Koret Foundation Grants $6M to Bay Area Arts and Culture Efforts
Grants over three-year period to expand arts education and engagement, restore Bay Area’s cultural backbone
SAN FRANCISCO –The Koret Foundation, a leading private foundation dedicated to creating a vibrant Bay Area, has announced more than $6 million in new grants to support local arts and culture institutions. The grants, supporting hallmark institutions of the Bay Area, seek to expand exposure to arts education, increase access to and participation in the arts, and bolster organizational resilience amid the arts industry’s recovery from the pandemic.
As arts organizations rebuild and recover, the Koret Foundation is supporting efforts to expand access and engage visitors by making their work more relevant, inviting, and accessible for younger and more diverse Bay Area audiences. These initiatives include redesigning spaces to feel more approachable, infusing new artists and perspectives into traditional artforms, creating events for families and underrepresented communities, and creating immersive experiences with new technology.
Limited school resources have created a sizable void in funding for arts education, to the detriment of students and the collective community alike. Koret’s grants will support local cultural organizations filling the void, enabling them to reach new audiences with programming that helps students explore the arts and strengthens their broader educational experience, of which the arts is a key component.
Over a three-year period, these new grants will support:
- San Francisco Symphony
- SFMOMA
- Stanford Live
- Cal Performances
- Fine Arts Museums
- Asian Art Museum
- American Conservatory Theater
- San Francisco Ballet
- San Francisco Opera
- Berkeley Repertory Theatre
- Oakland Museum of California
In addition to these institutions, grants will be made to nearly 30 smaller community arts organizations supporting a mix of programs all designed to reach the broadest number of Bay Area residents possible from students to seniors.
“The performing and visual arts represent the fabric of the Bay Area’s culture and identity,” said Dr. Michael Boskin, president of the Koret Foundation. “Providing students with robust and engaging arts educational opportunities, as these standout Bay Area organizations do, is crucial to developing skills and inspiring creative thinking.”
“The arts sector is still confronting the aftershocks of the Covid-19 pandemic, facing a slow return of audiences and significant funding gaps due to rising costs,” added Ashley Rodwick, senior program officer at the Koret Foundation. “Building on Koret’s long-standing support for the Bay Area arts community, these grants will focus on expanding access to and participation in the arts, hoping to strengthen this sector for future generations.”
