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

arts center An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " 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 fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

, California, United States. Located in Yerba Buena Gardens, 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 and the adjacent Theater by American architect James Stewart Polshek and Todd Schliemann. Betti-Sue Hertz served as Curator from 2008 through 2015.

History

The museum was conceived as part of a deal by mayor George Moscone 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, Cal ...

, San Francisco Grants for the Arts, and the San Francisco Human Rights Commission 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 ...

, and Marin County to support artists during the

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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 in 2008 and the Long Now Foundation 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 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 actor ...

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 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''), and industrial design ('' Objectified'') 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''.

Live events

The center has been the site for product launches by Apple Inc., 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 wa ...

s and the

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

. 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