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. Individual filmmakers must be fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in the five county Bay Area.

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

NEXT APPLICATION DEADLINE: Applications for the 2009 San Francisco Foundation Bay Area Documentary Fund will be available on Grantee Center by October 5, 2009 with a deadline of November 11, 2009. To add your email to the distribution list for the Request for Proposals, please email kls@sff.org.

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 the national movement to end domestic violence, and local efforts on behalf of one survivor of abuse ($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)

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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.

HOW TO APPLY: Awardees for the 2009 FFAATF will be announced mid-March 2009. Please check back in December 2009 for 2010 application information.

2009 Awardees

• Angela Brown (Independence High School) to attend the Summer Master in Fine Arts Program in the area of Urban Studies and New Genres at the San Francisco Art Institute.

• Michael Doyle (Amador Valley High School) to participate in a ten-day Portrait and Figure Painting in Grisaille workshop in Belmont, CA.

• Lynne Finlay Klein (Tamalpais High School) to attend Connecting Collections: Integrating Modern and Contemporary Art into the Classroom held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Whitney Museum, in New York City during summer 2009.

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

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.

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Fund For Artists Matching Commissions

Now in its third year at The San Francisco Foundation, the Fund For Artists Matching Commissions seek 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. As of March 2009, Matching Commissions through The San Francisco Foundation, East Bay Community Foundation, and the Marin Arts Council have received donations from 1,748 donors and generated more than $502,242 for 150 artist-run organizations and artist-driven projects in the five-county Bay Area.

This year, The San Francisco Foundation is again challenging organizations in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin Counties to raise up to $5,000 in matching funds from individual donors. The East Bay Community Foundation will offer Matching Commissions to Alameda and Contra Costa Counties. Selected applications will have up to three months after notification to raise matching dollars from individuals.

HOW TO APPLY: Applications for the 2009 Fund For Artists Matching Commissions are now available on Grantee Center. Please click here to download the Request for Proposals for eligibility and guidelines. Applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on Friday, June 19, 2009, with mailed Artist Work Samples arriving no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, June 19, 2009. Please note, telephone support will be available until 5:00 p.m. on the deadline date.

2008 Awardees

• Frank Fisher / Adventure Out Seniors Productions
• Eugenie Chan / Cutting Ball Theater
• Joan Jeanrenaud / Del Sol Performing Arts Organization
• Hyo-shin Na / Earplay
• Sia Amma / Global Women Intact
• Benjamin Levy and Mason Bates / LEVYdance, Inc.
• Hank Willis Thomas and Ryan Alexiev / Mission 17
• Janni Choi, Soo-Kyuny Chor, and Jiyon Son / Northern California Music & Art Culture Center
• Guatam Tejas Ganesha and Anantha Krishnam / Sangati Community Center for South Asian Music
• Anne Walsh / SF Camerawork
• Kevin Bentley, Catherine Brady, Po Bronson, Maxine Chernoff, Michelle Falkoff, Amanda Field, Richard Holeton, Andrew Lam, Bucky Sinister, and Norman
• Antonio Zelaya / Zyzzyva

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

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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.

NEXT APPLICATION DEADLINE:  The Shenson Fellowships are awarded through nominations by select arts teaching organizations, and no general public applications are available.

2009 Awardees:

• Actor Emily Kitchens with American Conservatory Theater

• Soprano Leah Crocetto with San Francisco Opera

• Kathak dancer Farah Yasmeen Shaikh with Chhandam Chitresh Das Dance Company

• Baritone John Smalley with Community Music Center

• Pianist and conductor Yuchi Chou with San Francisco Conservatory of Music 

• Literary artist, actor, and musician Daveed Diggs with Youth Speaks

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

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