Mission

SFIAF’s mission is to promote the arts and San Francisco through production of an annual, multi-disciplinary festival that brings together the world community of artists and audiences. The festival:

• Commissions innovative, collaborative performances and projects that push the boundaries of artistic excellence and genre that are focused on increasing human awareness, appreciation and understanding.
  
• Is a catalyst for emergence of a cohesive, culturally and socially diverse artistic community in San Francisco that is actively engaged in addressing the civic, social, and cultural issues of our environment and time.
  
• Establishes San Francisco as a model for integration of the arts into the fabric of the community in a meaningful, productive and mutually beneficial fashion.

SFIAF’s goals are

• To insure San Francisco’s future allure as a vibrant, creative artist community by informing and enriching the arts at home through encouraging an innovative international dialogue between Bay Area artists and their peers throughout the world.
  
• To collaborate with other San Francisco arts organizations to share our resources and stage the Festival in the most cost effective manner possible.
  
• To provide rich and meaningful learning experiences through a wide range of residency activities aimed at multiple sectors of the population.
  
• To promote the festival to a local, statewide, national and international audience.
  
• To raise the City’s profile as an international culture destination.
  
• To demonstrate how the arts perform a vital role in stimulating and positively impacting the economy of San Francisco.

Curatorial Priorities

SFIAF seeks to achieve a balance between the following three criteria when considering projects for inclusion in the Festival.

• Projects in which Bay Area based artists are participating as a lead artist in an international collaboration.
  
• Projects in which Bay Area artists are performing as part of a shared bill or in repertory with artists from other countries. Arranging reciprocal international opportunities for the Bay Area artist is encouraged but not mandatory.
  
• Projects that feature world-class artists from outside of the United States whose work has a proven record of excellence.