Community Arts Stabilization Trust

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.

07/15/2026

What does it take to create permanent, affordable spaces where artists, cultural organizations, and independent journalism can thrive?

Join us on August 12 at Warfield Commons for ULI San Francisco’s Building Creative Infrastructure for Arts & Cultural Spaces panel discussion. Together with our partners at KALW, we'll explore how this historic Mid-Market building is being transformed into a long-term home for creativity, community, and local media.

Hear from leaders across real estate, arts, and community development as they discuss the financing, partnerships, and vision behind Warfield Commons, and what projects like this can mean for the future of downtown San Francisco.

The evening includes a panel discussion, a guided tour of Warfield Commons, and a happy hour to continue the conversation.

📅 August 12 | 4–7 PM
📍 Warfield Commons | 988 Market St., San Francisco
ℹ️ More info: https://sf.uli.org/events/detail/55A06FA2-E535-470F-8BC4-34544123ABC5/

Join ULI SF for an exclusive panel discussion and guided tour of Warfield Commons, exploring how the Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST) and KALW Public…

07/14/2026

Thanks to the Denver Business Journal for highlighting our newest Colorado project at 444 17th Street 🌇🎉

In partnership with the City of Denver and Denver Arts & Venues, this long-vacant downtown storefront will be transformed into a permanent home for affordable artist studios, arts storage, a gallery, and a community microcinema.

Designed to support artists at every stage of their practice, the space will offer affordable places to create, store, exhibit, and share work while fostering collaboration, creative exchange, and stronger connections between artists and the downtown community.

We're looking forward to sharing updates as this project takes shape. Read the full story: https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2026/07/13/denver-downtown-development-arts-space-microcinema.html

A nonprofit navigated a months-long funding process to make the project a reality.

07/08/2026

As Denver continues to invest in its creative future, one thing is clear: artists need more than opportunity, they need permanent, affordable places to create ✨

We're proud to be part of the growing movement to strengthen Colorado's cultural infrastructure through long-term arts spaces, from the historic East Street School in Trinidad to our first permanent downtown Denver arts facility in partnership with the City of Denver and Denver Arts & Venues currently in development.

Thank you to Denver Westword for including us in this important conversation about what's next for Denver's arts ecosystem.

Read the story: https://www.westword.com/arts-culture/city-funded-arts-projects-have-denver-on-the-rise-but-some-plans-are-crashing-down-40906734/

DDA-backed Denver Immersive Repertory Theater has exited the stage before it even got a chance to open.

07/02/2026

Denver, we’ve got a new creative space on the horizon 🌅 CAST has reached a major milestone in Colorado with the Denver Downtown Development Authority's approval of $1.35 million in funding to support the acquisition and transformation of a vacant downtown storefront into a permanent, affordable home for Denver's creative community 🎉

Located at 444 17th Street, the future 6,300-square-foot cultural hub will include artist studios, a nonprofit gallery, a microcinema, accessible fine arts storage, and flexible space for exhibitions, screenings, performances, and public programming.

In partnership with the City of Denver and Denver Arts & Venues, the project will create long-term space for artists while helping reestablish downtown as a destination for arts and culture.

The project now heads to Denver City Council for final approval, with an anticipated opening in Spring 2027 🎬🎨✨

Read the full press release: https://cast-sf.org/city-of-denver-approves-1-35-million-for-casts-first-multi-use-affordable-arts-space-in-downtown-denver-near-16th-street-corridor/

CAST reached a major milestone in its Colorado expansion with the Denver Downtown Development Authority's (DDDA) approval of $1.35 million in funding to support the acquisition and transformation of a vacant commercial space at 444 17th Street into a permanent home for Denver's creative community.