Community Arts Stabilization Trust

Enough with the status quo. ✨ We’re going from profit-driven to people-powered! ✨ The old mode of real estate has relied on driving up rents for profit, squeezing out cultural spaces and displacing artists in the process. Our Space to Dream Initiative, a 10-year effort to secure affordable spaces for artists and arts organizations in the Bay Area, is flipping the script! We’re creating a new path that puts community and creativity first, ensuring affordable, lasting spaces for artists and neighborhoods in the Bay Area. Here’s how we’re doing it: 💸 Affordable Capital: Investing in spaces for the arts, optimizing for people not profit 🏛 Policy Change: Partnering with policymakers to remove barriers for artists to access affordable housing and create the conditions for downtown revitalization 🤝 Capacity Building: Empowering communities to lead the change Together, we can transform empty corridors into vibrant cultural hubs that make our cities more inclusive and resilient. Join us as we build a new way forward! Click the link to learn more ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gWa_EAte #CASTSF #SpaceToDream #CulturalSpaces #AffordableArtistSpaces

Looking for some seasonal magic this weekend? ❄️ Check out SOMA Pilipinas Filipino Cultural Heritage District's 22nd Annual Parol Lantern Festival! Enjoy food, music, a parol stroll, and more ⭐️ More info:

What you’ve all been waiting for… episode 2️⃣ of #RealEstate101 is here! In this episode of our series, we’re talking about what to consider when determining how much space your organization or group might need 🏢 Have questions about real estate terms and concepts? Comment below or send us a DM and we might feature it in an upcoming episode ⭐️ #AskCAST #AskMeAnything #BayAreaRealEstate #CommunityConnector #CASTSF

✨ This Wednesday ✨ Join us at 447 Minna for the opening reception of Gazelle Samizay's "Compassionate Exclusion: An Escape Room", an immersive escape room experience that explores the complexities of seeking refuge in a fictional war-torn country. Reserve your tickets here: https://lnkd.in/gx93HEuF

From the Rocky Mountains 🏔️ to the Bay 🌁 All the way from Denver, a few team members from the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation and RedLine Contemporary Art Center came to visit us a couple weeks ago to learn and exchange ideas around creating affordable artist workspaces in our cities. It was a great opportunity to talk about the changes affecting artists and arts organizations in our respective regions and share how we’re working to meet this unprecedented moment in real estate in the Bay Area. Thank you to the Bonfils-Stanton Foundation and RedLine Contemporary Art Center teams for your visit, we hope to return the favor soon! #BonfilsStanton #CASTSF #BayAreaRealEstate #AffordableArtistSpaces

Can we explain what’s happening in these pics of the SF Neo-Futurists? No. Does it make us want to attend one of their #447Minna performances to find out? Yes! Here are two ways to get your SF Neo-Futurists fix before the year ends: ⭐️ Catch a performance of their show “The Infinite Wrench” at #447Minna Fridays and Saturdays, which they describe as “an attempt to perform 30 bite-sized plays in a frantic race against the clock, in an order determined by you, the audience.” Get your tix here: https://lnkd.in/gKJWNfur ⭐️ They’re offering a FREE three-hour intro workshop on December 7th for BIPOC folks who want to learn the basics of writing and performing in the Neo-Futurist aesthetic! Sign up here: https://lnkd.in/gKnpPBxS 📷: Photos by Vita Hewitt #SFNeoFuturists #CASTSF #Improv #InfiniteWrench

Artists and arts organizations are the heartbeat of the Bay Area—but rising rents and underutilized spaces have made it harder than ever to thrive. That’s why we created the Creative Cities Fund, a game-changing tool in our Space to Dream Initiative that offers a solution to secure affordable, long-term spaces for our creative communities. ✨ What is the Creative Cities Fund? Similar to social impact investing, the Fund is a community-backed vehicle that helps arts and cultural organizations and CAST purchase large-scale buildings and vacant downtown properties in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose. It provides arts groups a way to access affordable, flexible capital to secure spaces that can then be transformed into vibrant cultural hubs with below-market rents so artists can focus on what they do best—creating and inspiring. 🎨 Who Is It For? The Creative Cities Fund is for Bay Area arts and cultural organizations with a strong network of supporters who are ready to acquire long-term, affordable space to continue their work. Whether you're an artist, arts leader, or a patron ready to invest in change, the Creative Cities Fund is your opportunity to make a lasting impact. Click here to learn more about the Fund: https://lnkd.in/gB3qbeHz #SpaceToDream #CreativeCitiesFund #CASTSF #CulturalSpaces #AffordableArtistSpaces

Experience “Compassionate Exclusion: An Escape Room” at 447 Minna on December 4-8! Step into a gripping narrative of survival and choice inspired by the real-life challenges Afghans faced during the 2021 US-NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan. In this immersive escape room experience, artist Gazelle Samizay and game designer Ramsey Nasser created a narrative that explores the complexities of seeking refuge in a fictional war-torn country. 🌟 Opening Reception 📅 Wednesday, December 4th ⏰ 5:30-8 PM PST 📍 447 Minna, San Francisco ✨ Supported by a grant from the San Francisco Arts Commission, this is more than a game—it’s a chance to reflect, connect, and grow. 🔗 Mark your calendars and click here for ticket info: https://lnkd.in/gx93HEuF #CompassionateExclusion #447Minna #CASTSF #SanFranciscoArts

🚨 ACTION NEEDED 🚨 This bill threatens due process and jeopardizes vital services for vulnerable communities. Contact your House representatives and urge them to vote NO on H.R. 9495. Find their info here: https://lnkd.in/eYxYqDS

Last month, Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center (APICC) and Kulintang Arts Inc (Kularts) purchased a dedicated home in #SOMAPilipinas ❤️ The space is set to include a 120-seat theater, a visual arts gallery, a multidisciplinary space for dance rehearsals, community events and workshops, office space, oh my! CAST was honored to play a minor role in the process by helping to ensure the checklist of materials for the API Nonprofit Acquisition Fund application was complete, streamlining the path to securing this transformative funding from the San Francisco Mayor's Office of Housing and Community Development. While we wait for the space to come to life, check out this latest opportunity for artists from APICC: 🎨 APICC is calling for AANHPI artists to submit a proposal to be part of the 2025 United States of Asian America Festival: Critical Refuge! Go to https://lnkd.in/gWHPd83V for more info. Check out our recent blog post to learn a bit about the project and read the full press release: https://lnkd.in/gtUVSANr