2 weeks Ago By By Patrick Hoge | Examiner staff writer |
A local foundation on Friday doled out the first of $5 million in pledged grants aimed at supporting downtown San Francisco’s arts scene. The Svane Family Foundation, which Zendesk co-founder Mikkel Svane established in 2019 , announced Friday the recipients of $525,000 of awards in fields including film, music and performance. Launched in Copenhagen,, the online customer service platform is now headquartered in San Francisco.
The “Culture Forward” grants are part of a three-year, $5 million grant program the foundation is funding. Recipients include individual artists and cultural organizations, with grants ranging from $25,000 to $100,000. Launched in January, the Culture Forward program accepts applications on a rolling basis, with grants set to be distributed quarterly.
The foundation’s website includes full application guidelines . Mayor Daniel Lurie attended an event to announce the grants Friday held at the Jonathan Carver Moore gallery in the Mid-Market area, and he welcomed the Svane foundation’s backing of the arts as a tactic for stimulating a downtown revival. “It's an ambitious, ambitious vision to bring family, students and young professionals back through creativity, through community and joy, and it's a vision that I share,” Lurie said, citing his own efforts to make streets safe and clean.
“Each of these projects is doing the vital work of injecting creativity and connection to the fabric of downtown,” Lurie said. One of the grants, for $75,000, went to the Mid-Market Foundation to expand on the ”UNSTAGED” series of celebration s it produced at the end of last summer as part of its Market Street Arts initiative. Those events featured live music and other arts-related attractions, including an appearance by the vertical dance troupe BANDALOOP.
Rob Ready, director of business development for the Mid-Market Foundation, said in a statement the foundation provided that the Svane family grant "doesn't just fund performances — it leverages our neighborhood's creative ecosystem and infrastructure, bolstering our daily efforts to build San Francisco a world-class arts and entertainment district." Other Svane grants included: • $100,000 for Jeffrey Cheung’s “Unity Press & Skateboarding,” which celebrates queer, transgender, Black, Indigenous and communities of color through skateboarding, art and music events in public spaces and downtown venues • $75,000 for the Yerba Buena Gardens Festival’s Children’s Garden Series, which includes 22 free, outdoor performances showcasing music, dance, and theater from June to November • $50,000 for SFFILM’s 12 immersive film events for 3,000 students, educators and families at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art • $50,000 for SFJAZZ’ “Bringing People Together Through Jazz,” a new series of events combining live music, visual art, food and local markets designed to attract younger visitors to the SFJAZZ Center • $50,000 for the Chinese Culture Foundation of San Francisco’s 60th anniversary street festival on Grant Avenue • $50,000 for the Tenderloin Museum’s 10th anniversary programming • $25,000 for City Arts & Lectures’ City Arts Salons, a series in Civic Center featuring live conversations with artists and others. • $25,000 for David Wilson’s “Arrivals Again,” a participatory downtown art installation exhibition and event series • $25,000 for SOMArts Cultural Center’s “Vogue Ball for All,” a workshop series culminating in an all-ages event highlighting fashion and LGBTQ+ culture.
