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LINEUP LIFE
Upwardly Mobile: EpiCenter at Yerba Buena Center
INFORUM at The Commonwealth Club
Contemporary Extension at SFMOMA
International Diplomacy Council
SINGLES and Doubles
Upwardly Mobile...
Staff Report
EpiCenter at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
(Interviewee: Sarah A. Sobey - Associate Manager, Membership and Annual Fund)
What is your organization's mission and how is it achieved?
EpiCenter is Yerba Buena Center for the Arts' Membership group for young arts enthusiasts seeking adventurous art and a way to connect with the YBCA community and the Bay Area arts scene. This group shakes things up at the Center.
While learning about art can be very one dimensional–just think of a dimly lit lecture hall complete with monotone speaker–EpiCenter strives to be the exact opposite. EpiCenter events merge artists, music and cocktails in the pursuit of
having a ‘culturally' good time.
Describe the makeup of your organization, i.e. who you want, who you get, and who would you like more of? Why do people join, vs why should they join?
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts attracts a diverse crowd that tends to be younger than the usual arts audience. Our dedication to contemporary work, experimental art and emerging artists attracts people looking for a non-traditional
arts experience. EpiCenter Members interact with artists who are creating original works, exploring fresh ideas, and redefining art as we know it. We want people who are interested in the creative process and art that reflects the times
we live in. It's also about having fun. People join to attend great events—including Shift, our quarterly happy hour alternatives, intimate meet-the-artist cocktail receptions and our "Best of the Bay" Opening Night Parties—for
FREE.
In what aspect are you most successful? Tell us about your biggest success to date. How do you measure success?
 Success for us is reaching the largest amount of people and pushing art in new directions. Seamless, our Shift event held last December during
our Bay Area Now 3 exhibition, drew record attendance and showed what can happen when arts organizations collaborate to create a joint event. For this event, YBCA worked with the ADHOC group and CCAC students to select  six local independent fashion designers, who where paired with a Bay Area Now 3 artist to create new fashions that reacted to works included in
the exhibition. Alissa Anderson made costumes that brought Kenneth Hung's outrageous cyber-world characters to life, while Galya Rosenfeld created dresses out of cloth embedded with hundreds of tiny pins in a response to delicate paper
sculptures by Midori Harima.
Tell us about something new and exciting that your organization is doing.
We are gearing up to celebrate our 10th Anniversary this October. Plans are underway for a multi-disciplinary arts festival highlighting 10 years of commitment to the artistic development of Bay Area artists and organizations. From
October through January, we expect more than 25,000 people to join us in honoring the past and envisioning our future at dozens of performances, exhibitions, film screenings, community gatherings and VIP special events.
Are all of your events in San Francisco? Do you participate in community outreach programs?
Yes, all of our events are in San Francisco, either at the Center or off-site at local ‘hot-spots'. EpiCenter Members are invited to meet-the-artist events that fuse a cocktail hour with an artist talk. For example, in January EpiCenter
Members joined YBCA Artist-in-Residence Jona Frank at 111 Minna Gallery. Frank shared her latest work, talked about her inspirations and answered questions from the crowd.
What is the biggest myth that people have about the art field or parent group that you are affiliated with? What is the most common misperception?
People generally don't know the scope of our programming and facilities. We have two buildings located in the heart of the downtown area next to Yerba Buena Gardens, across from SF MOMA. Our Galleries and Forum building at 701 Mission
houses our Galleries, Screening Room and Forum. The Forum is a multi-purpose space that is generally used as an additional theater for smaller-scale more intimate performances. Our Theater, at 700 Howard, seats 750.
The Center presents visual arts, film/video, music, dance and theater so we are a true arts center not just a museum or performance venue. We do not have a permanent collection and present 4 contemporary exhibitions each year. The
film/video program focuses on independent and experimental films and underappreciated and rarely screened filmmakers. Performing arts encompasses a wide variety of dance, music and theater. The common themes throughout all work we present
are adventurous, hip, cutting-edge and multicultural. Audiences and Members alike enjoy that they can interact with artists here and support the creation of new work. YBCA is ever-evolving and changes with the times. We use the phrases
"where art and pop culture collide" and "where traditions are both celebrated and challenged" to describe ourselves.
What is the best way to "test the waters" with your group? If I attend one of your events, what should I expect?
 Attending a Shift event would be the best way to see the galleries and experience an EpiCenter event for the first time. Shift—our quarterly Friday
after-work happy hours—bring together hundreds of partying art lovers shifting into weekend mode with adventurous art, great grooves, surprise entertainment, free cocktails and tapas. On Friday, June 20th, we are taking Shift late
night at a special event celebrating art, music, film and fashion! Co-presented by blasthaus and Golden Gate Recordings,
nightShift will provide a unique experience combining wildly creative and cutting-edge art music, DJs, fashion and film by an international lineup of DJs and artists. The party will feature music by the UK's Ben Watt and local
DJs Laird, Martel, Toph One, DJ Polywog and Jeffrodeeziak, a film and new media program by Transcinema in our Screening Room, an avant-garde fashion show, creative cuisine from the city's top restaurants, and more!
What more does San Francisco need to do to improve its art and culture offerings?
The city has so many art and culture offerings that the emphasis needs to be on getting the "non-arts goers" to the arts. We have entered a time of belt tightening where seats are going unsold and cultural institutions are cutting back
programs. We need to reverse this trend by making the arts accessible to everyone. This means lower ticket prices, bringing back arts education in schools and reaching out to non-traditional audiences.
What do you want me ask you that no one ever does? And, what is the answer of course!
Beyond Membership, how can I get more involved?
The Center has a variety of volunteer opportunities available ranging from our gallery representative program to theater ushers. For more information call 415.978.2710 ext. 200 or log on to our Web site at
www.YerbaBuenaArts.org.
Become an EpiCenter Member today!
Call (415) 978-2710 ext 143
Visit
our website., or
Email
Membership Dept.
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