As the San Francisco Bay Area has experienced a rapidly changing economy driven mainly by the technology sector, there has been a dramatic rise in the cost of living. Artists in school or emerging and artists further along in their careers, who are living and working in San Francisco, have faced enormous challenges accessing both affordable and adequate housing, secure artist studio spaces, or paying for art supplies. Many artists lack the resources, knowledge or support system to navigate and secure financially affordable options so that they can continue their artistic practices in San Francisco. Artist who live elsewhere and want to pursue an arts career in San Francisco discovery that living and pursuing an art career in San Francisco currently is not an option. Artists are either unable to afford the options available or are unaware of them and thus are faced with the decision to give up their artistic pursuits, relocate out of San Francisco or give up on pursuing an art career in San Francisco.
Recognizing this urgent and critical need, Bill Post established the San Francisco Artist/s Foundation (SFASF) to provide financial and collaborative support to Bay Area artists who want to remain in the Bay Area and to attract emerging and established artists to the Bay Area. The San Francisco Artist/s Foundation (SFASF), a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit, is self-supporting and does solicit contributions from the public.
SFASF, through a selection process, makes awards of $10,000 to each selected artist. SFASF anticipates making 20 grants in 2019 of $10,000 to each artist. Grants will be made to artists who practice in the area of fine art as well as photography and film.
Additionally, SFASF plans to provide subsidized studio space to SFASF selected artists and to provide the opportunity to display their art through the SFASF’s resources and relationships with galleries in San Francisco and elsewhere around the United States.
SFASF anticipates that through the Foundation’s support, SFASF Award winners will stimulate innovation, artistic risk taking, and creativity through-out the Bay Area art community. SFASF artists will work alongside other highly accomplished artists and benefit from collaboration and mentorship with SFASF Award winners, established Bay Area artists and Bay Area university art faculty members who represent a cross-section of the contemporary art world. Further, an energized artistic community will help to retain our Bay Area artists and will attract the most innovative and creatively disruptive artists to San Francisco.
SFASF will support opportunities for active engagement in programs such as collaborative studio work space, critique salons, open studios events, and coordination with prominent Bay Area galleries and collectors. SFASF’s objective is to assist artists in developing relationships with more experienced and successful artists and to provide facilities which allow artists to exchange ideas and to mentor and to collaborate with each other as well as to display their creative accomplishments.
