Employees and artists are speaking out about turmoil in the San Francisco Arts Commission, alleging that its leader has been chronically absent and arguing that it’s harming the arts by cutting staff and changing how it funds artists.Two employees of the commission made the claims about their director, Ralph Remington, during public comment at a meeting on May 4. One has also filed a whistleblower complaint. The commission oversees the city’s public art program, manages two municipal galleries and distributed $12.7 million in city grants to individual artists and small arts nonprofits last year.
Remington, who plans to retire in July, did not respond to a request for comment.
Their complaints come during a time of broader change in city funding and operations for the arts. A planned merger of the San Francisco Arts Commission with fellow granting agency Grants for the Arts and the Film Commission, which handles permits for movies filmed in San Francisco, has created uncertainty. A newly created position, the executive director of arts and culture, will oversee the merger. Matthew Goudeau assumes that new role June 1; he declined to comment for this story…