The Black Rock Arts Foundation was established May 2001 in order to promote public, community-based art installations. It is a not-for-profit organization, founded by several people who also direct Burning Man. The Black Rock Arts Foundation, or BRAF are now a non-profit corporation with tax exempt 501(c)3 status.
BRAF and Mayor Gavin Newsom have been behind the installations of two large-scale sculptures in San Francisco. The First, Temple at Hayes Green (2005) by David Best was installed in San Francisco's Hayes Valley district. The second, Flock (2005) by Michael Christian, was erected in front of San Francisco's City Hall in the Civic Center Plaza. BRAF was the first institutional funder of the Global Lives Project, which debuted its work at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco.