The Svane Family Foundation

The Svane Family Foundation is proud to announce Round 5 of Culture Forward, awarding $550,000 to 12 projects activating the streets and iconic buildings of Downtown San Francisco. To date, Culture Forward has invested nearly $3M across 60 initiatives bringing families, students, and new audiences into the core of the city. “We’re officially in our second year of this three-year program, and one thing I can say for sure is that these projects have made my experience of San Francisco richer, my community deeper, and have cultivated a sense of awe in the joy and resilience around us. Round 5 brings evolutions—MoAD’s Nexus, now in its third year, centering the global influence and imagination of the African Diaspora; SOMArts’ second annual Luminesce Ball, a radically joyful celebration of ballroom culture with Oakland to All; Tenderloin Museum’s transformation of the legendary Newman’s Gym (host to icons like Muhammad Ali!) into an immersive exhibition with historic archives and MMA performances; and Market Street Arts & Theater Festival, turning the streets of mid-market into a walkable stage with Broadway actors and local performers, a promising ignition of a robust theater district. It also brings new projects to our program, that thoughtfully fill critical gaps—Missing Link Club, creating space for those Missing Conversation through workshops, parties, and print; the Creative Youth Celebration, building belonging for Bay Area high school artists in Downtown by showcasing their work at YBCA; and Arts.Co.Lab, connecting local legends with a global community during the FIFA World Cup through a waterfront art market and live game screenings. Thank you to all of our awardees and applicants for the essential work you do in making culture in San Francisco. I’m excited to begin a new storytelling chapter for Culture Forward—one that traces this growing network and the people behind it. More on that soon ;)” —Kelsey Issel, Culture Forward Director List of awardees in comments and on our website.

One Night For Year One! Thank you to everyone who came out to celebrate one year of Culture Forward! On Friday night at The Battery, hundreds gathered from the SF art community and beyond in celebration of our $5M commitment to Downtown creativity that continues through 2027. A special thanks to Culture Forward awardees who presented throughout the evening: Oakland to All with a Mini Ball, Non Stop Bhangra showing us the best of traditional Punjab dancing, Per Sia presenting Drag Story Hour, Club Unicornio DJs, and live music from SFJAZZ.

The Svane Family Foundation is proud to announce the fourth round of Culture Forward recipients, awarding $552,000 to 12 community-driven projects activating Downtown San Francisco throughout 2026. Timed to SF Art Week, this round includes major cultural activations, from a new Fillmore-rooted musical and immersive exhibitions to neighborhood-wide festivals, Pride performances, Indigenous arts programming, and free public events across the city. With this announcement, Culture Forward surpasses $2M invested in creative projects in just one year, supporting more than 40 initiatives that bring families, students, and new audiences to Downtown SF. Culture Forward is a three-year, $5M commitment to public-facing cultural projects and community building in San Francisco. Learn more and apply via the link in bio. San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Company | Every Saturday Night | @sfbatco Art + Water | Forced Perspective: The World of Boot’s Riley | @artpluswater Chinatown Media and Arts Collaborative | 5th Annual Chinatown Contemporary Arts Festival | @edgeonthesquare San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade and Celebration Committee, Inc. | SF Pride 2026 Main Stage & Cultural Revitalization: Artist Honoraria Fund | @sanfranciscopride Society of Art and Living Archives | Living Archive: San Francisco | @society_of_art_livingarchives Non Stop Bhangra | Bhangra & Beats Night Market | @nonstopbhangra | @bhangraandbeats Yerba Buena Gardens Festival | The 2026 Indigenous Arts Series in Yerba Buena Gardens | @ybgfestival Saint Joseph’s Art Society & Mechanic’s Institute | LitLounge–Where Books, Authors, & Cocktails Converge | @saintjosephsartsfoundation @milibrary School of The Getdown | Black Music Month Festival | @thedynamicmiss Litquake Foundation | Litquake Downtown | @litquake American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) | A.C.T. Free Concert Series to Activate Market Street for ||:girls:||:chance:||:music:|| | @actsanfrancisco Flyaway Productions | Freedom Comes When One Walks Through It | @flyawayproductions_sf 
 📸: Courtesy of participating artists and organizations.l

Saint Joseph’s Arts Society and Mechanics’ Institute are proud to announce our next Lit Lounge, hosted at Mechanics’ Institute historic downtown library. 📚   Lit Lounge is made possible by @svanefoundation ’s Culture Forward grant program supporting arts and culture projects in San Francisco. We’re thrilled to announce the development of the new literature series celebrating the joy of analog connection — reading together, discovering new voices, and sharing a drink with fellow book lovers. 📖 Tickets are at the link in our bio! 🔗

Year 2 of Culture Forward is upon us! 〰️This is a 3 year, $5M commitment to supporting arts and culture projects in Downtown San Francisco neighborhoods. 〰️Application deadlines and grant disbursements happen quarterly. 〰️We focus on projects that are experimental, imaginative, execute quickly, and draw new audiences. 🏁In our first year we saw 46 projects funded to the tune of $2,158,000. 〰️You can check out our Grant Guidelines, free + simple application, *and* those 46 funded projects for a deeper understanding of what this grant fund is for! 🏁All info in bio. 🏁

“A half-century ago, the smart money was on Boston becoming the global capital of the tech world. Route 128 was considered the epicenter of the “Massachusetts Miracle.” As a tech founder I chose to head to the West Coast, like so many others, not just because we were drawn by the sunshine, the open space, and the ready supply of smart college graduates. We thought we’d benefit from situating ourselves in the aura of San Francisco. We wanted our companies to be rooted in the legacy of the counterculture at the American frontier.” 🔗 in bio 🏁

Most joyful art fair? This one. 🏆 @creativityexplored × @openinvitational This is the first fair of its kind centered on artists with disabilities, bringing together 25 progressive studios from across the country (and Japan!). You’ll find everything from paintings and drawings to ceramics and clothing. With approachable price points, good luck leaving empty-handed. Thanks to a Culture Forward grant from the @svanefoundation , this art fair is free for the public AND free for exhibitors, catalyzing change around who is collected, exhibited, and represented in the art world. 📍 215 Fremont St, SF 🗓️ Jan 23–25 | @SF_ArtWeek 🎟️ FREE

Come for the art. Stay for the rooftop views. 🌆 @art.fair.mont is SF’s newest boutique art fair featuring 9 contemporary art galleries from the Bay to Zimbabwe. Created by @gcs_agency with support from the @svanefoundation and @abgprojects . Hosted in the Pavilion Room at @fairmontsanfrancisco 📍 Fairmont San Francisco 🗓️ January 18–20, 2026 🎟️ Free entry, suggested $10 donation Participating galleries: @pali.galeria (CDMX) @longroadprojects (Pittsburgh) @markschoening (Minneapolis) @mitochondria.gallery (Houston) @meetlayer (Los Angeles) @abgprojects Art Group (Oakland) @slabofafrica (Zimbabwe) Creative Coma (San Francisco) @gcs_agency (San Francisco)

*THIS* is how you start @sf_artweek ➡️ in the city’s most iconic building. The Transamerica Pyramid Center is your hub for all things SF Art Week, debuting @icasanfrancisco ’s newest nomadic model. Here’s what to expect ↓ 💿 Tara Donovan: Stategems Sculptures constructed from thousands of recycled CDs, shifting with light, time, and weather in the Annex Gallery. 🪴 Lily Kwong: EARTHSEED DOME A site-responsive living soil installation being live–3D printed with sustainable, seed-impregnated materials. Constructed over the coming weeks, it will eventually bloom into a seed-dispersal hub. @lily_kwong 🛋️ The Lounge @ ICA SF A public lounge and cultural hub hosted at the Transamerica Pyramid Center throughout the week all supported by the @svanefoundation Culture Forward grants. 📍 @transamericapyramidcenter 🗓️ January 18–25 👋 Follow @erinlovesfun ~ your Bay Area bestie

SF Art Week kicks off tomorrow! From major downtown activations with ICA SF, Lily Kwong, and Creativity Explored to performances, conversations, workshops, fairs, and free public events across the city, these projects reflect Culture  Forward’s belief in art as a civic force. Join us for the SFAW Kick Off Party + Launch of ICA SF Lounge tomorrow, January 17 at the Transamerica Pyramid Center as we commence the beginning of SF Art Week. Swipe through for our guide to Culture Forward events across the city. SFAW Kick Off Party + Launch of ICA SF lounge Transamerica Pyramid Center @sf_artweek @icasanfrancisco @transamericapyramidcenter EARTHSEED DOME by Lily Kwong × ICA SF Transamerica Redwood Park @icasanfrancisco @lily_kwong IMAGINATE SATURDAYS Create alongside Creativity Explored artists and teaching artists Creativity Explored @creativityexplored GCS Agency: Art.Fair.Mont @fairmontsanfrancisco @gcs_agency MLK Jr. Free Community Day Museum of the African Diaspora @moadsf SFJAZZ & SMARTBOMB Open House @sfjazz Free Workshop: Cityscape Diorama Yerba Buena Center for the Arts @ybca Continuum: MoAD Over Time — Artist Talk Lava Thomas in conversation with Key Jo Lee Museum of the African Diaspora @moadsf Queer Power Hour: When We All Get To Heaven by KALW @kalwpublicmedia 220 Montgomery Street  Club Curiosity @saintjosephsartsfoundation 1401 Howard Street Creativity Explored × Open Invitational Art fair centering artists with developmental disabilities 215 Fremont Street @creativityexplored @openinvitational Compton’s Cafeteria Riot Tenderloin Museum @tenderloinmuseum 835 Larkin St  Art + Water: A New Model for Creativity and Access FOG Design + Art @artpluswater @fogfair In Public View: Art, the City, and Creative Collaborations With Ali Gass, Lily Kwong, and Ned Segal FOG Design + Art Personal Histories, Public Narratives Anoushka Mirchandani, Lava Thomas, and Arleene Correa Valencia in conversation, moderated by Jonathan Carver Moore FOG Design + Art Baby Rave Is Back! Asian Art Museum @asianartmuseum Sanctuary City Print Shop Yerba Buena Center for the Arts @ybca 📸: Courtesy of participating artists and organizations.

Root Division is honored to be named a Culture Forward grantee by the Svane Family Foundation! 🎉 Support from this initiative helps launch our inaugural SOMA Artists’ Fair—amplifying local creativity and community in Downtown SF. The Svane Family Foundation champions Bay Area artists and institutions through grants that strengthen the region’s creative ecosystem. #CultureForward #BayAreaArts #DowntownSF #RootDivision

Meet the newest Culture Forward grantees! The Svane Family Foundation is proud to announce the recipients of the third round of Culture Forward grants, awarding $555,000 in support of artists, institutions, and creative platforms shaping Downtown San Francisco’s cultural core. �From new public programming at the Asian Art Museum, Lily Kwong’s “EARTHSEED DOME”, as well as “The Compton’s Cafeteria Riot Play” presented by Tenderloin Museum, these projects embody the creativity, collaboration, and civic renewal defining San Francisco’s next chapter. Culture Forward is a three-year, $5M initiative dedicated to powering bold, public-facing creative work across Downtown SF. Applications for the next round are open through December 1, 2025. Learn more and apply via the link in bio. Awardees: Asian Art Museum Foundation of San Francisco | Public Programming for Rave into the Future: Art in Motion | @asianartmuseum CounterPulse | Performing Diaspora and Seed Community Engagement | @counterpulse GCS Agency | SF: Past / Present / Future | @gcs_agency Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco and San Francisco Art Week | SFAW x ICA SF Lounge at Transamerica Pyramid Center | @icasanfrancisco @sf_artweek JaZzLine INSTITUTE | The Soul Sessions Lily Kwong & Art At A Time Like This | EARTHSEED DOME | @lily_kwong @artatatimelikethis Moth Belly Gallery | Tenderloin Art Walk Second Wednesdays & Bay Area Arts Magazine Release | @mothbellygallery Root Division | Inaugural SOMA Artists’ Fair | @rootdivision SF Creative Writing Institute | Dispatches from the City of Awe | @creativewritingsf Tenderloin Museum | The Compton’s Cafeteria Riot Play | @tenderloinmuseum The Intersection of Art and Technology | TIAT Downtown Events Series | @tiat.place Yerba Buena Center for the Arts | YBCA Free Monthly Music Series | @ybca 📸: Courtesy of participating artists and organizations and KQED #CultureForward #SFAW2026 #BayAreaArts #DowntownSF