Artists Live Here: Community Convening
SOMArts hosts emergency community meeting for SF arts community to discuss crisis in arts funding and infrastructure.
SOMArts is hosting an emergency community convening called 'Artists Live Here' on Friday, February 13, 2026, from 4-8 p.m. at their location (934 Brannan St., San Francisco). This event is organized in response to the ongoing crisis affecting San Francisco's arts infrastructure, including the announced closure of California College of the Arts and the sudden shutdown of Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts due to financial crisis.
The convening will follow an 'unconference' format, which is participant-driven and allows topics and conversations to emerge organically throughout the four-hour event. All community members are welcome to attend. SOMArts Executive Director Maria Jenson explains that this gathering addresses what she calls 'a state of emergency and urgency' in the arts community.
SOMArts itself is facing significant financial pressures, having received a 10% budget cut for the current fiscal year with limited notice. Additionally, San Francisco is undergoing major changes to its arts agencies, including the merger of the San Francisco Arts Commission, Grants for the Arts, and the Film Commission under a newly created executive director position.
The event seeks to provide the authentic dialogue and civic discourse that the arts community felt was missing from official city meetings on the proposed arts agency merger. Participants will discuss critical issues including grant disbursement, funding availability, and strategies for sustaining San Francisco's cultural infrastructure during this period of significant organizational and financial change.