Grace Cathedral

Grace Cathedral is a renowned landmark, visitor destination and a regional magnet where diverse people come to celebrate, find solace, peace and quiet, connect with others, serve and be served and learn. It is also home to a loving congregation of about 500 households. Just like our visitors, our congregation includes families and singles, children and seniors, and a diversity of ethnicities, races, sexual orientations, interests and backgrounds as wide as the world itself.

Ghiberti Center for Culture is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation formed in 2001. While distinct from the Grace Cathedral Board of Trustees and management, the trustees of Ghiberti work closely with them toward a common goal to serve the people of the Bay Area and beyond. Ghiberti seeks to offer this sacred space to all people for the refreshment of the human spirit and to enliven and deepen the public conversation on what it means to be human.

The organization is named after the famous “Gates of Paradise” created by artist Lorenzo Ghiberti (1378–1455) for the cathedral in Florence, Italy. Grace Cathedral is the proud owner of a rare copy of Ghiberti’s masterpiece.

Ghiberti Center for Culture supports over 90 events and brings more than 30,000 audience members to Grace Cathedral each year, and supports the cathedral’s music programs.

Each year, Ghiberti Center for Culture produces an engaging variety of programming to achieve its primary goals, while at the same time supporting Grace Cathedral’s mission of compassion, inclusivity, creativity and learning.

The Artist in Residence Program is an annual residency for an artist or artists to create unique work that amplifies the cathedral’s vision, mission and goals, and to illuminate the cathedral’s annual theme. Jacob’s Dream: A Luminous Path, the light and video installation by 2016 Artists in Residence Benjamin Bergery and Jim Campbell, is on view in the north aisle. The Hawk, created by 2018 Artist in Residence Sukey Bryan with the students of Cathedral School for Boys, is on view in the CSB Library.

The Forum invites guests ranging from artists, inventors and philosophers to pop culturists and elected officials, for stimulating conversations that engage minds and hearts to think in new ways about the world. Recent guests include Isabel Allende, Garrison Keillor and Peter Coyote.

Spacious Grace is the annual free-form arts festival at the cathedral when we remove the pews and fill the space with exciting events, like ODC Dance Company’s world premiere of Path of Miracles.

The Organ Recital Series features distinguished organists playing our 7,466-pipe Aeolian-Skinner organ.

Christmas Concerts at Grace Cathedral ring in the season with magnificent music in a majestic setting, a beloved San Francisco tradition since 1947.

Special events and unique partnerships bring world-class artists and speakers to our audiences, among them San Francisco Opera star Lucas Meachem, bestselling author Gabrielle Bernstein and a rare performance of Yves Klein’s Monotone-Silence Symphony. Ghiberti enjoys ongoing partnerships with organizations such as SFJAZZ and American Bach Soloists.

Ghiberti Center for Culture is always seeking new board members, donors and volunteers. See how you could make a difference by contacting the Events Department at [email protected]. The Ghiberti Foundation is a 501c3 California nonprofit corporation doing business as The Ghiberti Center for Culture.