OUR STORY
San Francisco Art & Film for Teenagers was established in 1993 to make the arts a constant and inspiring presence in young people's lives. Our motto is “we give you what school can’t” and we deliver by making available first-rate cultural events to Bay Area students; events chosen to stimulate students curiosity, excite their imaginations, and help them enter a wider world.
Experiences that address the aspiring, self-reflective impulses in young people are sorely needed in the present cultural climate. SF Art & Film believes a steady stream of contact with the arts gives them a context through which they can begin to understand their own lives and discover their own creative energies.
WHO WE ARE
Ronald Chase — Founding Director
Ronald has had multiple careers as artist, photographer, educator, independent film maker and opera designer. Those careers include 50 years of painting exhibitions, two feature films and numerous short films (he received the first SFMOMA SECA Award in film), a 30 year career in opera (collaborating with director, Frank Corsaro), and a 35 year career as arts critic-at -large on KAWL, San Francisco’s public radio station. ronaldchaseart.com
Isaiah Dufort — Director
Isaiah joined SF Art & Film as a high school student in 1998 and was immediately put to work running the projector at Cine Club and building Art & Film's website. Upon graduating from NYU in 2004, he was promoted to Assistant Director. Isaiah is also the screenplay writing mentor for the Film Workshop and an artist-in-residence at the Ruth Asawa School of the Arts creative writing department.
Huntly Gordon — Treasurer & Founding Mentor
Huntly has assisted Ronald with the running of the program since its inception in 1993. He has been on the board of SF Art & Film from the beginning, and participates in many of the organization's regular activities. Huntly is a former journalist, media consultant, television executive, housing director and legislative information officer.
Frish Brandt — Board President
Executive Director of Fraenkel Gallery. Brandt joined the SF Art & Film board in 2003, and has served as its president since 2006. The mother of a student alumnus and involved in the art world for over 35 years, most of Brandt's volunteer efforts focus on the role education plays in the arts, and the role that both education and art serve to enrich young people’s lives.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
- Frish Brandt - Joined in 2000. Board President
- Donna Kempner - Joined in 2006. Architecture photographer and mother of Art & Film alumni.
- Huntly Gordon - Founding Mentor
- Ronald Chase
- Isaiah Dufort
THE ADVISORY BOARD
- Nilus de Matran - Joined in 2009. Designer and architect. Parent of Art & Film alumni.
- Cheryl Drake - Joined in 2010. Parent of Art & Film Alumni.
- Joske Thompson - Joined in 2013. Real Estate agent at Pacific Union/Christie's International.
- Cecilia Barajas - Joined in 2015. Parent of 2 Art & Film students. Software consultant.
- Stella Lochman - Joined in 2015. Associate Curator of Public Practice at SFMOMA. Art & Film alumna.
- Deborah Aghib - Joined in 2012. Parent of 2 Art & Film students.
- Margo Kieser - Joined in 2014. Librarian for the SF Symphony.
- Sue Kubly - Joined in 2015. Art consultant.
- Paula Rivers - Joined in 2015.
ADVISERS
- Susan Stauter - Education Adviser since 1993. Artistic Director, San Francisco Unified School District.
- Emilia Burchiellaro - Design adviser since 2001. Designer, brand strategist, and director of Burchiellaro Design.