The goal is to enhance the quality of life through the arts with programs that are accessible to and affordable for a large and diverse public.

$50,000 to the ALMEIDA THEATRE COMPANY, London, U.K., for the Almeida Opera’s London premiere of Les Aveugles, a Paris Opera Young Artists Program production of a new opera by Xavier Dayer.

$50,000 to BORDER CROSSINGS, London, U.K., for the creation and production of Dis-Orientations, a new theatre piece dealing with gender and performance in Western and Chinese cultures.

$75,000 over three years to the HEYDAY INSTITUTE, Berkeley, Ca., for the California Indian Program, which consists of a publishing enterprise, public education, research, and community outreach designed to preserve and promote the unique and varied indigenous cultures of California.

$70,000 over two years to the MAGIC THEATRE, San Francisco, Ca., for the Strategic Growth Initiative, a capacity building effort designed to strengthen Magic’s ability to create and present new theatre works.

$25,000 to the MEXICAN MUSEUM, San Francisco, for the curator to begin full-time work in order to create a full inventory of the permanent collection and to develop multi-year curatorial plans for the new museum scheduled to be built in the Yerba Buena Arts District.

$50,000 to the PEGASUS OPERA COMPANY, London, U.K., to produce the African-American opera Koanga by Delius and to increase opportunities for people from diverse cultural and economic backgrounds to participate in a vibrant art form.

$50,000 to the ROYAL COURT THEATRE, London, U.K., for Sugar Mummies, a new play by British Bengali playwright Tanika Gupta.

$150,000 over three years to the ROYAL OPERA HOUSE FOUNDATION, London, U.K., for the commission and production of a new opera, The Minotaur, by Sir Harrison Birtwistle.

$150,000 over three years to the UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY ART MUSEUM & PACIFIC FILM ARCHIVE, Berkeley, Ca., for Rare Art, a commissioning and exhibition project involving contemporary-art museums, a conservation organization, and sixteen artists working with sixteen UNESCO World Heritage sites. The goal of the project is to use contemporary art to investigate the relationship between natural environments and human culture, with an emphasis on human attitudes towards nature and the urgent need for sustainable development. The Regents of the University of California is the sponsor.

$150,000 over three years to the YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR THE ARTS, San Francisco, for continuing support of the newly restructured performing-arts program.