World Arts West

World Arts West was founded in 1978 with the mission to promote and preserve the diverse cultural dance traditions of the San Francisco Bay Area, by providing opportunities for artists to share their unique heritage through education, performance, and community engagement. We aim to support and sustain the vibrancy of the Bay Area’s multicultural dance community and beyond, while advancing racial and economic equity in the arts. Core programs include: Live Performance Presentations – World Arts West creates paid and professional support opportunities for hundreds of artists, administrators, and production technicians each year, including live performance presentations that showcase the talents of cultural artists and promote cultural awareness. Artist Commissioning Program – Supporting cultural artists and dance companies to realize large-scale groundbreaking, original works. Artist Service Program – Supporting the economic and artistic viability of World Arts West’s artist community by providing capacity-building services including our Grants Accelerator Program, professional development workshops, fiscal sponsorship, production support, commissioning and advocacy. Arts Equity Research – Identifying barriers to arts funding, and work towards addressing systemic inequities through initiatives including our Wallace Foundation and Creative Equity Research Partners collaboration assessing the health and vitality of the greater Bay Area’s cultural dance community.