Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

I went to the Valen-tiny Idea night on Feb 12 th and had a great time! It was such an awesome, new, and original idea on how to connect singles as well as couples in game interactions! The event was great and i would definitely attend another!

working in cultural music and dances,eg giving traing tocultural music anddance,and composing diversified ethiopian musics with instruments.ok

While I'm a big SFMOMA fan, I've always been intrigued by the relative gallery-like feel of YBCA, just across the street; the latter being almost like that punky kid sister to the former. Over the years I've had the chance to serve on a few committees centered around some of their events and gatherings, and it's always been interesting to witness how they utilize volunteers and their respective connections/resources to bring something to fruition. There's a real sense of locality going on, and community. As with any organization, it does come down to the people behind it, and that's true here: I still remain in contact with Mary Beth Smith, who headed up their marketing efforts (and ironically who now does some work with SFMOMA). Emily Lakin, who I believe is still there, is another go-getter. Good people. And then, front and center, of course is the art. It's edgy, almost like a testing ground and/or launching pad for artists about to become huge. Most exhibits I've seen have been thoughtfully curated, but like I said before, it's their art happenings that truly bring this place to life.

YBCA offers a unique arts experience in San Francisco, combining the visual and performing arts in a very contemporary context that engages the community. The programming is dynamic, thoughtful, and exciting. It is an American Kunsthalle, that is never stale or didactic.

We are members of YBCA mostly for the dance programs. We are enthralled by the breadth and quality of the programs. We are season ticket holders for the San Francicso Ballet, and YBCA dance adds so much to our appreciation of this art form. The programs are not available anywhere else. The people at YBCA are exceptional. Thank you YBCA!

I am a frequent and loyal audience member for YBCA's performing arts and film and video programming. There is nowhere else in the Bay Area where I can experience such adventuresome and accomplished work from around the world. Each year I see daring experimental theater and contemporary dance nearly to my heart and mind's content. Recent offerings from Japan, Uzbekistan, Mexico and London, as well as all the heavy hitters from around the US, enrich me enormously and make me glad and hopeful about art's capacity for intellectual and socio-aesthetic inspiration. The performing arts series, as does the film and video, presents a terrific balance of local as well as national and international work. Both programs, along with the visual arts program's Bay Area Now exhibitions,actively support the best of Bay Area art-making, with the performing arts series commissioning new local dance theater works. The film series also deserves special commendation for a bold curatorial vision, unearthing rarely seen treasures and some of the best independent international filmmakers that also inspire. Recent screening of television films by Michael Haneke, a restrospective by Argentina's Lucrecia Martel, and Bay Area premieres of works by Mexico's Carlos Reygadas and Thailand's Apichatpong Weerasethakul, and the beautiful and only film by Jean Genet are just some of the highlights of the film programming. In other words, YBCA is one of the things most central to my life in San Francisco and is one of the main reasons I make the sacrifices I do to live here. YBCA definitely makes it worth it.

Never boring, always interesting, often challenging and sometimes shocking! I appreciate the way YBCA pushes the boundaries of art and makes me think and feel. As a board member I am thrilled to be a part of an organization that is committed to excellence, but willing to take risks. In this day of economic hardship the organization has made the right moves and found ways to continue programming without raising prices and regularly offer up completely FREE events where 2,000 to 3,000 people routinely show up. YBCA is keeping Art at the heart of community life, because Art is needed in our lives more than ever. Thank you YBCA.

This place is great. Great exhibits, affordable and fun events and performances. A wide range of engaging arts: At YBCA have seen many visual art exhibits, watched 'Objectified' the movie, seen dance, heard a panel speak about environmental projects, and been to evening events including a great election night party. Awesome place. Good location too. I look to YBCA to push places where organizations like SFMOMA may not be able to.

I was recently invited to Akram Khan dance performance at YBCA. The performance was amazing. It strongly illustrates YBCA vision to support/promote the work of artists who strive to close the gap between cultures and counties. After the performance, I had the opportunity to meet with several board members and staff of YBCA and I am very impressed with their passion for this organization. We are very fortunate to have an organization like YBCA in our city that pushes the boundaries of art.

i am a supporter and Board member of YBCA and try and go to as many of their events as i can. The center has a diverse menu of artistic offerings from visual to film to music to contemporary dance and performance. YBCA challenges me to see the world in new ways and opens challeging, timely, timeless and provocative questions. The level of artistry is excellent and at times truly profound. YBCA balances presenting global work with local Bay Area talent and provides a venue for emerging to world renown artists.

I truly enjoy and appreciate what YBCA brings to the San Francisco art community; I find many of the installations and performances provocative in the best possible sense. I want to be compelled to think and I want to have my perspectives challenged; YBCA frequently provides this level of stimulation. The diversity of programs and artists represented is a breath of fresh air.

Before I became a Board Member at YBCA I was a member and a frequent participant in their performances, films and art shows. I was never disappointed. Although every show was not necessarily in line with my personal artistic preferences, every show was either provocative or educational. When you support YBCA, you are never bored! This organization represents a core value in the San Francisco community: artistic innovation. If more people experienced at least one show, more people would become members. We owe that to YBCA, and to the cultural community at large.

Such a unique organization that fills a gap in the San Francisco museum scene. We are truly lucky to have an innovative venue unlike any other. I love that YBCA hosts events for contemporary music, dance, AND art.

YBCA is a great organization - one that is truly dedicated to finding and promoting a variety of artists and their artwork.

YBCA offers so much to the public: art, music, dance and education. The accessibility to culture from around the world to us in San Francisco is outstanding.

I recently joined the board at YBCA after attending their programming for years. This organization is without peer in it's ability to present exhibitions and shows that highlight the web of cultural exchange all over the world. They pro-actively travel the world and bring some of the most thought provoking art to San Francisco. We're enormously lucky to have this kind of cross-disciplinary institution available to us, a place that clearly sets trends for the rest of the country.

I had very high expectations for the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts when I joined as an upper-level member some years ago, and I am pleased to say that those expectations have been more than met -- they have been exceeded. Innovation, creativity, verve and edginess mark the programs in film, dance, music and the visual arts. One of the high points was the collaboration of the Margaret Jenkins dance troupe and Indian sacred dancers. Also fabulous was the production of "Wozzeck." And the key words project was a great exercise in cross-cultural feedback and collaboration. Also, as a donor, i have had a chance to meet such great artists as Bill T. Jones, among others. I would highly recommend Yerba Buena Center for the Arts!