The Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, a cornerstone of San Francisco’s Latino cultural life for nearly 50 years, has closed indefinitely after running out of operating funds, according to city officials and community leaders.
The nonprofit shuttered its doors on Monday, days after exhausting its remaining cash, as reported by El Tecolote.
The 37,000-square-foot building on Mission Street now sits empty under the control of the San Francisco Arts Commission, which manages the city-owned property. Nearly all staff resigned or were laid off in December.
Representatives from MCCLA and the San Francisco Arts Commission did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
George Lee, the Arts Commission’s capital projects manager, told El Tecolote that the city “received records” that the cultural center “had no staff and was insolvent.”
Festival of Altars participants circle the center altar while filming at the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts on Oct. 20, 2020, in San Francisco. (Noah Berger/Special to The Chronicle)
The closure follows months of cutbacks, including reduced programming and widespread layoffs. The center had hoped to reopen in mid-January following its annual winter break, but lacked the funds to do so.
Founded in 1977, MCCLA has long served as an arts and education hub, hosting classes, performances and Mission Graphics, whose posters documented decades of political and cultural history. At its peak, the center served about 20,000 students a year.
In a Jan. 14 email to the Arts Commission obtained by El Tecolote, interim executive director Dereck Jentzsch and board president Robert Sánchez warned the organization was “burning $50k/mo ($12k/week) more than revenue and has no revenue,” adding that without emergency funding, the center would become insolvent by Jan. 20.
Jentzsch, who stepped down after just three weeks in the role, wrote that the center “cannot afford to pay” for his part-time contract, according to Mission Local.
Volunteers have rushed to safeguard its archives and community leaders are expected to meet next week to discuss possible paths forward. Before the closure, plans were in place to close the building for at least two years ahead of a planned city retrofit.
It is unclear whether the Arts Commission will move ahead with that plan.
This article originally published at After decades in the Mission, a San Francisco cultural landmark shuts its doors.