Since 1991, CounterPulse has been a platform where remarkably multidimensional narratives are synthesized to create, support, and launch art-making activities that speak to critical concerns and reflect the vitality of grassroots communities. In 2005, CounterPulse launched our flagship Artist Residency and Commissioning (ARC) program that includes three residency tracks, spanning contemporary dance, experimental culturally-specific performance, and technologically engaged choreography. Since 2010, under the current Artistic & Executive Director, CounterPulse has maintained a consistent track record of launching programs of national and international profile, cementing CounterPulse’s leadership in the dance and performance ecosystem; such initiatives include the CounterPulse Festival, ongoing since 2018; large-scale public art projects in 2017 and 2023, and international curatorial initiatives annually.

As an outgrowth of this impact, CounterPulse was selected in 2014 to partner with Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST) to acquire and renovate a building in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, moving into the 10,000 sq. ft., fully accessible facility in 2016. Over the ensuing years CounterPulse has deepened our commitment to accessibility as an axis of community building by partnering with local service organizations to facilitate community development through arts in our neighborhood. In 2023, CounterPulse completed a $7 million capital campaign to purchase the building from CAST and is now a permanent and thriving cultural anchor in downtown San Francisco.

CounterPulse produces world-class, critically acclaimed programs that directly support working artists. Residency, commissioning, presentation, co-production, fiscal sponsorship, and rental exchange programs work in concert to springboard artists into the next level of their careers and provide access to income, marketing and production support, and below-market rental rates. All of our programs share a commitment to access and affordability aimed at building resilience and risk-taking in communities of artists by giving them a home for making and presenting works.