Fund For Artists

$1 Million Fund for Artists: Overview

Forging an innovative collaborative effort between Bay Area Community Foundations, individual donors, and the Irvine, Hewlett, Surdna, and Ford Foundations, the Fund for Artists supports the endeavors of individual artists through commissions, artists' residencies, awards, advocacy, workshops, promotional instruction, and networking support.  The San Francisco Foundation strongly believes in the importance and value of our local artists and their work. We are dedicated to giving a voice to artists within our community.

For more information on the Bay Area arts scene, please download this survey of local artists: Information for Artists III (PDF) by Joan Jeffri.

For insight and perspective, read this in-depth interview with Bay Area choreographers Brenda Way and Alonzo King by our program officer for arts and culture, John Killacky.

Listen here as John Killacky gives a perspective on KQED explaining the value of local arts and artists in our community.

The San Francisco Foundation Bay Area Documentary Fund

Many award-winning documentaries have emerged from the San Francisco Bay Area. In recognition of this fine tradition, we have created The San Francisco Foundation Bay Area Documentary Fund. Four or five awards ranging from $20,000 to $25,000 will be distributed annually to support documentary projects in early production phases by experienced filmmakers with an esteemed body of previously created work. TSFF is interested in documentaries exploring issues that have been historically underexposed, misinterpreted, or ignored and that are pertinent to the five Bay Area counties.

57 applications were received for the inaugural 2008 San Francisco Foundation Bay Area Documentary Fund and five films were funded.

Applications for the 2009 San Francisco Foundation Bay Area Documentary Fund will be available in Fall 2009 on Grantee Center.

Individual filmmakers must be fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in the five county Bay Area. For eligibility requirements and additional details, please click here to download a PDF of the Request for Proposals (RFP).

NEXT APPLICATION DEADLINE: Applications for the 2009 San Francisco Foundation Bay Area Documentary Fund will be available in Fall 2009 on Grantee Center.

2008 Awardees

Helen De Michiel’s “Eating With Your Eyes,” a one-hour documentary about Berkeley’s School Lunch Initiative and changing how children eat ($22,500).

Christian Bruno’s “Strand: A Natural History of Cinema,” a feature-length documentary charting the demise of San Francisco's movie theater culture ($22,500).

Yoav Potash's "Crime After Crime," a documentary about an incarcerated survivor of brutal domestic violence, and the Bay Area attorneys who work pro-bono in an effort to set her free ($22,500).

David Weismann’s & Bill Weber’s “San Francisco AIDS,” a documentary about the Bay Area’s experience of the AIDS epidemic ($22,500).

Abby Ginzberg’s “Cruz Reynoso: A Man for All Seasons,” a documentary about the first Hispanic to be appointed to the California Supreme court ($10,000).

The Fund for Artists Arts Teacher Fellowship Program (FFAATF)

FFAATF is a regional initiative to support the artistic revitalization of outstanding arts teachers in Bay Area middle and high schools. Arts teachers often lack time and resources to reconnect with other arts professionals and with the artistic processes they teach. Through the FFAATF, fellows will design individualized courses of study that foster their own creative work and the opportunity to interact with other professional artists in their fields.

The Fund for Artists supports the endeavors of individual artists through commissions, artists' residencies, awards, advocacy, and promotional and networking support.

Modeled upon Surdna Foundation’s Artist Teacher Fellowship Program FFAATF approaches artistic development as a means to enhance arts teachers’ effectiveness and will directly benefit young people. We look forward to supporting arts educators in our community through this exciting fellowship.

This program is part of the Fund for Artists partnership with the East Bay Community Foundation and The San Francisco Foundation. The FFAATF is supported by the Surdna Foundation.  For the second year of these fellowships, three fellowships were awarded by The San Francisco Foundation.

2008 Awardees

Kimberley Noel D’Adamo-Muanga (Berkeley H.S. International Baccalaureate Program) to study Art and Ecology at the Sitka Center in Oregon.

Heidi Guibord (Leadership High School) will travel to Accra, Ghana and study fiber design and beading techniques with The Cross Cultural Collaborative.

Elahe Shahideh (John O'Connell High School) to take a three-week landscape painting intensive at the Florence Academy of Arts in Italy.

To see past Arts Teacher Fellowship Program Awardees, please visit the Arts Awards Archive.

HOW TO APPLY: Please download the FFAATF application (available in a Word document). Fill out and return to The San Francisco Foundation offices no later than January 23, 2009. Additional instructions and guidelines are available on the application.

Fund for Artists Awards

In partnership with local and national arts organizations, The Fund For Artists gives awards to outstanding individual composers, choreographers, visual artists, and playwrights.  Ranging in size from $1,500 to $15,000, the awards provide the artists with money, exposure to other artists and arts institutions, and public recognition of their excellence.

a.)  Fund for Artists Award for Visual and Media Artists

$1,500 or $15,000 awards given to outstanding visual and media artists and arts organizations through Artadia.

2008 Awardees
Center for Tactical Magic
Sergio De La Torre
Chris Sollars
David Hevel
Desirée Holman
Michael Light
Trevor Paglen
Hank Willis Thomas
Catherine Wagner
Amy Wilson Faville

To see past Visual and Media Arts Awardees, please visit the Arts Awards Archive.

b.)  Fund for Artists Award for Composers and Music Ensembles

$5,000 awards given to outstanding composers working with music ensembles through American Composers Forum.

2008 Awardees
Kurt Erickson / Marnie Breckenridge (soprano)
Fred Firth / Galax Quartet / Karen Clark (contralto)
Jack Perla / Paul Dresher Electro-Acoustic Band / Thomas Glenn (tenor)
Ryan Brown / Sqwonk (bass clarinet duo)

To see past Composers and Music Ensembles Awardees, please visit the Arts Awards Archive.

c.) Fund for Artists Award for Playwrights and Theatre Ensembles

$10,000 awards given to outstanding playwrights working with theatre companies through Theatre Bay Area.

2008 Awardees
Eugenie Chan / The Cutting Ball Theater
Michael Gene Sullivan / San Francisco Mime Troupe
Chinaka Hodge / Intersection for the Arts

To see past Playwrights and Theatre Ensembles Awardees, please visit the Arts Awards Archive.

d.) Fund for Artists Award for Choreographers

$5,000 awards given to outstanding choreographers through World Arts West

2008 Awardees
I Made Moja / Gamelan Sekar Jaya
Daniel Leung / Leung’s White Crane Lion and Dragon Dance Association
Mary Jo and Patricia Feeney / Murphy Irish Dancers

To see past Choreographers Awardees, please visit the Arts Awards Archive.

Fund for Artists Matching Commissions

Seeking to support the development of new work by Bay Area artist and at the same time help small to mid-sized arts groups diversify funding by attracting individual donors, in 2007, The San Francisco Foundation sent out an RFP to more than 200 arts organizations with budgets under $2 million in San Francisco and San Mateo Counties (augmenting similar programs sponsored by Marin Arts Council and East Bay Community Foundation in their respective counties).

Grants of up to $5,000 were offered to support the commissioning of new works by Bay Area artists, but had to be matched on a one-to-one basis with contributions from individuals. Seventy-three applications were received. With panel input, 22 organizations (ten in the first round and twelve in the second round) received commissioning challenge grants.

Winners for the 2008 FFA Matching Commissions will be announced in January 2009.

HOW TO APPLY: Applications for the 2009 Fund for Artists Matching Commissions will be available on Grantee Center in Fall 2009.

2007 Awardees

Robert Henry Johnson / African-American Shakespeare Company
Lily Cai / Chinese Cultural Productions
Rhodessa Jones / Cultural Odyssey
Josef Norris / Kid Serve Youth Murals
Sara Shelton Mann / Oberlin Dance Collective (ODC)
Juba Kalamaka, Katastrophe, Robert Karimi, Sean Dorsey, and Rhodessa Jones / Queer Cultural Center
Guillermo Gomez Pena & Pocha Nostra / SF Camerawork
Fred Frith, Patrice Scanlon / SF Electronic Music Festival
Octavio Solis and Larry Reed / ShadowLight Productions
Marcus Gardley / Traveling Jewish Theatre
Edwardo Madril / World Arts West
Chinaka Hodge / Youth Speaks

To see past Fund for Artists Matching Commissions Awardees, please visit the Arts Awards Archive.

Shenson Performing Arts Fellowships

A pre-selected group of arts organizations that provide excellent professional-track performing arts training and performance opportunities were invited to nominate an exemplary pre-professional performing artist (above 18 yrs of age) for a $5,000 award to assist with their professional advancement. Fellowships were based on the nominee’s artistic merit and their potential for future excellence and impact in his or her performing arts discipline.

The Drs. Ben and A. Jess Shenson Foundation at The San Francisco Foundation was established in 1995 by brothers Ben and A. Jess Shenson who were passionate about encouraging pre-professional students in the performing arts. These fellowships will be awarded in their memory.

2008 Awardees:

Dancer David Harvey with Alonzo King's LINES Ballet

Actor Nicholas Pelczar with American Conservatory Theater

Vocalist Daveda Karanas with  Merola Opera House

Vocalist Eleazar Rodriguez with San Francisco Conservatory of Music

Performer Jose Vadi with Youth Speaks

To see past Shenson Performing Arts Fellowships Awardees, please visit the Arts Awards Archive.

NEXT APPLICATION DEADLINE:  The Shenson Fellowships are awarded through nominations by select arts teaching organizations, and no general public applications are available. Please check our website after January 1, 2009, for information on the March 2009 deadline.