Results: Over the past two years we have dramatically increased our programs for young people through partnerships and through the expansion of opportunities in the gallery, print studio, media lab and ceramics studio. We hosted a youth summit through our Affordable Space program and a live newscast by kids in partnership with the SFAI City Studio. Young people from Downtown High School began working with our Tech Services program to build skills that will make them attractive job candidates when they graduate.
Target demographics: Artists living and working in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the people who love them.
Direct beneficiaries per year: -40,000+ visitors annually
-2,000+ visual and performing artists
-80+ Bay Area nonprofits
-25-40 Bay Area schools (over 1,000 students)
Geographic areas served: San Francisco Bay Area
Programs: Main Gallery Exhibitions & Programs: offers 3 SOMArts-curated exhibitions each year in the 3,100 sq ft Main Gallery, provides guidance, technical and publicity support for 4 exhibitions awarded through the Commons Curatorial Residency program. Supports 15-20 exhibitions annually through the smaller Ramp Gallery and offers more than 40 exhibition-related events including talks, performances and workshops. Admission to exhibitions is free, event are often free or less than $12.
SOMArts Studio Series: partners with individual artists and organizations to offer events and workshops that encourage contemporary art-making opportunities for artists at all levels of practice. This programming has included Feast of Words: A Literary Potluck on the first Tuesday of each month, photography workshops with CaliberSF, and SQUART! (Spontaneous Queer Art) with choreographer Laura Arrington and THEOFFCENTER.
Classes and Workshops: SOMArts hosts teaching artists and organizations who offer low-cost classes and workshops in printmaking, photography, karate and ceramics. Classes range from $12/hour to free. Sixth Street Photography workshop offers free classes for people who are very low-income and homeless. Ceramics classes are free for youth with support from SFAI’s City Studios program. Chrysalis Print Studio offers free drop-in printmaking classes for queer youth.
Commons Curatorial Residency: supports artist, art collectives and organizations by providing technical, marketing and venue services as well as a curatorial stipend for month-long residencies in the Main Gallery. Four proposals are selected annually, and past exhibits have included Julie Michelle's city photography project, "i live here sf," and multi-sensory art in Kearny Street
Workshop's "A Sensory Feast."
Annual Day of the Dead Exhibition: offers a dynamic, free, five-week installation annually based on a theme with references to current events locally and globally. Annual attendance is over 2,000 and includes docent-led tours and arts workshops that serve 20-30 schools and 400+ K-12 students.
RAMP Gallery: provides space for emerging artists to display work in the high-traffic SOMArts reception area.
Technical Services Program: supports Bay Area fairs and festival by providing staging, seating and handicap lifts and rams as well as technical consultation. Annually serves more than 40 Bay Area outdoor events including the Chinese New Year's Parade, Cherry Blossom Festival, Potrero Hill Neighborhood Festival and the Chinatown Music Festival.
Affordable Space Program: supports Bay Area arts and culture nonprofits by providing a complete package of technical, marketing and venue services. Rental space is provided for variety of groups who use the center’s classrooms, darkrooms and administrative offices. These include APICC, one of the city’s two virtual cultural centers, as well as ArtSpan, Chrysalis Printmaking Studio, SFAI's City Studio and Sixth Street Photography Workshop.
Professional Development: SOMArts annually provides free space to organizations that provide free professional development opportunities for artists and arts administrators.
Fiscal Sponsorship: SOMArts provides a limited number of fiscal sponsorships for projects, allowing artists to access funding for short-term projects and emerging organizations.
Arts Presentation Program: further reduces the financial risk for companies selected to perform at SOMArts. SOMArts pay each company an agreed-upon artist fee, partially covers the in-house costs of the engagement, and conducts a targeted marketing and press outreach campaign. Ticket sales are shared by SOMArts and the guest organization. Also includes varied co-presentations of off-site presentations.
