sector will explain the foundations of how to begin this work and introduce two nonprofit leaders from their Bridging Fellows who have successfully implemented this work.
Join Habib Bako, senior director, Community Building and Engagement, The Independent Sector, Imran Khan, CEO and co-founder, Embarc, and Celeste C. Smith, CEO of 1Hood Media for this inspiring workshop about impact and change.
The grantmaking sector, particularly funders focused on justice and liberation, seek ways to support and partner with committees that are overlooked, underserved, and undervalued. While this is not a new concept, we are glad to see more funders discuss how and why they are leaning into participatory grantmaking as a strategy and seeing the positive impacts. In a 2019 article published by Inside Philanthropy, we learn more about the sector’s response to the concept from Foundation Center (presently, Candid.), and others. Now three years later, what has changed? Why is it important for all funders to understand the benefits of participatory grantmaking, and what are the narratives that we need to shift, or dismantle altogether, in order to practice this effectively?
Join us on August 23, 2022, at 2p ET/11a PT to hear from Geoffrey Banks, senior program officer, Chicago Commitment, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Vu Le, Nonprofit AF; and Celeste Smith, senior program officer, The Pittsburgh Foundation. Via open dialogue, they will discuss not only the programs they are implementing and have piloted to keep participatory grantmaking practices at the forefront of their operations, but also the ways their work is serving to shift narratives around funding strategies and partnership.
Live captioning will be available in English throughout the webinar. For additional accommodation requests, please contact GIA Senior Program Manager Sherylynn Sealy, at least three (3) business days prior to the event.
Community Centric Fundraising and Grantmaking in Pittsburgh
The conversation gap between funders and some theatre practitioners is growing; while theatre leaders are doubling down on anti-racist and EDI work at their organizations, many funders are on a similar journey, and some are reimagining the role of grantmaking in a community-centered arts ecology. This session will hear from a selection of grantmakers in the Pittsburgh community who are practicing new ways of working with and for their communities and will speak to their journeys as funders and business leaders in a field in the process of redefining itself.
Please join Celeste as she delivers the keynote, Do Some Shit, at this years Social Justice & Education Conference at San Diego City College on the topic of “We are not Here to be Bystanders”.
Short lecture touching on several major areas of civil rights in American politics from the mid-20th century until the present day, detailing the role of the political parties, coalitions, mass activism, and the judiciary in the expansion of civil rights.
Please join Celeste as she talk about a few of things she’s got going on.
A series of virtual discussions that bridge prominent and influential Pittsburgh-based artists and scholars with nationally-recognized Black makers and creators moderated by artist Jessica Gaynelle Moss. Content will be accessible during select weekdays at 5pm EDT via Zoom between November 2021 to January 2022.
Jessica Gaynelle Moss is an artist, custodian of Black art, and creator of platforms and spaces that invest in the historically excluded. Melding her dedication to making art, supporting artists and developing more equitable and just policies, Jessica’s creative practice and projects transcend any one medium, discipline or field, coalescing fine art with real estate development, institution-building and philanthropy. Beyond that she runs her own arts consultancy, curates exhibitions and performances, regularly leads art talks and studio critiques, serves on the leadership boards of various cultural entities, and is a frequent speaker on panels on the subjects of artist support, advocacy and stewardship. Jessica received a bachelors in Fine Art from Carnegie Mellon University; a masters in Arts Administration, Policy and Management from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; and a masters in Studies of the Law from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
Danny Dunson is an art historian, advisor, curator, writer and is currently the Director of Curatorial Services for The DuSable Museum of African-American history. Dunson graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago with a degree in Art History and received both a Fulbright Grant and Gilman Scholarship. He founded the Legacy Brothers and The Lab, an artist development consultancy designed to prepare emerging artists of disadvantaged communities to enter the art world by providing grants for studio spaces, supplies, and living expenses.
Emma Osore (she/her/hers) is a Brooklyn-based participatory designer, social entrepreneur, and commissioned mixed media artist. With an interest in people-centered systems change, she uses co-design to help anti-disciplinary creatives transform culture. She was the Director of Community at the New Museum of Contemporary Art’s creative business incubator, NEW INC – resulting in its first majority-BIPOC membership, launched and led Americans for the Arts’ half million dollar investment in BIPOC arts advocates. She also co-founded BlackSpace where she is now its first Co-Managing Director – building love into its operational leadership and centering the Black experience in neighborhood projects and national urbanist communities.
Celeste C. Smith is Senior Program Officer, Arts and Culture for The Pittsburgh Foundation and co-founder of 1Hood Media where she works to advance racial justice. She has garnered numerous accolades and always brings to her work deep experience as a celebrated community leader, arts administrator, artist, and activist.
