Model and Strategy
Launched in 2010 by ALTERNATIVA, FRESH Festival is artist-driven and -oriented, with a mission to ensure that San Francisco continues to grow as a provocative and productive hub for contemporary art. From its inception, FRESH has been a collaboration between its producers, curators, artists, and the communities it serves. The Festival is an incubator for innovative work, and provides opportunities for experimental dancers, performers and musicians to exchange ideas, explore new research and perform their work. FRESH is, in essence, about discovery, and provides opportunities for personal and artistic discovery. FRESH includes artists from around the Bay Area of different cultural backgrounds. The curatorial process, which changes every year ensures that the work represents the diverse range of experiences in the Bay Area. The theme for FRESH 2017 is Empathy/Disruption, in order to push people out of their comfort zones, producing a unique blend of compassion, art, and activism.
Impact
The long term impacts of FRESH Festival would be establishing a festival that the community can rely on every year, to provide high quality and innovative programming. Every January, multiple Bay Area organizations and entities would collaborate to support, cultivate and generate opportunities for experimental dance, performance and music artists. The Festival would occupy multiple theaters, studios, and gathering places within Project Artaud and around the Mission District, and the Festival would continue to grow as a community leader. Through this extensive support system, a national and international network will continue to develop from FRESH Festival that draws Bay Area artists and their work out into the world and draws the world to the Bay Area.
Leadership
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Kathleen Hermesdorf
Director/Co-Curator