GRAY AREA FOUNDATION FOR THE ARTS
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Mission Statement
Gray Area is a San Francisco-based community hub focused on creative action for social transformation and civic impact. Through events, education, and research, we bring together the diverse cultures and communities of the Bay Area to experience, discuss, and experiment with ways that promote critical engagement with our changing digital society. We serve over 100,000 members of the public, 300 artists, and 200 students each year.
About This Cause
Our four primary program areas are: Art & Cultural Events: we host and produce over 100 public events per year. Our programming seeks to inspire, educate, and facilitate interdisciplinary engagement around topics such as technology and society, the environment, and social justice. We demonstrate the value of art as a necessary tool for thinking critically. Education: Our artist-led education programs are focused on interdisciplinary practice, integrating technical literacy, critical thinking, and creative inquiry. We go beyond the traditional requirements of engineering coursework to consider ethical, political, and social values as equally important inputs to the technology development process. Research: We undertake interdisciplinary research projects which champion the essential role of artists as critical thinkers and collaborators. Prior Research Labs such as the Urban Prototyping Research Lab, Experiential Space Research Lab, and Data Canvas Research Lab have developed novel solutions for complex civic, environmental, and social challenges. Incubation: Our Cultural Incubator program offers artists mentorship, space for critique and conversation, and opportunities for public presentation. Practitioners can participate in our Cultural Incubator through Individual or Studio Residency, or with Fiscally Sponsored projects. Our activities elevate marginalized voices by: Reducing gender and racial gap in education: Since March we’ve transitioned all of our educational activities online, increasing the accessibility of our programs, hosting 70+ low-cost courses and workshops, with over 1500 students, 48% of whom are female or non-binary, and 42% of whom are people-of-color. Offering directed scholarships: We proactively offer support for the economically disadvantaged to make our creative development education accessible to audiences with a diverse range of backgrounds and perspectives: in our most recent educational cohorts 48% of students were female, 2% non-binary, and 42% BIPOC. Centering underrepresented voices: we elevate diverse voices through thoughtful curation of paid artists and speakers, including but not limited to LGBTQ, female, non-binary, Black, Latinx, and Asian artists. Over 82% of artists, speakers, and performers in our online programming since March 2020 represent the above communities. Providing community space and support: Our venue provides space for community resilience with our partners including Immigrants Rising, Mission Cultural Center, El Tecolote, Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, Housing Rights Committee, and many more. In 2019 we donated over $200,000 in value to mission-aligned organizations. Since lockdown, we’ve produced online events in partnership with 40+ local organizations. Online Cultural Connection and Resources: In response to COVID-19 Gray Area has developed open-source platforms to maintain intimacy and care with our communities, provide support for artists who have lost their livelihoods, and scale our programming to reach audiences beyond San Francisco. Through these, we generated over $100,000 paid directly to local, marginalized artists, and educators this year.