AfroSolo was founded in San Francisco in 1993 as an act of cultural resistance and affirmation. What began as a focused intervention in solo performance has grown into one of the Bay Area’s longest running Black-led multidisciplinary arts organizations.

AfroSolo’s core programming is anchored by the annual AfroSolo Arts Festival, a year long multidisciplinary celebration of Black arts and culture. Each year’s programming is united by a central theme and structured around three signature components. AfroSolo in the Gardens is a free outdoor jazz concert at Yerba Buena Gardens featuring acclaimed Black vocalists and instrumentalists in an accessible public setting. AfroSolo in the Gallery is a curated visual arts exhibition showcasing five Black artists at the African American Center of SF’s Main Public Library. The Black Voices Performance Series is the centerpiece of the festival, presenting solo theatre, poetry, spoken word, and dance by African American and African Diasporan artists in culturally significant venues.
AfroSolo also operates year round community engagement and artist development programs. In 2025: STOP! SHOW! & CONTROL!: The Art of Surviving Police Stops, a theatre and community dialogue series designed to decrease harm during law enforcement encounters; Ongoing: Black Women: Resilient, a writing and performance workshop for Black women; senior writing workshops at the Dr. George W. Davis Senior Center; and storytelling initiatives that support formerly incarcerated Black men and other systemically marginalized participants.

During the 2026-2027 period, AfroSolo will include The Sovereign Self Project within its core program continuum as an artist development and performance lab. Informed by AfroSolo’s solo performance legacy, the project combines writing, embodiment, devised theatre, and collective authorship so Black adult participants can transform internalized racial narratives into original performance material. The work is designed as a developmental laboratory that strengthens voice, confidence, creative skill, and pathways to public presentation.