San Francisco Arts Commission facts for kids
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| Agency overview | |
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| Formed | 1932 |
| Jurisdiction | City and County of San Francisco |
| Headquarters | 401 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 325, San Francisco, CA 94102 |
| Agency executives |
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The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is a special group in San Francisco, California. It helps make art a big part of daily life in the city. The SFAC supports artists and art groups. It also helps make the city look better with art and creates rules for art in public places.
The commission is in charge of several areas. These include checking designs for public buildings, investing in community art, and managing public art. They also run the SFAC Galleries, look after the city's art collection, and manage a program for art vendors.
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History of the Arts Commission
The San Francisco Arts Commission started in 1932. It was first called "The San Francisco Art Commission." Its main goal was to help musicians from the San Francisco Symphony during the Great Depression in the United States. They did this by paying for concerts that people could attend for a low price. This led to popular low-cost San Francisco Pops concerts led by Arthur Fiedler.
Growing Art Programs
In 1948, the commission created the Visual Arts commission. From 1946 to 1986, they organized the San Francisco Arts Festival. This festival usually took place in the Civic Center area.
The commission started the Neighborhood Arts Program in 1967. This program helped fund local groups like the San Francisco Blues Festival and Precita Eyes Mural Center. Later, it became the Community Arts and Education Program. This program grew a lot in the 1970s. It used money from the government to support local artists. This program was so successful that other cities in the US copied it.
Art at the Airport
The SFAC also started the San Francisco International Airport art program in 1977. As of July 2019, this airport is the only one with an art program approved by the American Association of Museums. The commission provides this public art program. It includes many different types of art and is mostly paid for by a part of the money used to build airport terminals.
WritersCorps Program
In 1994, a program called WritersCorp began in San Francisco. It was a joint effort between the National Endowment for the Arts and AmeriCorps. This program continues to run under the commission today. It brings poets to public schools in the city.
Public Art and Monuments
The commission has also been involved in decisions about public statues. In 2018, they removed the "Early Days" sculpture from the Pioneer Monument. In 2020, they removed the Statue of Christopher Columbus. These statues were removed because they were seen as controversial due to their connection to the country's colonial history.
After some statues were pulled down by protestors in Golden Gate Park, the Mayor of San Francisco asked the Arts Commission to review other public monuments. They were asked to decide which ones should be removed.
Helping Artists During Difficult Times
In March 2021, the SFAC worked with other groups to start a special program. This program gave $1,000 a month to 130 artists for six months. These artists had to be below certain income levels. The money came from a special fund for arts and culture. This program was similar to ones in other cities like Stockton and Oakland. It helped artists during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
How the Commission Works
The San Francisco Arts Commission has fifteen members. The Mayor of San Francisco chooses all of these members. The commission works on its own, but the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has power over its budget and plans.
Commission Locations
The commission's first office was at 165 Grove Street. However, that building burned down in 1980. Over the years, the commission moved its main office many times. It is now located in the Veterans Building, which is part of the San Francisco War Memorial and Performing Arts Center.
San Francisco Arts Commission Main Gallery
The San Francisco Arts Commission Main Gallery is at 401 Van Ness Avenue. It is where the commission shows modern art. The gallery asks artists to create new works and works with other art groups. It also supports artists' projects. It is free to visit and is open from Wednesday to Sunday, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
This main gallery was started in 1970. It was first called "Capricorn Asunder." In 1981, it was renamed "S.F. Art Commission Gallery." The gallery moved to its current spot in the War Memorial Veterans Building in 2017.
Programs and Services
In 2008, the commission gave out about $4.5 million in funding. Most of this money came from the city's hotel tax. Their Community Arts and Education Program supports art activities. This includes programs for communities that need extra help and street festivals. An example is the Filipino Parol Lantern Festival.
The commission also manages cultural centers owned by the city. These include the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, the Bayview Opera House, and the African American Art and Culture Complex.
The WritersCorps program sends poets to public schools in the city.
Visual Arts Committee
The commission's Visual Arts Committee must approve designs for any new public buildings or structures. A city rule says that two percent of the money spent on these buildings must go towards buying art for them. This art can be graphics, murals, or sculptures. The Visual Arts Committee is in charge of approving new public art projects for San Francisco.
San Francisco has won many awards from the Americans for the Arts Public Arts Network. This is the only national award for public art. It recognizes the best public artworks created in the country each year.
Portrait of a Phenomenal Woman
In October 2018, the city decided that 30% of new public art showing historical figures should be women. A work honoring poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou was planned. It was to be placed outside the San Francisco Public Library's main branch. The commission started looking for artists in November 2018 with a budget of $180,000.
Many artists applied. A special panel chose three finalists: Kenyatta Hinkle, Lava Thomas, and Jules Arthur. They asked the public for their thoughts on the designs in July 2019. The panel suggested Thomas' Portrait of a Phenomenal Woman. However, the committee decided to wait on both proposals in August.
In October 2019, a city supervisor asked the commission to restart the process. She wanted a more traditional statue. Thomas disagreed, saying her design fit the original plan. She also said the commission was not clear about its decisions.
The commission started a second search in January 2020 with new rules and a budget of $250,000. Thomas chose not to take part this time. In August 2020, the commission apologized to Thomas for problems in the process. They then voted to pause the second search to get more input from people. The selection process officially ended on November 2, 2020. The commission gave Thomas $250,000 for her original proposal.
Thomas' Portrait of a Phenomenal Woman is a 9-foot bronze book with Maya Angelou's image and a quote on it. It is the first public monument on city property dedicated to a woman of color. It is also the fourth public monument in the city dedicated to a woman.
