SFAC Galleries & SF Environment: 2025 Artist In Residence Request for Qualifications (RFQ)

Launched in 2015, the SFAC Artist in Residence Program builds partnerships with City Departments in order to provide unique artist residencies that result in strengthening the value of artists participating in and responding to the advancement of civic dialogue.  

The selected artist will spend 12 weeks in residence at SF Environment conducting research around its history, programs, services, and inner workings. Each residency will culminate in the creation of a new project that is responsive to the artist’s experience at SFE. Final project location will be determined based on proposal needs and availability of location.  

SF Environment (SFE) advances climate protection and enhances quality of life for all San Franciscans. SFE is recognized worldwide for its environmental policies and programs which center on achieving zero waste, reducing toxic chemical hazards, advancing environmental justice, promoting clean transportation modes, expanding clean energy infrastructure, greening our built environment, and protecting our urban forest. SFE is the lead municipal agency coordinating the implementation of the City’s Climate Action Plan which outlines the strategies to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2040 and to advance racial and social equity, support the City’s economic recovery, and improve health outcomes for San Francisco residents.  

San Francisco Arts Commission: http://www.sfartscommission.org  
San Francisco Environment: www.sfenvironment.org 

Project Goals  

1. Residency and resulting artwork should be guided by the following Overarching Principles:  

• Environmental Justice: The government should address, mitigate, and rectify past injustices while supporting community-led solutions that ensure environmental benefits are equitably distributed and environmental burdens are eliminated—so that all communities in San Francisco can be healthy and thrive.  
• Racial Equity: Racial Equity is a set of social justice practices rooted in understanding historical and current oppression, aiming for fairness for all. It means a world where race no longer determines opportunity and requires that those most impacted by racial inequities help shape the policies and practices that affect their lives. 
• Community Partnerships and Engagement: SFE promotes inclusive, community-informed strategies that build lasting relationships with marginalized and underrepresented groups. We use grassroots, culturally competent outreach—providing in-language materials and accessible engagement—to meet communities where they are. In partnership with CBOs, residents, and local groups, we co-create and deliver programs that reflect community needs and priorities. 

2. Residency and resulting artwork must focus on one or more of the following Programmatic Areas: 

• Circularity:  A shift from a wasteful economy to one that better manages its material resources, seeks to regenerate nature rather than simply sustaining it, reuses instead of throwing away, and does so in a way that improves the health and resiliency of San Franciscans. 
• Food Sovereignty: Food sovereignty is a food system in which the people who produce, distribute, and consume food also control the mechanisms and policies of food production and distribution. Local food production and access to local farmers provide a pathway to return to a more localized, and therefore, more sustainable food system. 
• Breaking Free from Plastic: We know the environmental and human health costs of continued plastic dependence and we’ve developed programs and policies over the years to address this core issue. For more than 30 years, SFE has been leading the effort to reduce and eliminate the use of plastic in our daily lives. 
• Reuse and Repair: Reuse and Repair is a mindset that challenges the need to buy more and buy new. SFE supports the reuse and repair economy through fix-it clinics that help you learn how to repair your clothing and bikes, and a Bring Your Own Cup (BYOC) campaign to encourage folks to refuse single-use cups.  
• Pollution Prevention & Healthy Communities: Since its inception, SFE has been developing and implementing programs focused on reducing and eliminating the use of chemicals that can harm human health and the environment and ensuring that those chemicals, when used, do not end up in a landfill or in our water system. 
• Healthy Ecosystems: Everyone deserves access to nature. We know it plays a vital role in supporting social, emotional, and physical health. SFE works to enhance and expand access to green spaces and support the planting and stewardship of native species which, when paired with thoughtful design, help prevent pests and weeds, reducing the need for harmful pesticides and herbicides, while also increasing habitat for local wildlife. 

Artist is not expected to be subject matter experts in the selected Programmatic Areas. SFE staff will provide education, training, and technical assistance as needed during the research phase of the residency. 

Residency Terms 

• The artist must be available for a residency period of 12 consecutive weeks from February-April 2026 and a minimum of 10 hours per week. 
• During the residency period, the artist must be able to work on-site at SFE for a minimum of 5 hours a week during business hours, which may vary by site.   
• At the end of the 12-week residency, the artist will present a project proposal, budget, and timeline for approval to the SFAC and SFE.  
• After a production period of 3-6 months, the artist will present a new project that is responsive to the artist’s experience and research while in residence at SFE. The final project location will be determined based on proposal needs and availability of location.  
• The artist must meet all project deadlines and perform work in a timely and professional manner. 
• The artist must communicate clearly with SFAC and SFE staff on a regular basis. 
• The artist must participate in one Earth Month event in April 2026 and one Climate Action event in July 2026.  
• For the culminating artwork, the artist will consult with SFE staff to ensure that materials and practices used reduce exposure to toxics and prioritize reuse.  

Financial & Legal Requirements 

• Artist must become an approved City Supplier in order to receive any payments. If the artist is unwilling or unable to become a City Supplier after selection, they will be ineligible for participation in the AIR program. 
• Artist is expected to sign a legal contract outlining their participation in this program and must provide proof of general liability insurance for the entire duration of the project. 
• Artist must manage the allocated budget for the resulting project as needed. 

Budget

The total budget for this Artist in Residence opportunity is $22,000: 

• $12,000 artist fee for the residency 
• $10,000 production budget for the creation and presentation of a substantial new work  

Payment will be issued in multiple stages based on set deliverables outlined in the contract.