counterpulse
CounterPulse is a 35-year-old San Francisco nonprofit that runs artist residencies, performances, and exhibitions in experimental dance and performance art at its permanent venue in the Tenderloin, serving hundreds of artists and Bay Area audiences.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1991
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What counterpulse does
CounterPulse is a San Francisco-based nonprofit arts organization founded in 1991 that operates as an incubator and presenting platform for experimental performance and visual art. The organization runs multiple artist residency programs (ARC Edge, ARC Seed, Performing Diaspora, Combustible, Switch, and Curator in Residence) that provide choreographers, dancers, curators, and interdisciplinary artists with rehearsal space, production budgets, stipends, work-in-progress showings, and culminating performances. It also produces the biennial CounterPulse Festival, gallery programming, and community-based initiatives such as TenderArts, with a stated focus on accessibility, diversity, and work that intersects art practice and social change.
Its core physical asset is a permanent venue at 80 Turk Street in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood, acquired in February 2023 for $7M through a capital campaign supported by the Community Arts Stabilization Trust and other partners, with an additional $500K California State budget appropriation secured in 2024 to pay down the acquisition loan. CounterPulse has served more than 500 artists over its history and reaches Bay Area audiences through on-site performances, co-presentations with peer organizations (The Roxie, ArtSpan, SFMOMA's Open Space, Danspace Project, CODAME, Zaccho Dance Theatre), and an annual gala. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors and is currently in a leadership transition following the 2025 departure of its long-time Artistic & Executive Director, with an Interim Managing Director hire underway.
CounterPulse generates revenue from a mix of individual donations and memberships, sliding-scale ticket sales ($20-$30 per event), venue and rehearsal space rentals to external artists and organizations, and grants from sources including the San Francisco Arts Commission, the California State budget, and private funders such as the Ken Hempel Fund for the Arts. Distribution is anchored at its owned Tenderloin venue and an online Salesforce-powered ticketing and donation platform, with supplemental reach via a Mailchimp newsletter, Instagram, and earned media coverage.
counterpulse firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- counterpulse
- Legal name
- CounterPulse
- Website
- https://counterpulse.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1991
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- CounterPulse is a 35-year-old San Francisco nonprofit that runs artist residencies, performances, and exhibitions in experimental dance and performance art at its permanent venue in the Tenderloin, serving hundreds of artists and Bay Area audiences.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where counterpulse is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
counterpulse business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Donations and Membership: Individual donations and membership program supporting the organization's operations and mission. The organization has a membership program and accepts donations through Salesforce sites.
- Ticket Sales: Revenue from performances and events. Sliding scale pricing model ($20-$30) for CounterPulse Festival events.
- Space Rentals: Venue rental income from providing performance and rehearsal space to external artists and organizations.
- Government and Foundation Grants: Funding from government sources including California State budget appropriation ($500,000 for building purchase) and San Francisco Arts Commission grants.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | CounterPulse Festival tickets with sliding scale pricing |
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
counterpulse product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CounterPulse is a nonprofit performing arts organization that presents experimental performance and visual art and supports independent artists through paid residency programs. Its programming centers on emerging and experimental dance, performance, and interdisciplinary work, delivered through residencies (ARC Edge, ARC Seed, Performing Diaspora, Combustible, Switch, Curator in Residence), the biennial CounterPulse Festival, gallery exhibitions, and community engagement initiatives. The organization also operates its San Francisco venue as a rental space for independent producers and artists.
Product overview
CounterPulse is a nonprofit arts organization providing space and resources for emerging artists and cultural innovators. The organization operates as an incubator for socially relevant, community-based art through multiple artist residency programs (ARC Edge, ARC Seed, Performing Diaspora, Combustible, Switch, Curator in Residence), a biennial festival, gallery exhibitions, and venue rentals at their permanent home at 80 Turk St in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood. The programs eliminate boundaries between disciplines, artists, audiences, and communities to produce innovative performance works.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- ARC Edge Residency Paid residency supporting emerging experimental dance and performance artists with rehearsal space, curatorial support, and a public showing in CounterPulse's San Francisco venue. Targeted at independent and early-career artists working at the edges of contemporary dance and performance.
- ARC Seed Residency Paid residency program that pairs rehearsal and performance space with seed funding to support emerging artists in launching new experimental work. Aimed at independent artists who need both studio time and modest financial support to develop a project.
- Performing Diaspora Residency Residency program supporting artists whose work engages diaspora, identity, migration, and cultural inheritance through performance. Includes rehearsal space and a public showing in CounterPulse's San Francisco venue.
- Combustible Residency Residency for movement-based, experimental performance work, designed to support risk-taking choreography and embodied performance practices through paid studio access and curatorial support.
- Switch Residency Residency supporting cross-disciplinary performance projects that combine movement, sound, visual art, and other media. Provides paid rehearsal space and a platform for showing experimental, hybrid work.
- Curator in Residence Program Residency that places a curator in residence at CounterPulse, supporting the development of curatorial projects, exhibitions, or performance seasons in the venue. Designed for curators interested in experimental and community-rooted work.
- CounterPulse Festival Biennial multi-day festival presenting experimental dance, performance, and visual art at CounterPulse's San Francisco venue. Serves as the organization's flagship audience-facing event, aggregating residencies, commissioned work, and community programming into a public showcase.
- Gallery Exhibitions Visual art exhibitions presented in the CounterPulse gallery, accompanying performance programming and residencies. Open to the public as part of the organization's experimental arts programming.
- Venue and Gallery Rentals Rental of CounterPulse's San Francisco performance venue and gallery space to independent producers, small arts companies, and community organizations for rehearsals, performances, exhibitions, and events. Provides affordable, centrally located space for the Bay Area experimental arts ecosystem.
- TenderArts Benefit Event Annual benefit event supporting the TenderArts community arts program and CounterPulse's broader operations. Functions as a fundraising vehicle that ties the organization's venue and community programming to donor and sponsor engagement.
- TenderArts Community Program Community arts program rooted in San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood that connects CounterPulse's experimental performance mission with local residents and community partners. Anchors the organization's anti-racist, community-rooted values in program delivery.
Quantifiable outcome
- 500+ artists served through residency and commissioning programs
Companies that use counterpulse
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
counterpulse technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
counterpulse partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- The RoxiecoreJoint presentation of the 25th anniversary screening of 'Artists In Exile: A Story of Dance in San Francisco' at The Roxie theater (3117 16th St, San Francisco). Collaboration between two San Francisco arts organizations celebrating Bay Area dance heritage.
- ArtSpancoreCo-presentation of 'Ethereal' exhibition featuring works by thirteen artists from ArtSpan's Journal Building Residency at CounterPulse's Tenderloin venue. Partnership supporting experimental arts in the Tenderloin neighborhood.
- SFMOMA's Open SpacecoreBicoastal collaboration with Danspace Project and partnership with SFMOMA's Open Space for the 'Lost and Found: Bay Area Edition' program exploring HIV/AIDS impact on Bay Area dance and performance.
- Danspace ProjectminorBicoastal collaboration with Danspace Project (New York) for 'Lost and Found: Bay Area Edition' program.
- CODAMEminorMatchbox collaboration pairing artists and technologists for one-off collaborative forums and experimental projects.
- Zaccho Dance TheatreminorPost-screening conversation partner for Artists in Exile anniversary event. Joanna Haigood of Zaccho Dance Theatre joining to reflect on Bay Area dance evolution.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
counterpulse competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- ArtSpan: San Francisco nonprofit supporting visual artists through residencies and community programming; comparable in artist-incubation focus and an existing CounterPulse co-presentation partner via the Journal Building Residency 'Ethereal' exhibition.
Direct peers
- The LAB: San Francisco nonprofit experimental arts organization presenting interdisciplinary performance and visual art — comparable in experimental-programming focus, Bay Area location, and small-team operating model.
- Z Space: San Francisco nonprofit performing arts organization that operates a multi-stage venue hosting experimental theater, dance, and music; highly comparable in mission, scale, and venue-based presenting model.
- Dance Mission Theater: San Francisco nonprofit dance venue and presenting organization in the Mission District offering affordable performance and rehearsal space — directly comparable venue-based dance presenting model in the same metro.
- Danspace Project: NYC-based nonprofit dance presenting organization commissioning and presenting experimental choreography through residencies and platforms — closely aligned mission and an existing CounterPulse partner via the 'Lost and Found: Bay Area Edition' bicoastal collaboration.
- The Kitchen: NYC-based nonprofit organization presenting experimental performance, dance, and visual art through residencies and commissioning — closely analogous mission and program structure to CounterPulse's residency-driven model.
- ODC: San Francisco-based dance organization that operates its own venue (ODC Theater/Dance Commons) and runs residency/commissioning programs for choreographers — directly comparable to CounterPulse as a nonprofit dance presenting and venue-operating organization with deep Bay Area roots.
Broad incumbents
- SFMOMA Open Space: Programming platform of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art that collaborates with Bay Area experimental arts organizations; comparable in curatorial and presenting scope and an existing CounterPulse partner via the 'Lost and Found' collaboration.
- Yerba Buena Center for the Arts: Larger San Francisco nonprofit performing and visual arts institution with broader programming, gallery, and presenting scope — comparable in venue-based arts presenting and Bay Area footprint but at materially larger scale and institutional profile.
Regional players
- The Roxie Theater: San Francisco nonprofit independent cinema that co-presented CounterPulse's 'Artists in Exile' 25-year anniversary screening — comparable as a Bay Area community arts venue with overlapping programming audiences.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
counterpulse social profiles
Digital presencecounterpulse financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
counterpulse leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
counterpulse funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
counterpulse M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about counterpulse
What does counterpulse do?
CounterPulse is a nonprofit performing arts organization that presents experimental performance and visual art and supports independent artists through paid residency programs. Its programming centers on emerging and experimental dance, performance, and interdisciplinary work, delivered through residencies (ARC Edge, ARC Seed, Performing Diaspora, Combustible, Switch, Curator in Residence), the biennial CounterPulse Festival, gallery exhibitions, and community engagement initiatives. The organization also operates its San Francisco venue as a rental space for independent producers and artists.
Is counterpulse a public or private company?
counterpulse is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was counterpulse founded?
counterpulse was founded in 1991. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is counterpulse based?
counterpulse is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does counterpulse make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Donations and Membership is the primary driver. The others are ticket Sales, space Rentals and government and Foundation Grants.
Who are counterpulse's main competitors?
ArtSpan is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are The LAB, Z Space, Dance Mission Theater, Danspace Project, The Kitchen and ODC. Broad incumbents are SFMOMA Open Space and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. The Roxie Theater is listed as a regional player.
Does counterpulse have an API?
No public API is recorded for counterpulse.