The San Francisco arts scene has experienced major blows in recent weeks. On Jan. 13, the 119-year-old California College of the Arts, Northern California’s last remaining nonprofit art and design school, announced it would close at the end of the 2026–2027 school year. Less than two weeks later, the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts (MCCLA), founded in 1977, shuttered indefinitely due to financial crisis. These sudden announcements came after a spate of gallery and nonprofit art space closures at the end of 2025.
“The infrastructure that sustains creative life is eroding faster than policy and philanthropy can respond,” the “Artists Live Here” event page proclaims. “If we don’t have this conversation now, we may not get another chance.”
Taking matters into their own hands is very much in keeping with the historical role of San Francisco’s seven neighborhood cultural centers, which provide accessible arts spaces, classes, exhibitions and other programming. In addition to the MCCLA and SOMArts, the city’s cultural centers include the African American Art and Culture Complex, the American Indian Cultural Center, the Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, Bayview Opera House Ruth Williams Memorial Theatre, and the Queer Cultural Center. Only four — now three — have physical spaces.
Cece Carpio, ‘Brass and Copper,’ 2017, part of the artist’s current exhibition ‘Tabi Tabi Po: Come Out with the Spirits! You Are Welcome Here’ at SOMArts. (Brandon Robinson)
Friday’s convening comes as SOMArts is itself facing an uncertain financial future. “We received a 10% cut for this fiscal year, which we didn’t learn was going to happen until way after we normally prepare our annual budget,” Jenson explains. At the most recent Arts Commission meeting, a budget presentation shared big-picture numbers, but not the detailed breakdown that will help Jenson, her staff and board make plans for SOMArts’ future.