Bay Area Performing Arts Spaces

Fractured Atlas, the organization that hosted the Bay Area Performing Arts Spaces website — and created the technology — informed their communities that they were ending the Space Finder program and pulling down all of the Space Finder websites (including bayareaspaces.org) on October 1, 2020.

Dancers’ Group and Theater Bay Area will continue to think about additional resources we can bring forward to support our arts community.

Please reach out with any questions.

The Bay Area Performing Arts Spaces website provided a robust searchable database of spaces throughout the Bay Area for rehearsals, performances, workshops and other arts activities, increasing visibility for performing arts spaces of all shapes and sizes,and bringing political and public interest to the arts community as a whole.

Dancers’ Group, Theatre Bay Area, and Fractured Atlas —with funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation— forged this new online marketplace for rehearsal, performance and multipurpose spaces. Covering 11 Bay Area counties from Sonoma to Monterey, Bay Area Performing Arts Spaces was modeled after the highly successful NYC Performing Arts Spaces website developed by staff at Fractured Atlas. The Bay Area site went public in November 2010, ultimately listing over 1,500 spaces available to performing artists.

The BAPAS database offered numerous search options that allowed visitors to identify locations according to discipline, size, cost, physical features, equipment, location, floor type and many other specifics. Users could find out the availability of a barre, a piano, a shower, mirrors, chairs and parking, or if, for example, a studio had column obstructions. Space profiles included photos, detailed descriptions and other features. Additionally, an online map showed the geographic distribution of search results and provided directions from one’s current location to the space. Each venue profile included a contact at the space and information about how to book. Once the user had found a venue conducive to their needs, they could contact the space representative directly to secure the location.