The museum announced Friday, July 31, it will not renew its lease at 781 Beach St., a historic brick building near Ghirardelli Square that became its home after a displacement from its previous South of Market location. It officially shuttered on Sunday, Aug. 2.
“For now, we will be packing up, taking time to regroup and determining what the next chapter of the Cartoon Art Museum should be,” the museum said in a statementt signed by its board and staff.
Executive Director Summerlea Kashar explained the decision follows years of strain from the COVID-19 pandemic and the uneven recovery that followed.
“It is time to close this chapter,” Kashar said in a statement. “We are not disappearing. We will take this time to recharge, reset and consider what comes next.”
The museum did not announce a new location or reopening timeline, but it added that the organization would continue to ask for community support as plans take shape.
The closure marks another uncertain turn for a small but distinctive San Francisco arts institution.
Founded in 1984, the Cartoon Art Museum has long presented original comic strips, political cartoons, animation art, graphic novels and related work. The museum’s collection has grown to thousands of pieces, including work connected to some of the most recognizable names in comics and animation. The institution has also offered classes, workshops, exhibitions and programs for children and adults.
The museum lost its longtime home at 655 Mission St. in 2015 after its lease ended and its rent was set to more than double. At the time, museum leaders said the organization would continue operating through off-site exhibitions, classes and temporary office space while searching for a new space.
In 2016, the museum announced it had found a new 8,000-square-foot space at 781 Beach St., about a block from Ghirardelli Square. It later reopened there, returning to a public gallery after more than a year without a permanent home.
In its latest announcement, the museum looked back on its Beach Street years as a period of both struggle and achievement, pointing to exhibitions on Raina Telgemeier, Mike Mignola’s “Hellboy,” John Lewis’ civil rights graphic memoir “March,” Bill Watterson’s “Calvin and Hobbes,” Edward Gorey and New Yorker cartoonists, among others.
“Ten years ago, the cartoon community came together to begin a new chapter for the museum,” the announcement said. “Scores of funders supported our move to Beach Street in Fisherman’s Wharf. Since then, we have faced significant challenges, including the pandemic and the slow recovery that followed. But we have also enjoyed many successes and countless opportunities to celebrate cartoon art and the people who create it.”
The decision comes weeks after the museum said longtime curator Andrew Farago was no longer employed there after his arrest in a Berkeley hidden-camera investigation.
The Cartoon Art Museum closed its statement with a nod to the classic Looney Tunes signoff: “That’s not all for now, folks.”