Community Arts Stabilization Trust

10/14/2026

We're joining the DENVER CREATES conversation on November 9 to share what we've learned about building lasting infrastructure for arts and culture, and why we're investing in Colorado's creative future.

Lots of good things happening in Denver's arts ecosystem. Check out the opportunities below to get involved, and we hope to see you at the virtual speaker series! 👇

09/25/2026

Being a good neighbor starts with an open door 🚪 Thank you to the San Francisco Examiner for including Warfield Commons in its preview of Good Neighbor Week and highlighting what it means to open this new arts and culture hub to the community.

For us, opening Warfield Commons is about creating a place where neighbors can cross paths, discover something new, and feel connected to the neighborhood around them. This Sunday, September 27, we’re welcoming the community in for our Housewarming. Can’t wait to see you there and show you all what’s taking shape.

Read the full story:

SF Good Neighbor Week will let residents know each other better through fun and volunteering.

09/18/2026

CAST was in good company in Helsinki this week ✈️

This week, members of our team joined creative land trust practitioners, funders, and cultural leaders from around the world for the 2026 Creative Land Trust Summit in Helsinki.

Our Managing Director of National Programs Louise Martorano and Finance, Economics, and Strategy Advisor Ernesto Vilchis joined the conversation alongside some familiar faces, including Kenneth Rainin Foundation Executive Director Shelley Trott and CAST CEO Emeritus Moy Eng. They shared ideas and lessons from the work of securing permanent cultural space and what CAST is still learning as it moves beyond the Bay Area, exploring partnerships in new regions across the country.

This year’s summit centered on a question that feels especially relevant to our work: what does it take to make cultural space truly permanent? Across conversations on transactions and capital, governance and succession, and community accountability, participants dug into the practical challenges and possibilities of building lasting models for cultural space.

The group also spent time exploring Helsinki’s cultural ecosystem, including Kaapelitehdas, a former Nokia cable factory now home to hundreds of artists and creative organizations, and a studio visit to Kuvataidekoulu Art School.

A lot of the work happens in our own communities, but there’s also rich learning to be had from our peers doing inspiring work in this developing field. Grateful to be part of a growing global community thinking together about how culture can stay rooted in our cities for the long haul.

09/08/2026

There are few people who know the Tenderloin like Del Seymour does 🏙️

For nearly four decades, Del has been a familiar and trusted presence in the neighborhood. In the latest conversation with KALW, the Code Tenderloin founder reflects on the people, relationships, and everyday acts of care that make the Tenderloin a community. As Warfield Commons becomes part of the Tenderloin and Mid-Market community, his perspective offers an important reminder: being part of a neighborhood means showing up, getting to know your neighbors, and supporting the people and businesses already here.

Click here to read the full interview: https://cast-sf.org/fall-in-love-with-the-tenderloin-a-conversation-with-del-seymour/

Del Seymour shares what makes the Tenderloin feel like home, how the neighborhood has evolved, and what he hopes new neighbors will understand about the community.

08/24/2026

What does it really mean to show up for a neighborhood?

As Warfield Commons gets ready to open its doors, we’re taking time to listen, learn, and get to know the communities that have long called the this neighborhood home.

As part of our storytelling series, we’re partnering with KALW to hear directly from the community leaders and storytellers shaping the Mid-Market and Tenderloin communities. In part one of this four-part series, The Transgender District's Carolina Osoria sits down with KALW’s Hanisha Harjani to talk about the history of San Francisco’s trans community, the systems that have shaped life in the Tenderloin, and the importance of investing in community-led work.

Read the full conversation here: https://cast-sf.org/beyond-the-headlines-carolina-osoria-on-trans-joy-community-and-the-tenderloin/

Carolina Osoria of the Transgender District talks trans history, joy, community power, and what meaningful allyship looks like in the Tenderloin.

08/20/2026

How is the arts market changing across the Southwest and what does that mean for the future of artists and cultural organizations?

On Friday, September 4, our Managing Director of National Programs, Louise Martorano, will join “The Shape of the Market + Financial Sustainability” at the Southwest Contemporary Summit.

The conversation will dig into the realities of arts funding and the art market in the region, including who is funding the arts, how those dynamics are shifting, and what arts organizations can do to prepare for what’s ahead.

📅 Friday, September 4
📍 Center for Contemporary Arts of Santa Fe
🎟️ Get your tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/southwest-contemporary-summit-registration-1991801807825

We’re looking forward to seeing Louise bring CAST’s perspective on building long-term financial and real estate stability for artists and cultural organizations into the conversation.

Join arts professionals, cultural workers, and artists from across the region for the inaugural Southwest Contemporary Summit.

08/14/2026

On Wednesday, we gathered at Warfield Commons with ULI San Francisco for a conversation about what it takes to build lasting infrastructure for arts, culture, and independent media in San Francisco 🌇

The panel brought together perspectives from across real estate, community development, and the arts to explore the partnerships and creative approaches behind Warfield Commons and the role spaces like this can play in the future of Mid-Market and downtown.

Then came the best part: a tour through KALW’s new studios, which are nearing completion. Seeing the space take shape and imagining the programming, journalism, and community connections that will soon fill it was a powerful reminder of how much can happen when organizations have a permanent place to call home.

We’re looking forward to sharing even more of that transformation at the Warfield Commons Opening Celebrations on September 27. Click here to reserve your spot: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/warfield-commons-housewarming-grand-opening-tickets-1995158696369

08/06/2026

SCRAP-SF ’s journey to a permanent home has been years in the making ✨

Our latest blog post takes you behind the scenes of how the beloved creative reuse center secured its new home in the Bayview, and the role CAST played as a trusted advisor along the way 🤝 Click here to read the full story: https://cast-sf.org/the-ultimate-upcycle-how-scrap-found-its-forever-home/

Want to see their brand new space? Join us at the SCRAP opening celebration Saturday, August 15! Check out www.scrap-sf.org/new-home for more details.

Learn how SCRAP partnered with CAST to navigate the complex path to permanent space, and what other organizations can learn from their journey.

07/29/2026

🎉 The doors are opening at Warfield Commons!

Join us on Sunday, September 27 from 12–5 PM for the Warfield Commons Housewarming & Grand Opening, a free public celebration marking the opening of this new multi-story hub for arts, culture, media, and civic connection at 988 Market St.

Hosted by CAST, KALW, Tenderloin Community Benefit District, and Market Street Arts, this celebration brings together the organizations, artists, and community partners helping bring Warfield Commons to life. Come explore the building, meet the organizations and artists who call Warfield Commons home. The afternoon will feature:

🎶 Live performances and music from KALW DJs, Psyched! Radio SF, and local performing arts groups
🎭 A children’s puppet show with Ramon Abad

🍴 Local food vendors showcasing the flavors of the Tenderloin and Mid-Market

🏢 Exclusive tours of the building, including KALW’s new studios

🎨 Artist activations, family-friendly activities, and more

Come celebrate a new chapter for arts, culture, and community in the heart of San Francisco.

📍 Warfield Commons | 988 Market St.
📅 Sunday, September 27, 2026
⏰ 12–5 PM
🎟️ Free and open to the public. RSVP here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/warfield-commons-housewarming-grand-opening-tickets-1995158696369

07/24/2026

This time last summer, the CAST team first met with George McCalman to talk about the possibility of bringing A March Through Time to Sightline.

A few months later, the AMTT team got to tour through Pier 29. The building was still taking shape, but the vision was already coming into focus. As we explored the space, we imagined how George's work could live here, and what it could mean for CAST to launch one of Sightline's first major exhibitions in a place built for ambitious creative ideas and locally rooted artists.

This October, that vision becomes reality.

Over the coming months, we'll be sharing more about A March Through Time, the conversations that shaped it, and our journey of bringing the exhibition to Sightline.

📖 Consider this the first chapter.