San Francisco Creative Corps

In partnership with the City of San Francisco, YBCA is piloting the San Francisco Creative Corps, a program that puts artists to work in service of the health and well-being of our communities. We are working alongside key performing arts organizations, San Francisco Bay Area Theater Company (SFBATCO); Dance Mission; and SF Carnaval — organizations led by and serving BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities —, to engage over 30 performing artists over a span of 35 days to be Community Health Ambassadors (CHAs). Concurrently, Paint the Void will be deploying visual artists to create public art works as part of the SF Creative Corps pilot program. Further support comes from the San Francisco Parks Alliance.

CHA’s will engage and creatively educate the public on COVID on safe behaviors in high-foot traffic areas throughout San Francisco, including: Shared Spaces closed streets and sidewalks; parks and plazas; transit stations; “slow streets”; and grocery store and social service lines. Through the CHAs, we hope to educate and inspire people to care for themselves and care for others throughout COVID, and to provide joy and inspiration, when and where we need it the most.

For more information on the San Francisco Creative Corps Community Health Ambassadors, please contact aescobedo@ybca.org.

See the full announcement from the Office of the Mayor, London Breed →

About Paint the Void

Paint the Void is an initiative to match local artists with boarded-up businesses to create murals as a response to the void left behind in the wake of Covid-19.

San Francisco visual artists are invited to submit their work to Paint the Void in order to be considered for this pilot by filling out this short form. Please contact Inga Bard at inga@artforcivildiscourse.com for more information.

About Carnaval SF

Carnaval San Francisco cultivates and celebrates the diverse Latin American, Caribbean and African Diasporic roots of the Mission District and the San Francisco Bay Area. We accomplish our mission through dance, music, the visual arts and by creating spaces for community learning, school-based education, and advocacy. Now in its fourth decade of celebration, Carnaval San Francisco has been an opportunity for many cultures to come together in one spirit to share their creative expression at our free 2–day family festival in San Francisco’s Mission District, where we showcase the very best Latin American and Caribbean cultural arts and traditions. Carnaval San Francisco is the largest multicultural celebration on the West Coast.

About Dance Mission Theatre

Dance Mission connects and empowers diverse Bay Area communities and artists through all aspects of dance and dance theater, including the production of new works, instruction, and performance. We are an artist-driven, feminist organization dedicated to building community, addressing social justice issues, exploring cultural identities, promoting inclusivity, and creating a more peaceful world through collective action. Many female artists, artists of color, and culturally specific ensembles consider Dance Mission to be their artistic home. Master teachers of dance and music have created a thriving intergenerational community celebrating cultural traditions, welcoming students of all backgrounds. Dance Mission is also the home of Krissy Keefer’s Dance Brigade, San Francisco’s groundbreaking, feminist social-change modern dance company.

About San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company

SFBATCO theatre company delivers a creatively charged youthful energy that encompasses all that makes San Francisco great. We are a theatrical generation to be reckoned with. We do not accept “a lack of resources.” We create great art and give back to our community and tell our stories using a multiplicity of minds, bodies, and voices.

Lead image: Courtesy of Paint the Void.

San Francisco Creative Corps

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