Launched in 2015, the San Francisco Arts Commission's Artist in Residence (AIR) program builds partnerships with City Departments in order to provide unique residency opportunities that result in strengthening the value of artists participating in and responding to the advancement of civic dialogue. AIR opportunities are only open to artists residing in the Bay Area.

In fall 2020, an Artist in Residence program was established in partnership with the City’s Command Center (CCC), headquartered at Moscone Center, and the San Francisco Public Library. CCC is a multi-agency collaboration working to establish, deploy and communicate critical health and recovery policies for all San Franciscans.