Join us in raising $300,000+
For our visionary
Artists-in-Residence Program

Whether you are just beginning your journey at Ruth Asawa School of the Arts or returning for another year—WELCOME. We hope your student is already feeling the spark that makes this school so magical. Or, if you are an enthusiastic supporter of the arts, there is no better way to invest in the future of culture.

In 1982, the visionary artist Ruth Asawa helped found San Francisco’s first public arts high school, grounded in her radical belief that art is not a luxury, but a vital way of understanding the world.

Inspired by her time at the boldly experimental Black Mountain College, she knew that young people flourish when they learn directly from working artists who guide, challenge, and inspire them.

That vision is alive every day through our Artists-in-Residence (AIR) program—one of the most cherished and transformative parts of a Ruth Asawa School of the Arts education.

Over 70 professional artists work directly with our students across every discipline: for example, dancers rehearse with nationally acclaimed choreographers, musicians workshop pieces with Juilliard School graduates, writers hone their voice with published authors, and technical theater students graduate ready to join The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees.

This immersive, hands-on approach is extraordinary—and it depends on all of us. The San Francisco Unified School District funds: less than half of the AIR program.

To keep these remarkable artists in our studios and classrooms, we must raise $300,000 by December 1 through our PTSA Annual Fund. 

We invite all Ruth Asawa School of the Arts families to donate as much as they are able, as early as they can. Your contribution directly supports the artists who shape your student’s education day by day, project by project, rehearsal by rehearsal.

As Ruth Asawa’s life’s work embodies, All Is Possible. Together, we will keep her vision alive for every student, every art form, every dream.