First Voice

It has received funding from government groups such as the National Endowment for the Arts and the San Francisco Grants for the Arts, as well as private and individual donors, notably the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. ¹

Background

First Voice was founded in 1997 by playwright and actor Brenda Wong Aoki and jazz musician Mark Izu. The group was founded to facilitate their performances and collaborations with other artists. Its members adapt “non-western theatrical, musical and spoken word traditions” with American art. ² Both are founding faculty of the Stanford University Institute for Diversity in the Arts. ²

Activities

First Voice facilitates Asian-American arts performances in the Bay Area of California. Its productions include musical performances, spoken word, and stage plays. ¹

Financials

Donors

First Voice has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, which granted the group $10,000 in 2020. ³

The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation is a large donor to the group, granting $70,000 in 2021 ⁴ and $105,000 in 2020. ⁵ It has been financially supporting the group since 2010. The left-leaning San Francisco Foundation is a long-term supporter, granting $60,000 total since 2013. ⁶ Map Fund Inc., a left-leaning arts organization, granted First Voice $45,000 in 2019. ⁷

Programs

First Voice spent a total of $221,516 in program services in 2022. It spent $139,555 in 2022 on programming for San Fransisco and Bay Area performances. It spent $46,520 on nationwide tours, and $35,441 on workshops in public schools in the Bay Area. ⁸

Leadership

Brenda Wong Aoki and Mark Izu have been involved in the group since its founding, and as of 2022 Aoki serves as art director and Izu as treasurer. ⁹

Senior federal judge Thelton Henderson was the president of First Voice as of 2022. He was the chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California from 1987 to 1997. He was the first judge in the U.S. to issue a ruling upholding same-sex marriage in 1987. He also struck down California’s Proposition 209, an anti-affirmative action ballot initiative, in 1996. ¹⁰