The San Francisco Arts Commission is awarding 465 grants to 393 grantees, totaling $25.26 million for 2026–2027. Recipients include individual artists, arts organizations, nonprofits, cultural institutions, and cultural centers.
“Arts and culture have long defined who we are as a city, and they are central to our economic future," said San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie.
“Today's announcement reaffirms our commitment to the artists and organizations who keep arts and culture accessible and vibrant in every corner of the city. Congratulations to all of today's grant recipients and thank you for bringing so much life back to our communities.”
Funding is sourced from San Francisco’s hotel tax and administered by the newly unified Arts Commission, Grants for the Arts (GFTA), and Film SF. (The reference, at City Hall’s practical preference, remains “Arts Commission.”)
After recent major hits to national and local arts funding from Washington’s anti-DEI campaign, the Arts Commission — no stranger to controversy — is among many organizations trying to deal with new challenges.
A turnaround came into focus just three months ago, with Mayor Lurie’s emphatic support and the appointment of Matthew Goudeau as Executive Director of Arts and Culture.
Goudeau’s comment on the funding announcement: “San Francisco’s artists and cultural organizations are essential to the beauty, vitality, and economic strength of our city. The funding support announced today represents a significant investment in the creative people and organizations that make San Francisco such a unique cultural destination and a place where communities come together to share their stories.”
Grant categories in the new cycle include Arts Impact Endowment (AIE) grants for Artists and Organizations, and Cultural Equity Grants (CEG) for the Artistic Legacy Grant (ALG), General Operating Support (GOS) grants, Arts Sector Response grants (ASRG), and Voluntary Arts Contribution Fund grants (VACF).
Grant awards span approximately 12 to 24 months, depending on the funding category and range in amounts from $10,000 to over $450,000.
Among those receiving the largest grants are organizations such as SF Symphony, SF Opera, American Conservatory Theatre Foundation, Chinese Chamber of Commerce of San Francisco, Cultura Y Arte Nativa de las Americas, San Francisco Ballet Association, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.
The Arts Commission maintains investments in four physical neighborhood cultural centers: African American Art and Culture Complex, Ruth Williams Bayview Opera House, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, SOMArts, and three virtual cultural centers: Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center, American Indian Cultural Center, and Queer Cultural Center.
"The Movement Immigrant Orchestra is grateful for the SFAC’s Arts Impact Endowment, a vital resource for local artists, supporting us to activate San Francisco through public performances, jam sessions, and community gatherings," said Movement, SFAC Arts Impact Endowment organization grantee.
"As San Francisco continues to grapple with an affordability crisis, the SFAC’s Arts Impact Endowment amplifies our ability to continue uplifting the cultural power of San Francisco's immigrant communities through song, stories and collective cultural practice."
"The interdisciplinary dance performance and intercultural work of Tableau Stations stems from a lived precarity, often at the peripheries, in terms of industry, economics, and a sense of place in San Francisco,” said Isak Immanuel of Tableau Stations, SFAC Arts Impact Endowment organization grantee.
“Receiving an Arts Impact Endowment grant from SFAC will support the local presence of Tableau Stations to actively cultivate the intergenerational project ‘Landscapes of Youth.’ This multi-year support will directly counteract the threat of displacement and enable first person perspectives to embodied experiences of parenting, childhood, economic and cultural precarity, and communal renewal."
“We were in a staff meeting when our GFTA award email arrived. You should have heard the collective sigh of relief!” said Masha Berek, Executive Director of the Museum of Craft and Design, GFTA General Operating Support grantee.
“For small and mid-sized arts organizations like ours, this funding is a step towards stability in a deeply uncertain moment. Too often, we have to cut where it hurts most – in work hours for our staff and the artists we employ. These grants help MCD sustain jobs and paid opportunities for Bay Area artists, makers, and designers; meet growing public interest in hands-on making, especially among young people; and encourage visitors to see themselves as makers of the culture and the city we share.”
“Despite the current economic challenges facing our nation and San Francisco, the Arts Commission remains able to offer robust grant awards of $50,000 to $100,000 to our artists and small- to mid-sized arts organizations. Their work is essential to the cultural and economic vitality of San Francisco and helps ensure that our city continues to thrive as a major arts hub in the United States,” said Denise Pate, SFAC Director of Community Investments.
“As our first grant announcement as part of the San Francisco Arts Commission, I’m thrilled to see Grants for the Arts deliver funding that strengthens San Francisco as a diverse and vibrant cultural hub,” said Kristen Jacobson, Director of Grants for the Arts.
“This investment not only supports the organizations that inspire visits, enhance our cultural identity, and nurture our arts ecosystem - it also directly responds to urgent needs stemming from recent funding cuts and helps address critical space and facility improvements.”
Details for the opportunity to apply for Arts Commission funding for the 2028 grant cycle will be announced in late 2026.