Funded by the Svane Family Foundation and meant to revitalize the city’s downtown, the Culture Forward initiative plans to award $5 million over the next three years to artists and organizations for creative projects that can attract “students, young professionals and families” to the city core.
While the grants are open to applicants outside of the Bay Area, the first cohort of grant recipients are all local.
A crowd gathers at Unity Fest, a celebration of queer skateboarding, in October 2024. (Courtesy Unity Press & Skateboarding)
The initial recipients and their projects are:
Chinese Culture Foundation of San Francisco: $50,000 for a street festival along Chinatown’s Grant Avenue with large-scale installations and performances, celebrating the Chinese Culture Center’s 60th anniversary.
Sponsored
City Arts & Lectures: $25,000 for a salon series featuring live conversations with artists and thinkers, and interactivity with the audience.
Jeffrey Cheung / Unity Press & Skateboarding: $100,000 for a celebration of queer, trans and BIPOC communities through art, skateboarding and music events in downtown venues and public spaces.
Market Street Arts / Mid-Market Foundation: $75,000 for the return of UNSTAGED – Live on Mid-Market, a festival including performance, public art and live events.
SFFILM: $50,000 for a series of 12 film events for students, educators and families at SFMOMA with filmmaker Q&As and screenings.
SFJAZZ: $50,000 for a series of community-focused jazz events combining live music, visual art, food and local markets.
SOMArts Cultural Center: $25,000 for a workshop series focused on LGBTQ+ culture culminating in an all-ages fashion show and community Vogue Ball in SoMa.
Tenderloin Museum: $50,000 for the museum’s 10-year anniversary programming, a year-long celebration with storytelling and multidisciplinary events highlighting the neighborhood’s legacy.
David Wilson: $25,000 for a participatory art installation using site-specific painting, sound and maps to take participants on a journey across downtown, accompanied by an exhibition and event series.
Yerba Buena Gardens Festival: $75,000 for the return of the Children’s Gardens Series, a family series with 22 free outdoor performances of dance, theater and music.
A performance at the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, a recipient of this year’s Culture Forward grant. (Courtesy Yerba Buena Gardens Festival)
“As mayor, my job is to make downtown clean and safe, and create the conditions for people to want to return. I believe a thriving arts and culture scene is crucial to that work,” Mayor Lurie said in a statement.
Joining Mayor Lurie were former Zendesk CEO Mikkel Svane and Ella Svane of the Svane Family Foundation, along with program consultant lead Kelsey Issel. The Svane Family Foundation has previously supported Bay Area artists with $10,000 grants during the pandemic, as well as a $1 million gift to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco to acquire 42 works by Bay Area artists from historically underrepresented backgrounds.
Future Culture Forward recipients will be eligible for amounts ranging from $10,000–$100,000 for projects in the Financial District, SoMa, the Tenderloin, Civic Center, Mid-Market, Union Square, Tenderloin, Chinatown and Mission Bay. Applications, reviewed on a rolling basis, are available on the Culture Forward site.
lower waypoint
Care about what’s happening in Bay Area arts? Stay informed with one email every other week—right to your inbox.
