Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) is a multi-disciplinary

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...

arts center in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, California, United States. Located in

Yerba Buena Gardens Yerba Buena Gardens is the name for two blocks of public parks located between Third and Fourth, Mission and Folsom Streets in downtown San Francisco, California. The first block bordered by Mission and Howard Streets was opened on October 11, 19 ...

, YBCA features visual art, performance, and film/video that celebrates local, national, and international artists and the

Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Gov ...

's diverse communities. YBCA programs year-round in two landmark buildings—the Galleries and Forum by Japanese architect

Fumihiko Maki is a Japanese architect who teaches at Keio University SFC. In 1993, he received the Pritzker Prize for his work, which often explores pioneering uses of new materials and fuses the cultures of east and west. Early life Maki was born in Tokyo. A ...

and the adjacent Theater by American architect

James Stewart Polshek James Stewart Polshek (February 11, 1930September 9, 2022) was an American architect based in New York City. He was the founder of Polshek Partnership, the firm at which he was the principal design partner for more than four decades. He worked ...

and Todd Schliemann.

Betti-Sue Hertz Betti-Sue Hertz is an American art curator and art historian and director of the Wallach Art Gallery at Columbia University. Education Hertz has a BA from Goddard College and an MFA from Hunter College, City University of New York; she later st ...

served as Curator from 2008 through 2015.

History

The museum was conceived as part of a deal by mayor

George Moscone George Richard Moscone (; November 24, 1929 – November 27, 1978) was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the 37th mayor of San Francisco, California from January 1976 until his assassination in November 1978. He was known ...

with developers to "set aside land and funds for cultural institutions such as museums, exhibits, and theaters" for the redevelopment projects in

South of Market, San Francisco South of Market (SoMa) is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, situated just south of Market Street. It contains several sub-neighborhoods including South Beach, Yerba Buena, and Rincon Hill. SoMa is home to many of the city's museums ...

. The museum was opened in 1993. The YBCA partnered with

San Francisco Arts Commission The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is the City agency that champions the arts as essential to daily life by investing in a vibrant arts community, enlivening the urban environment and shaping innovative cultural policy in San Francisco, Cali ...

, San Francisco Grants for the Arts, and the

San Francisco Human Rights Commission The San Francisco Human Rights Commission (HRC) is a charter commission of the City and County of San Francisco that works to increase equality, eradicate discrimination, and to protect human rights for all people. The HRC enforces City Ordinanc ...

to launch a guaranteed income program in March 2021. The pilot program would give $1,000 a month to 130 artists below certain income levels for six months, beginning in May 2021. It is paid through the Arts Impact Endowment established by Proposition E in 2018, which allocates 1.5% of the city's hotel tax to arts and cultural services. This follows similar programs in Stockton,

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

, and

Marin County Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

to support artists during the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United States The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Uni ...

Music

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts embraces many musical genres and styles. Not only does the center provide a stage for Bay Area instrumental and vocal musicians and ensembles, it also offers a sampling of musical practices from all over the world. Along with solo performances, YBCA also has invited various musical projects to use its facilities, such as the tribute to composer

Elliott Carter Elliott Cook Carter Jr. (December 11, 1908 – November 5, 2012) was an American modernist composer. One of the most respected composers of the second half of the 20th century, he combined elements of European modernism and American "ultra- ...

in 2008 and the

Long Now Foundation The Long Now Foundation, established in 1996, is an American non-profit organization based in San Francisco that seeks to start and promote a long-term cultural institution. It aims to provide a counterpoint to what it views as today's "faster ...

in 2010. The connection between these various musical practices is the intent for social change through education provided by another culture or by creating a community around a purpose. Although month to month there are not many purely musical performances, music is often incorporated with other performing arts, such as dance or theater.

Fine arts

Lobby_of_the_Yerba_Buena_Center_for_the_Arts,_2020

In addition to being a venue for musical performances, YBCA also acts as a non-collecting museum. The various art exhibits YBCA offers emphasize its celebration of both local and world art. For example, in 2008 the art group Royal Art Lodge presented their psychologically surrealist works, challenging the viewer using simple drawings and more pronounced techniques like cutups. YBCA not only holds specific art shows and exhibits but also is carefully aided by various artists in creating particular atmospheres for its spaces. For instance, Instant Coffee, another artist group, designed a lounge room within YBCA for visitors to simply sit and listen to records with a chic atmosphere, while Space 1026 created YBCA's mural, a showcase of social and physical dimensions. The YBCA museum currently has two semi-permanent fine arts exhibitions that will stand until the end of 2017. These exhibitions include Tanis Bruguera's "Talking to Power" and Damon Rich and Jae Shin's "Space Brainz."

Dance

Dance at YBCA includes various forms from many various cultures. In October 2008, Israeli choreographers

Inbal Pinto Inbal Pinto (born 1969) (Hebrew: ענבל פינטו) is an Israeli contemporary dancer, choreographer, set and costume designer. She is the artistic director of the Inbal Pinto Dance Company. . In 1992 Pinto founded the Inbal Pinto Dance Comp ...

and

Avshalom Pollak Avshalom Pollak ( he, אבשלום פולק; born October 5, 1970) is an Israeli actor, director, choreographer and dance company artistic director. Early life and education Avshalom was born in Haifa, Israel. He was trained as a classical act ...

presented their production of "Shaker" by combining ballet, modern dance, mime, and acrobatic techniques. In addition to more collaborative art forms, YBCA also presents more classical forms of dance, such as ballet.

Alonzo King Alonzo King, born in Georgia to civil-rights activists Slater King and Valencia King Nelson, is an American dancer and choreographer based in San Francisco. King grew up in Georgia and California, and, as an adult, decided his contribution w ...

held his company LINES Ballet at YBCA in November 2004, which centered on African American field recordings with various forms of music, narrative, and film playing in the background.

Film/Video

YBCA features all types of cinematic endeavors, including documentaries on a variety of subjects, art-house movies and foreign films. For instance, during the 2009 summer season, it showed documentaries dealing with female masochists (''

Graphic Sexual Horror ''Graphic Sexual Horror'' is a 2009 independent film written and directed by Anna Lorentzon and Barbara Bell in their directorial debut. The film is a documentary about Insex, a bondage website. ''Graphic Sexual Horror'' premiered to critic and ...

''), and industrial design (''

Objectified ''Objectified'' is a feature-length documentary film examining the role of everyday non-living objects, and the people who design them, in our daily lives. The film is directed by Gary Hustwit. ''Objectified'' premiered at the South By Southwest ...

'') while also presenting obscure movie topics, such as its show ''Winning Isn't Everything: A Tribute to 1970's Sports Film'' which included the movie ''

The Cheerleaders ''The Cheerleaders'' (U.K. theatrical title: ''The 18 Year Old Schoolgirls'') is a 1973 comedy film directed by Paul Glickler, starring Stephanie Fondue and Denise Dillaway. Plot A group of high school cheerleaders have sex with the opposing t ...

''.

Live events

The center has been the site for product launches by

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company b ...

, including

iPod The iPod is a discontinued series of portable media players and multi-purpose mobile devices designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first version was released on October 23, 2001, about months after the Macintosh version of iTunes ...

s and the

iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating s ...

. In 2019, it hosted the ''How I Built Thi''s Summit with

Guy Raz Guy Raz (; born November 9, 1975) is a journalist, correspondent and radio host, currently working at National Public Radio (NPR). He has been described by ''The New York Times'' as "one of the most popular podcasters in history" and his podcasts ...

References

External links

* {{Coord, 37.785389, -122.402284, display=title Arts centers in California South of Market, San Francisco Art museums and galleries in San Francisco Contemporary art galleries in the United States Music venues in San Francisco Parks in San Francisco Theatres in San Francisco Museums in San Francisco Arts organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area Non-profit organizations based in San Francisco Cultural infrastructure completed in 1993 1993 establishments in California 1993 in San Francisco Fumihiko Maki buildings Modernist architecture in California