House Artists
The House Artists are artists and companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area that are fiscally sponsored by CounterPulse. We help launch companies by offering a suite of financial, outreach, and facilities services. The artist roster includes these set of creators, performance companies, and organizations linked below, whose creative vision aligns with that of CounterPulse. Together we work to nurture risk-taking, assumption-shattering art of, by, and for diverse communities.
This partnership serves as a nesting place and launching pad for artists. We provide the home base for these artists and advocate for their work to increase the range of their reach. Financial and operational support is at the core of how we provide the solid foundation on which to build creative work. CounterPulse is committed to supporting the development of our House Artists by connecting them with our community, funders, and expanding the reach of their work to new audiences, presenters, and arts professionals.
Krista DeNio>>Moving Ground
KD>>MG creates collaborative, interdisciplinary performance projects using dance and theater to investigate impactful socio-political issues and our intimate personal lives. Centrally invested in social justice, the work offers participants multiple perspectives through site-responsive and audience-interactive experiences. Krista DeNio is an interdisciplinary choreographer, director, performer, writer and educator committed to interdisciplinary collaboration that bridges performance work, education and activism. Current projects include EchoTheaterSuitcase and NETWORK. Krista is also an Artist Facilitator with Skywatchers and ABD productions; teaches dance and performance making throughout the Bay Area and country, and is a member of the International Interdisciplinary Artist Consortium. www.kristadenio.com
TALL
The Tenderloin Art Lending Library (TALL) is a queer-artist-run project that lends artwork to Tenderloin community members free-of-charge. TALL is a trust-based program where artists—the majority of whom are homeless, formerly homeless, and live or work in the Tenderloin—donate artwork that is available for loan to any member of the Tenderloin community free-of-charge. TALL is predicated on the belief that Tenderloin residents deserve to appreciate all forms of visual arts expression. In CounterPulse’s spirit of accessibility, TALL provides this opportunity. TALL is open the first Tuesday of the month between 12pm-2pm.
The Actors Space
The Actors Space offers professional actor training designed to accommodate artists living and working in the Bay Area with reasonable and affordable education. Though every session has a central focus, the experiential and holistic approach for each class is built to engage the artist’s body, voice, mind and spirit.
Javier Stell-Fresquez
Since his first Mexican folkloric dance class at age 5, dance has always been a major part of Javier’s education and mental/emotional/spiritual growth. Across his life, he has garnered experience in multiple genres, including Flamenco, ballet, contemporary, social partner dance (salsa, cumbia, swing, blues), vogue, and danza azteca. His a part of The House of Prolific, a San Francisco vogue house led by several of the SF Bay Area’s most seasoned and ovah Vogue performers, including, Soul Nubian (father) and Jocquese Whitfield (prince).
Evan Johnson
Evan Johnson is a SF based playwright, actor and teaching artist. His plays Don’t Feel: The Death of Dahmer, Pansy and Barn Owl have received support from Z Space, Intersection for the Arts and New Conservatory Theater Center. Evan has studied with master clowns Bill Irwin (ODC), Giovanni Fussetti (Boulder Circus Center) and Ronlin Foreman (Dell’Arte). Since 2009, Evan has performed as Martha T. Lipton (the failed actress), in local drag clubs, theaters, galleries and museums. He teaches drama classes at the Harvey Milk Center for the Arts.
Cornelius / OX
Cornelius has 15 years of training and experience in performance. The bulk of their education has centered on physical techniques in performance. Utilizing their training, Sigourney creates performance that rides the tension between artifice/construct and vulnerability/authenticity. By combining strong images, physical movements/execution, vibrant emotional energetic and spiritual work Sigourney manipulates audiences while betraying the manipulation, which allows for a deeper connection and joint journey. Sigourney’s work shines when taken out of traditional performance contexts. At May Day 2010 they and Maryam Rostami created a drag queen peepshow installation, which was then curated into YBCA’s big idea night in 2011. Their method go-go installations at Qbar on Wednesday nights have drawn attention and notoriety to the artist.
Trash Mash Up
The founding members of Trash Mash-Up are Bridget and Jessica McCracken, a sister team who graduated from the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre and San Francisco State University. Drawing from their talent for creating original theatrical productions and their commitment to serving their community, Trash Mash-Up shares cultural traditions with diverse communities in public performances and workshops. Reducing waste by using trash to make art, TMU reminds all of San Francisco that one person’s trash could become an entire city’s treasure.
Scott Wells and Dancers
Scott Wells received The Isadora Duncan Award for Outstanding Choreography in 2005 and 2010; this is San Francisco’s most prestigious choreographic award and Wells is its only two-time winner since 2000. He also received Los Angeles’ Lester Horton award for choreography (1995). In 2005 Wells was selected by Dance Magazine as “one of the 25 To Watch”. He has toured to Europe for the last 15 years teaching and performing in festivals in Moscow, Barcelona, Budapest, Berlin, Vienna, Copenhagen, Zagreb to name a few. Locally he has taught at A.C.T, the San Francisco Conservatory for Dance and UC Scott Wells & Dancers was founded in 1992 and has created new work every year. Wells has taken on many projects revolving around masculinity and athleticism.
Larry Arrington
Larry Arrington has been living and making work in Bay Area since 2008. Her work has been seen at The Lab, CounterPULSE, ODC, The Garage, Cell Space, Mama Calizo's Voice Factory, Supperclub, and her own home. She created/curates the performance event SQUART. She served as assistant director on Erika Chong Shuch's Love Everywhere, creating and facilitating an entire day of public action performances. She has performed as a company member of with New York's Christopher Williams, Ellis Wood, and Nina Winthrop. In the Bay she has performed as a guest with Axis Dance/David Dorfman and Keith Hennessy. She has a BFA in dance form The University of North Carolina at Greensboro where she focused on choreography, art, and gender studies.
San Francisco Creative Writing Institute
San Francisco Creative Writing Institute strives to be a supportive, nurturing, yet challenging environment where anyone can belong in order to create and craft their writing. SFCWI resolves to try to make creative writing sustainable–for the teachers, clients, and community of artists in the Bay Area. We are proud to be part of the Bay Area’s thriving literary scene. In addition to honing writing and editing skills, students are invited to the many readings and events hosted by the institute and instructors, who offer opportunities for sharing work and networking with fellow authors, artists and writers.
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***Psst artists! Here’s some helpful docs: CP Invoice Form, Certificate of Insurance Request Form