Jon Sims Center for the Performing Arts
Encyclopedia
The Jon Sims Center for the Performing Arts was a multidisciplinary performing arts
center in San Francisco, California
that supported artistic voices of the lesbian
, gay
, bisexual and transgender
(LGBT
) communities. The Center provided resources to support and promote new and existing arts programs.
The Center opened in 1978 following the formation of the Gay Freedom Day Marching Band and Twirling Corps (now the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band
. Founder Jon R. Sims, who died of AIDS
in 1984, also began the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus
.
The Center closed in November 2006 following a financial crisis that included the disappearance of $35,000 in grant money. Longer term problems included the lack of a stable, long-term board and executive director, despite determined efforts to keep the institution alive.
The Sims Center was located at 1519 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103.
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
center in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
that supported artistic voices of the lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
(LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
) communities. The Center provided resources to support and promote new and existing arts programs.
The Center opened in 1978 following the formation of the Gay Freedom Day Marching Band and Twirling Corps (now the San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band
San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band
The San Francisco Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band is a community-based concert and marching band in San Francisco. It is the official band of San Francisco. Founded in 1978, it was the first gay-oriented musical organization in the world. The band promotes visibility and musical education for the Bay...
. Founder Jon R. Sims, who died of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
in 1984, also began the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus
San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus
The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus is the world's first openly gay chorus, one of its largest and the group most often credited with creating the LGBT choral movement....
.
The Center closed in November 2006 following a financial crisis that included the disappearance of $35,000 in grant money. Longer term problems included the lack of a stable, long-term board and executive director, despite determined efforts to keep the institution alive.
The Sims Center was located at 1519 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103.