APPLICATION CLOSES SEPT. 22ND!!!

APPLICATION DEADLINE IS 01.15.25!!!

The concerts will feature classic compositions that celebrate and reflect on the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the African American civil rights movement. The program, timed to honor the MLK, Jr. Bank Holiday on Monday January 20, will be directed by Dr. Dee Spencer of San Francisco State University and feature some of the Bay Area's leading vocalists. Each evening will feature the Dee Spencer Trio, a headline guest artist and four community singers. Members of the public wishing to participate in the concerts as vocalists, please read the following regarding auditions.

* Courage is a requirement. 

The Gerbode Foundation is pleased to announce a $400,000 fund for the creation and development of new theater productions by California writers, playwrights, spoken word artists, and theater-makers. The new works will be commissioned and produced by Bay Area nonprofit artist-centered organizations with annual budget sizes of $60K to $3M that can apply for grants of $50,000 each.

The Kenneth Rainin Foundation’s Open Spaces Program supports artist-driven temporary, place-based public art projects that resonate with communities. This grantmaking program funds projects at different stages of development that feature generative collaboration between artists, communities and nonprofit organizations to realize ambitious, risk-taking projects.

The Open Spaces Program prioritizes:

• Visionary and timely projects that expand the boundaries of public art and support artists in advancing their practices.

• Collaborations across various disciplines, diverse media and technology.

• Projects that are relevant to and engage communities in Oakland and San Francisco.

• Projects that take place in Oakland and/or San Francisco  .

• Projects that leverage civic and neighborhood resources and cultural assets, including outdoor and nontraditional sites accessible by public transportation.

• Compensating artists at a significant level.

• Mutually beneficial partnerships between artists and collaborators.

• Projects that are accessible to the widest possible audience, including historically underserved audiences.

• Projects that are temporary in nature but are publicly accessible for at least a month.

• Tracking outcomes and project evaluation.

The program also provides post-production support for film projects directed by filmmakers who reside in these counties.

The Community Arts and Together in Community programs of the Zellerbach Family Foundation have an open application process; all other grantmaking is done by invitation.

“Our purpose is to support and enable community well-being in Oakland and San Francisco so that all people can reach their fullest potential with dignity and joy,” said Jamie Allison, Executive Director of the Walter & Elise Haas Fund. “This framework connects our past work with our future vision, creating a cohesive approach to addressing our region’s most pressing challenges.”

Do you have a ten minute, one-act or full-length play you’re ready to have a reading for?  

BAMBDFEST is back in 2025 with Monday Night Theater!

WHAT IS BAMBDFEST

BAMBDFEST 2025 INTERNATIONAL is a multi-day, multi-venue festival in celebration of the Black Arts Movement Business District, Black Arts & Culture, and economics in Oakland, CA.

Founded in February 2019, produced by the Lower Bottom Playaz, Inc. in collaboration with BAMBD CDC., BAMBDFEST 2025 INTERNATIONAL will be a hybrid international multi-media festival consisting of virtual and  public performances with a concentration in Theater, Film, and Literature.

The events will include local and guest performances, readings, a book fair, a publication, film screenings, panel discussions, intellectual exchanges, lectures, installations, local history teach-ins, family and youth activities that animate public spaces.