Big changes are coming to San Francisco’s City Hall, including alterations to governance and leadership, and a sweeping charter review that could significantly affect the arts sector. Artists Live Here, spearheaded by artists and activists Erica Gangsei and Stella Lochman, gathered creatives for an un-conference, where artists and leaders shared information about what these changes could spell out for themselves and the community at large. SOMArts hosted the event in their space, with Executive Director Maria Jenson and the recently revived Arts for a Better Bay Area’s Rachelle Axel sharing their thoughts on the implications of these major shifts. By November, paint wielders, filmmakers, and sax players alike may find themselves newly engaged in civic process.
Mayor Daniel Lurie has assembled a 31-person working group to review the city charter and recommend changes for November’s ballot. The group includes billionaire philanthropists, civil society organizations, labor leaders, City Hall officials, and representatives of lobbying interests, representing a wide swath of power whose interests may lie in consolidating power in the offices of the presiding government, rather than in an enhanced civic engagement process. Notably absent from this working group are leaders from the arts sector, libraries, parks, or public schools.
The city’s more than 100 commissions are also under scrutiny. An appointed task force, created after Proposition E, is expected to evaluate whether commissions should be consolidated, eliminated, or restructured. San Francisco’s 15 arts commissioners could see their power of influence reduced, potentially limiting their ability to advocate for arts organizations, approve design for public facilities, or safeguard the community input process for proposed public art if their role is reduced from approval to advisory. Take for example San Francisco’s latest major public art endeavor, the Big Art Loop, where private entities have played an increasingly visible role in determining which temporary sculptures occupy civic space. Regarding the approval process of Embarcadero Plaza’s controversial temporary installation, (R)Evolution, a city art commissioner provided the only dissenting voice, noting that the installation didn’t go through the proper public approval process.
Additionally, a newly announced position at City Hall would place the San Francisco Arts Commission, Grants for the Arts, and Film SF under a single executive director. It remains unclear how this leadership structure would function in practice, but existing departmental leadership would remain in place. The job description states that the position will streamline operations while the executive director will serve as Lurie’s main point of communication between himself and the city’s cultural sector. One has to posit that Mayor Lurie would likely benefit from endeavoring to hear more opinions, not less; that said, putting someone in a position to gather that information for him could be beneficial.
Attention is being paid to the city’s cultural profile, and it seems that Mayor Lurie’s heart is in the right place. With major projects like San Francisco’s Big Art Loop officially launching, as well as downtown revival projects like Vacant to Vibrant, it would seem that the importance of art is not lost on our civic leaders. However, some artists question whether decision-makers are truly listening. A small pool of wealthy donors and private foundations are increasingly shaping which artworks define the city’s public image, and a sort of Burning Man kitsch is beginning to dominate the aesthetic landscape without procedural public comment hearings. Further, some see the Vacant to Vibrant project as extractive, prioritizing the interests of real estate value, offering artists ‘exposure’ without proper compensation. Without public approval processes or input from experts whose only interest is maintaining the character of the neighborhood, the design of our city’s aesthetic and legislative processes will become more insular and less authentic to the city’s voice.
Further, tone-deaf announcements signal a lack of communication between the administration and the arts community. The closure of California College of the Arts (CCA) prompted Mayor Lurie to announce that Vanderbilt University would acquire the campus. He gleefully posted the announcement to Instagram, apparently unaware that he was poised in front of a painting from a CCA alum and faculty member, David Huffman. The news follows the earlier closure of the San Francisco Art Institute and coincides with ongoing uncertainty for institutions, including the Mission Cultural Center and the Contemporary Jewish Museum, both of which are currently shuttered and unsure about their futures. Meanwhile, numerous small galleries have closed their doors over the past year. These developments foreshadow a troubling future for the city’s creative economy, a significant indicator of the quality of life among the city’s inhabitants.
Proposed changes to the legislative process of noncharter reform ballot measures would align San Francisco more closely with other major California cities, including increasing the percentage of required voter signatures for ballot initiatives from 2 percent to 10 percent, and raising the number of Board of Supervisors votes needed to place measures on the ballot from four to six out of an 11-member body. The requisite 10 percent for changes to the charter itself would remain the same. Any revisions would ultimately require voter approval in November. The accessibility of the current legislative process is a defining component of San Francisco’s identity, and major changes to this process would further impact the alignment between the city’s spiritual constitution and that of its City Hall. This new suggested legislation and the team overseeing it suggest that the pendulum is swinging in the opposite direction.
All this news culminated in the aforementioned event, Artists Live Here, coauthored by community and advocates alike. Over 400 attendees exchanged information and listened to some words of wisdom from the event organizers. The evening concluded with a tabling session, including letter-writing, resource sharing, and opportunities for continued civic engagement.
Jenson described the current moment as a state of emergency for San Francisco’s arts ecosystem, urging attendees to advocate from the heart and to speak from lived experience about what artists need to remain in the city. Throughout her remarks, she invited the crowd to repeat the refrain “Artists Live Here!” She dreamt of a future where artists are not just supported but respected and given the resources to do more than grind away, prodding the audience to consider more than the bare minimum in their endeavors to make themselves heard throughout these upcoming processes.
Axel provided a concise overview of the charter reform timeline, drawing on two decades of experience working in City Hall. She encouraged artists to participate directly in the process by attending meetings, staying informed, and following up with Arts for a Better Bay Area about some volunteer opportunities. Attendees were invited to sign up for updates through the Arts for a Better Bay Area newsletter.
The program concluded with an affirmation from Lochman, who told the audience, “We’re the reason people move here. We’re the reason people stay.”
Several days later, I attended an artists’ potluck organized through Bay Area Artists Connect, an event I learned about at Artists Live Here. Around 40 people gathered at a long table to share food, exchange ideas, and relate their overlapping fears and hopes, holding space for grief and rounding it all out with strategy, facts, and experience. I met collaborators I might never have encountered otherwise and heard variations of the same concern repeatedly: how to sustain a life in a city that often celebrates culture while making it increasingly difficult for artists to remain.
The last time I sensed this kind of openness to ideas and motivation to act and cooperate in the arts community was around the announcement of Covid-19, only now, to my delight, we can meet in person. Artists are always there to turn to when society is in crisis, proving again and again that we are essential
Whether the proposed charter reforms ultimately empower artists, consolidate decision-making, or simply reshape the administrative landscape remains uncertain. What is clear is that artists are once again organizing, paying attention, and stepping into civic life with renewed urgency.
The next community meeting regarding grassroots efforts to allay any unwanted changes is at Trinity St. Peters Church at 1620 Gough Street, Saturday, Feb. 28 at 2 p.m.
The next public meeting of the Charter Reform Working Group will take place Wednesday, March 4, at 3 p.m. at City Hall, Meeting Room 201, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place.
Updated 02/27/26 at 4:54 p.m. to reflect an anonymity request from a person mentioned in an earlier version.