Four Program Pillars

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Photo By: Darryl Kelly


In the last few years, World Arts West has undergone a transformative equity journey. We are leaning in to our mission and vision to build an organization that is by and for artists. By listening to the artists we serve, we have expanded our programmatic offerings to include: 
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  • Live Performances - We partner with other institutions to offer performance opportunities to artists throughout the year, including our annual festival. This year we presented World Arts West Dance Festival 2023 at the Presidio to great acclaim. We continue to explore the best presenting options and locations to serve our diverse community’s needs.   
  • Artist Service Programs - The Grants Accelerator Program provides capacity building support to an annual cohort of cultural artists and dance companies. Since January 2022, the GAP cohort has raised over $1,000,000 ! The Career Pathways Program introduces cultural artists to careers that support our cultural arts ecosystem. 
 
  • Visibility & Advocacy - We work to uplift artists into leadership positions to ensure the voices of culture bearers are heard in policy decisions surrounding the arts. This year WAW staff participated in the Dance/USA National Arts Advocacy Initiative, CA Arts & Culture Summit, and the Greater Bay Area Arts Advocacy Coalition. 2023 also marks the beginning of our groundbreaking research project to survey our community, funded by the Wallace Foundation.
 
  • Archiving & Documentation - We have 45 years of World Arts West history to organize, digitize, and share. There are also many stories and oral histories we’d like to document so they are not forgotten. This year we are piloting our first WAW Archive Cohort to learn about best practices for archiving and strategize solutions as a group.