Theatre Welcomes New Director of Development and Communications

Twenty-year veteran arts and culture leader Matthew Keefe has joined the Presidio Theatre staff as Development and Communications Director, Executive Director Robert Martin has announced. Keefe comes to San Francisco from Minneapolis, where he was most recently head of communications and public relations for Arts Midwest. Keefe will oversee strategic planning and implementation of the Presidio Theatre’s fundraising, branding, public relations, marketing, digital communications and civic engagement.

“We welcome Matthew Keefe to the Presidio Theatre team at a time of terrific opportunity,” says Robert Martin. “Matthew’s leadership, energy and experience are just what the Theatre needs to build a successful performing arts venue in these uncertain times. Our first season was just a taste of what is to come. Our unexpected closure due to COVID-19 has provided us with a unique chance to plan deeply for the future of our programming and our connections to artists and audiences as we look forward to the curtain going up once again on the Bay Area’s newest performing arts center. Matthew’s role is critical to this process and the fulfillment of our mission to serve and support creators and foster audiences.”

“The historic Presidio Theatre has been given a new life and a new mission to serve today’s San Franciscan artists and audiences thanks to the incredible vision of Peggy Haas and the hard work and dedication of Robert Martin and his staff. I am honored to get to join a visionary board and staff to build on the theatre’s outstanding legacy, as well as to create new partnerships and support the creation of innovative programming moving forward,” said Keefe, adding, “The Presidio Park holds a place of awe in the world’s imagination, attracting 10 million visitors a year from across the nation and the globe, I’m excited to be joining the Presidio Theatre as we create a showcase of San Francisco’s incredible and dynamic artistic culture in one of the nation’s most visited and beloved national parks.”

About Matthew Keefe

Matthew Keefe has over 20 years of experience in the arts and education. Prior to joining the Presidio Theatre, he was the head of strategic communications at Arts Midwest, a U.S. Regional Arts Organization. He is a digital media expert, having led digital teams and projects at New York University, Sesame Workshop, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) where he helped launch the theater’s first mobile website. He was the founding co-director of LALA Festival in Minneapolis, a festival dedicated to presenting live art by queer, trans, disabled, and BIPOC artists. He created a transgender sci-fi radio show on 89.1FM in NYC called The Gone, directed the media lab at Urban Arts Partnership, and programmed work for the Brooklyn Experimental Media Center. His film work has appeared in numerous festivals. His live performance work has appeared at New York Live Arts, Catch, and Dixon Place in NYC. He was an inaugural art technology fellow at Art-A-Hack in NYC. Keefe began his career building websites and directing national network television commercials for the University of Kansas. He holds a BFA in Visual Communications from the University of Kansas and a MS in Integrated Digital Media from the NYU Tandon School of Engineering. He has a deep dedication to youth, particularly queer and trans youth. While living in Kansas City, he helped co-found The Kansas City Safe Schools Coalition. He served as an interim president of the NYC Chapter of GLSEN. Keefe’s work with young filmmakers and homeless youth in NYC has appeared in the Tribeca Film Festival and the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival.