“Intersection” began as a merger of several faith-based experiments using art to reach underserved youth. Three church groups, sponsored by the Glide Foundation, organized artists who were conscientious objectors to the Vietnam War to teach art to youth in the Tenderloin. The organization quickly became an epicenter of new music, theater, comedy, and other arts in the Bay Area in the 1960s.

“Intersection had just taken over St. John’s Methodist Church at 756 Union in North Beach. It had been an active church, but the attendance was so bad they closed it. The Methodist Church said Intersection could have it for a dollar a year. I took the pews out and got seats from the old Surf Theater. We turned the lower-level social hall into a coffeehouse. We had art exhibits there. We built a light-projection booth for Canyon Cinema. In the sanctuary, they showed experimental films—short, personal films by artists like Bruce Conner. There were poetry readings: Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Michael McClure, Kenneth Rexroth, and Josephine Miles. We had wonderful plays like “Slow Dance on the Killing Ground.” There were so many programs going on simultaneously.” 

“I read there a lot in the late 70s. We had something called the Bay Area Poets Coalition, and we had a symbiotic relationship with Intersection. One weekend, we had 24 hours of poetry all over the city—in Laundromats, grocery stores, on cable cars, and street corners. It culminated with a reading at Intersection Sunday night. The weekend was wonderful, an enormous amount of fun, and it reflected what we believed in—that poetry should be an active part of people’s lives.” Photo Credit: Ntozake Shange by Barnard College; digitally restored by Chris Woodrich.

Intersection became a refuge for a generation of artists grappling with these local tragedies as well as the horrors of the Vietnam War.

Intersection for the Art’s resident theater company, Campo Santo, is an award-winning multicultural ensemble dedicated to creating new performances that reflect our world. Since 1996, we have premiered more than 50 new performance pieces, working with renowned playwrights, poets, novelists, screenwriters, musicians, and choreographers.

Intersection launched “Jazz at Intersection,” a series that exposed audiences to more than 60 concerts with almost 200 musicians worldwide.

In the early 2000s, Intersection launched the Artist Incubator Program, offering its members fiscal sponsorship, coaching, professional development, and performance opportunities. Most artists in residence at the 466 Valencia Street location were members of the Artist Incubator Program. 

Intersection was one of the early adopters of fiscal sponsorship for the arts. When Frances Phillips was the Executive Director in the 1980s, she and a cohort of other folks worked on developing and articulating the models for fiscal sponsorship and establishing best practices. But even before that, the organization worked to help artists have sustainable careers. At one point, Intersection hosted a radio show about opportunities in the Bay Area and professional development workshops on topics like developing contracts and copywriting your work. Because it wasn’t lively and outward-facing like the visual and performing arts, artist resources were a behind-the-scenes project we did to build the capacity of individual artists and small to mid-sized organizations. When the organization’s financial circumstances called for a change in 2014, we entirely pivoted to artist resources and services to rebuild Intersection as a sustainable, community-oriented organization.

…with all of our coworking members in tow. This is Intersection for the Arts’ current home. We are thrilled to have a gorgeous, sunlit space with comfortable and spacious desks, meeting rooms, and more. We offer low-cost coworking and rental options for the arts community, and we can’t wait to welcome you in!

Intersection for the Arts moved to a shared leadership model that distributes vision, responsibility, trust, and decision-making across a diverse staff led by Executive Co-Directors Allison Snopek and Scott Nielsen. Learn more about our talented team and board members here.