Welcome
Dear World Arts West Community,
Welcome to the 2023 World Arts West Dance Festival! We are thrilled to be back at the Presidio, as World Arts West celebrates 45 years of supporting cultural artists who are preserving, living, and innovating cultures from around the world.
Last year World Arts West returned to live performances with a historic partnership with the Presidio. This partnership enabled us to offer our beloved annual festival free of charge to the community. The impact was truly remarkable. For so many culturally diverse and immigrant families, it was their first time stepping foot in the Presidio, their first time attending our festival, and their hearts were filled with love for this beautiful national park.
World Arts West has undergone a significant equity transformation in the last few years. Our staff, board, and festival production are now majority cultural artists that represent the diversity of our dance community. To meet cultural artists’ multitude of needs, we’ve steadily expanded our artist service programs to include the Grants Accelerator Program, Special Artist Commissions, and Career Pathways Program. We are forging partnerships to offer year-round performance opportunities to artists. We are working on special initiatives such as the Arts Equity Research Project, and Living Archive Project.
By featuring Garifuna from Nicaragua, Aztec dance, and youth performers in the 2023 World Arts West Dance Festival, we are highlighting artists that have traditionally been underrepresented in our festivals, as part of our journey to be an equitable and social justice-oriented organization. We acknowledge the Presidio’s commitment to accessibility and inclusion, as our organizations partner again to present the festival free to the community, and with ASL interpretation, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to experience the magic, beauty, and diversity of our cultural heritage.
The Festival features close to 200 cultural artists from the Bay Area, representing cultural traditions from China, Mexico, Guinea Bissau, Casamance, Senegal, Spain, India, Nicaragua, Brazil and Tahiti. The World Arts West artist community has always been engaged in international cultural exchange. We are thrilled that the renowned Ilê Aiyê from Brazil will join our festival as special guests. Founded in 1974 as the first Afro-Bloco group in Brazil. Ilê Aiyê pioneered the type of carnival group known as the bloco afro, celebrating global black cultures and history, and aesthetic beauty of black people. We are also deeply honored that legacy artists and culture bearers, such as Mama Naomi Diouf, Antônio Carlos dos Santos Vovô, and Roberto Borrell join our festival this year.
Today, we gather here to celebrate the joy and unity that dance brings to our lives. Thank you all for being here, and enjoy the festival!
In community,
Anne Huang
Executive Director
World Arts West
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