In partnership with the City of San Francisco, YBCA has been piloting the San Francisco Creative Corps, a program that puts artists to work in service of the health of our communities.
We have been working alongside San Francisco Creative Corps partner Paint the Void, an organization paying visual artists to promote COVID-19 public health messaging through city-wide public art. We are also partnering with key performing arts organizations, including San Francisco Bay Area Theater Company (SFBATCO), Dance Mission, and SF Carnaval—organizations led by and serving BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities—to engage with 30 performing artists to be Community Health Ambassadors.
Since Fall 2020, our Community Health Ambassadors have been engaging their neighborhoods both in person and online, sharing critical pandemic safety messages that help protect our community and inspire them through the performing arts.
During Spring 2021, our Community Health Ambassadors created a series of short videos encouraging community members to get vaccinated, to continue practicing COVID-safe behavior and bringing joy to everyone. Their dance, creative storytelling, and performances spoke authentically to the challenges of living through the COVID-19 pandemic and how we can work together to keep our communities safe. These videos serve as an archive of when artists encouraged and inspired people to care for themselves and care for others throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
This program is one of many ways YBCA is investing in artists who support the well-being of their communities, including the YBCA 10 artist cohort and the Guaranteed Income Pilot.
For more information on the San Francisco Creative Corps, please contact creativecorps@ybca.org
See the full announcement from the Office of the Mayor, London Breed →
