We are pleased to announce $714,000 was awarded to San Francisco art and culture nonprofits for post-COVID physical and virtual reopening. These awards, part of the San Francisco Arts Reopening Fund, support organizations that practice and perform artistic and cultural forms of creative activity, expression, preservation, and community wellness, and are reflective of the communities they serve.
The San Francisco Arts Reopening Fund is funded by the San Francisco Arts Commission’s Arts Impact Endowment, administered by Community Vision, and directed by a consortium of seven San Francisco Cultural Centers that includes the African American Arts & Culture Complex, American Indian Cultural Center, Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, Bayview Opera House, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, SOMArts Cultural Center, and Queer Cultural Center.
The grants, ranging from $4,000 – $40,000, were awarded to a total of 69 organizations. Priority was given to projects led by organizations that are driving change and amplifying visions for their communities, organizations with revenue budgets of under $250,000, and investments that will serve organizations beyond post-COVID reopening.
“COVID severely impacted arts and culture organizations, and San Francisco’s local arts community was strongly advocating for a BIPOC-centered, community-driven process for distributing these funds,” said Risa Blumlein Keeper, Managing Consultant at Community Vision. “The consortium of Cultural Centers could not have unified at a better time to steward grants in support of so many community-based organizations as they reopen their spaces, both physical and virtual, and begin adapting to a new future.”
As a result of COVID and shelter in place orders, many artistic experiences moved online and this reflects a paradigm shift in how artists interact with their audiences. To further support and expand upon this shift, 48 grants totaling more than $360,000 will support arts organizations with virtual reopening-related expenses, such as new technology equipment and staff training.
The San Francisco Arts Reopening Fund is the first program of the BIPOC-led consortium of the seven San Francisco Cultural Centers, as designated by the San Francisco Arts Commission. Each Center is a cornerstone of the arts in the communities they serve. Together, the Cultural Centers act as a new community-centered arts intermediary in San Francisco.
“The historic opportunity to come together to support arts organizations is a transformative effort to lead our communities into an equitable recovery beyond COVID-19,” said representatives of the Consortium of Cultural Centers. “The San Francisco Arts Reopening Fund gives visibility to the creativity, power, and achievements of organizations shaping our city’s culture.”
In Spring 2022, the Consortium will host a live event to share more about how they came together and their vision for the future. Sign-up for Community Vision’s newsletter below to receive future updates.
Join us in congratulating the following grantees:
- 3Girls Theatre
- ABADÁ-Capoeira San Francisco
- Acción Latina
- African Arts Academy
- African-American Shakespeare Company
- Anne Bluethenthal and Dancers
- Arab Film and Media Institute
- Art of the Matter Performance Foundation/Deborah Slater Dance Theater
- Asian American Women Artists Association
- Best Frequencies, Inc.
- Bindlestiff Studio
- Black Space Residency
- Campo Santo
- Center for New Music San Francisco, Inc.
- Chinese Historical Society of America
- Clarion Performing Arts Center
- Crowbar Corner
- Crowded Fire Theater
- Cutting Ball Theater
- EARTH Lab SF
- Eth-Noh-Tec
- First Exposures
- Folsom Street
- Golden Thread Productions
- Honey Art Studio
- Hope Mohr Dance
- Joe Goode Performance Group
- Kearny Street Workshop Inc.
- Kulintang Arts, Inc.
- Kultivate Labs
- La Pocha Nostra
- Left Coast Chamber Ensemble, Inc.
- Mannakin Theater & Dance
- Museo Italo Americano
- Nā Lei Hulu i Ka Wēkiu
- Phoenix Arts Association
- PlayGround
- Public Glass
- Queer Women of Color Media Arts Project
- Red Poppy Art House
- Root Division
- SAFEhouse for the Performing Arts
- SAMMAY Productions
- San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company
- San Francisco Center for the Book
- San Francisco Transgender Film Festival
- SF Urban Film Fest
- Shipyard Trust for the Arts
- Southern Exposure
- Stage Werx Theatre
- StageWrite
- Still Here San Francisco
- The Anti-Eviction Mapping Project
- The Black Woman Is God
- The Healing WELL
- The Hinabi Project
- The Lost Church
- The Village Project
- The Writers Grotto
- Theatre of Yugen
- Theatre Rhinoceros
- U.S./Japan Cultural Trade Network, Inc.
- Uptown Tenderloin (dba Tenderloin Museum)
- Veterans Alley Mural Project inc.
- VideoAMP
- World Arts West
- Write Now! SF Bay
- Youth Art Exchange
- ZERO1: The Art & Technology Network
