Community Arts Stabilization Trust

Beyond the Transaction: The Long Game of Cultural Space - CAST - Community Arts Stabilization Trust As excited as we were to be featured by the New York Times, we felt compelled to expand the narrative and respond to the many questions and comments that followed.

A headline can make it look simple: buy the building, save the space, move on. But anyone who has done this work knows, it’s never just the deal.

If you’re curious about what it really takes to hold cultural space for the long term, we invite you to read more. Click here to read the full post 👇

Can Artists Help Shape American Cities Again? Artists have played a vital role in defining the American city only to be forced out when rents rise. A novel approach in San Francisco seeks to break the cycle.

Our grantees @castsf.bsky.social & Artist Space Trust were featured in the New York Times! We’re proud to support their work to secure affordable space to ensure artists can live & create in the Bay Area. And we’re excited that these models are inspiring cities across the country & around the world.

The full CAST team all in one place ✨

Our Colorado teammates are paying a visit to the Bay this week, and it has us reflecting on how much our team has grown! We’re grateful to gather and share about all of the amazing work to come.

#CASTSF #CASTColorado #AffordableArtsSpaces #RealEstate

Can Artists Help Shape American Cities Again?

Thank you to @nytimes.com and @zacharyhsmall.bsky.social for spotlighting how skyrocketing real estate prices have pushed creatives out of the very neighborhoods they helped define, and how innovative models like ours are working to change that.

#NewYorkTimes #CASTSF #CreativeLandTrusts #BayAreaArt

ArtSpan Submission Manager

Our friends at @artspansf.bsky.social just opened a Call for Art for their upcoming exhibition, Cross Section: Members Showcase, hosted at Mission Bowling Club in San Francisco.

👉 Apply here: artspan.submittable.com/submit

Our Denver team is growing! 🏔️ Please join us in welcoming Sarah Wallace Scott to CAST as our new Creative Real Estate Manager for CAST Colorado 🎉

Swipe to get to know more about her ➡️

#CASTColorado #TeamCAST #AffordableArtsSpaces #RealEstate

Ground Breaking Ceremony at La Placita — MHP You’re invited to the La Placita groundbreaking press conference!

Congratulations to the School of Arts and Culture for getting approval from the San Jose City Council for $3 million to support La Placita 🎉

Join them next Thursday, January 29 at La Placita for a press conference and groundbreaking! Click here for more info:

The Colorado Health Foundation Awards CAST $1.9 Million to Acquire Its First Affordable Housing Project in Trinidad, CO - CAST - Community Arts Stabilization Trust The grant supports CAST Colorado in its purchase of the East Street School, a live-work artist studio space in Trinidad, CO.

CAST Colorado has received $1.9 million from The Colorado Health Foundation to support the acquisition and long-term stewardship of the East Street School in Trinidad, CO!

Click the link to read the full press release and learn more 👇

#CASTColorado #TheColoradoHealthFoundation

2026 IDA + CDA Place Matters - International Downtown Association Registration is now open for IDA + CDA Place Matters in Long Beach, CA.

Our Managing Director of Real Estate Carolyn Choy will be speaking at International Downtown Association’s 2026 IDA + CDA Place Matters! Carolyn will join the breakout session “Securing Downtown’s Creative Future,” which focuses on how Creative Land Trusts.

#CreativeLandTrusts #Downtowns

Seven Denver Creatives to Watch in 2026 These creative movers and shakers are in the spotlight for 2026.

CAST’s Director of National Programs Louise Martorano has been featured in @westword.com's “Denver Creatives to Watch in 2026” 🎉

We’re incredibly grateful to have Louise and her deep experience, vision, and commitment to artist-centered development on our team.

#CASTColorado #DenverWestword

When Home and Studio Become One - CAST - Community Arts Stabilization Trust How live-work and proximity-based models for artists are creating the conditions for creative stability, community connection, and long-term opportunity.

In the third and final chapter of Breaking Ground: Colorado, we explore live-work spaces that are creating real stability for artists across the state.

Click the 🔗 to read more about what happens when artists are given the stability to imagine what comes next: cast-sf.org/when-home-an...

📣 Opportunity for community-rooted arts orgs!

Community Vision’s CREATE (Community Real Estate – Arts to Equity) program supports financial resilience and real estate readiness for arts & culture groups in the Bay Area + Fresno.

🗓 Apply by Jan 15
👉 communityvisionca.org/advising/create/

How Denver Artists Are Rewriting the Terms of Space - CAST - Community Arts Stabilization Trust How Denver artists are reshaping ownership, negotiating their own agreements, and building sustainable, artist-led spaces across the city.

Denver artists are out here drafting their own agreements, shaping their own futures, and proving that artists are some of the best urban planners we’ve got!

Read our latest blog post to meet the artists rewriting the rules of space: cast-sf.org/how-denver-a...

#CASTColorado #DenverArts

Big things are happening at 457 Minna, and we’ve got the progress pics to prove it 👀 Construction is moving right along, and it's giving us a clearer glimpse of the future home for Filipino American Development Foundation, Filipino Mental Health Initiative, and Galing Bata.

Denver’s Downtown at a Crossroads - CAST - Community Arts Stabilization Trust A look at the transformation of downtown Denver, where post-pandemic vacancies are creating a rare opening for creative reuse.

Downtowns look different in the post-pandemic era, and Denver is responding creatively, turning vacant office space into long-term opportunities for the arts. Drawing on lessons from the Bay Area, @castsf.bsky.social is helping artists & developers shape an equitable future through shared interests.

The I ❤️ San Francisco Arts Project San Francisco's I ❤️ Arts Project champions local creativity through irreverent journalism, amplifying artists, makers, and the city's vibrant cultural soul.

SF arts lovers, take note ✏️ @brokeassstuart.bsky.social launched The I ❤️ San Francisco Arts Project, a new effort dedicated to uplifting the artists, culture-makers, and small venues.

Read more about it and how you can support here: brokeassstuart.com/p/the-i-san-...

DIVERSE DISCOURSE: LOUISE MARTORANO - DiverseWorks

Louise Martorano is headed to Houston for @diverseworks.bsky.social's Diverse Discourse series! 🌟 Her talk explores real strategies for artists navigating space, stability & sustainability.

🗓️ Dec 9, 6:30 PM | 📍 DiverseWorks Gallery

Houston artists can apply for a studio visit with Louise by Dec 1.

SF Supervisors Approve Program for New Affordable Artist Housing on Mid-Market, Courtesy of Anonymous Donor The SF Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to approve a new affordable-housing program based in a new building on mid-Market Street that would be dedicated to housing artists and creative types who are...

In a big win for San Francisco’s creative community, the Board of Supervisors has approved the city’s first dedicated Artist Housing Certification Program, including a new 90+-unit artist housing project on Mid-Market.

Read more in this piece from SFist ⬇️

#SFArts #AffordableHousing #MidMarket

Denver’s Downtown at a Crossroads - CAST - Community Arts Stabilization Trust A look at the transformation of downtown Denver, where post-pandemic vacancies are creating a rare opening for creative reuse.

Our newest Breaking Ground: Colorado chapter dives into Denver’s post-pandemic downtown, where empty floors, new funding, and big ideas collide.

Click here to read the full chapter and see what we’re learning on the ground in Denver: cast-sf.org/denvers-down...

#CASTSF #BreakingGround #Denver

We are deeply honored to have played a part in this milestone for San Francisco’s creative community and heartened to see future generations of artists rooted here ❤️

CAST acquired the building in 2014 to keep it affordable for community arts. This August, thanks to support from the San Francisco Foundation’s Bay Area Community Impact Fund and dedicated partners, Hospitality House secured permanent ownership.

Hospitality House has purchased the historic Luggage Store Gallery building at 1007 Market Street 🎉 This secures a lasting home for the nonprofit’s Community Arts Program, a studio and gallery that’s been a creative refuge for low-income and unhoused artists for 15 years.

Get a behind the scenes look at Warfield Commons, our hub for artists, journalists, & changemakers. Join us for tours during 2 Blocks of Art on Oct 11 (1:30, 2:30, 3:30pm). Meet at 988 Market St.
www.2blocksofart.org

#CASTSF #WarfieldCommons #2BlocksofArt

Stop trying to make ‘Lower Hayes’ happen! Mid-Market can be great A group of office brokers kicked off a lively debate last week by trying to rebrand the down-on-its-luck neighborhood into something it’s not.

Thanks to @sfstandard.com for highlighting #WarfieldCommons as part of the conversation about Mid-Market’s future ✨ The neighborhood is shifting and through it all, we remain committed to keeping arts and culture rooted here.

#MidMarket #CASTSF #CommunityFirst

👀 Warfield Commons just got an online refresh!

Now it's easier than ever to find events, leasing availabilities, and stay connected to our growing community of artists, journalists, and media makers.

Visit warfieldcommons.com now, and join our movement for independent journalism, arts and culture.

👀 Notice anything different? We have some new bling on our doors ✨

Our new Warfield Commons logo and branding are officially up on the building, and let’s be honest… she’s looking good! Catch us shining on Market Street—this is just the beginning.

#WarfieldCommons #NewLookWhoDis #MarketStreetSF

SF New Deal’s ENRG Grant is offering up to $50,000 to support small businesses, venues, and cultural spaces bringing new energy to the city’s entertainment and nightlife scene 🪩🎉

Learn more + apply: sfnewdeal.org/enrg

#DowntownSF #SFNewDeal #ENRGGrant

Check out Monocle’s recent The Urbanist podcast episode, which highlights how cities around the globe are securing permanent affordable space for arts and culture: monocle.com/radio/shows/...

Our Executive Director, Shelley Trott, talks about our work with @castsf.bsky.social.

That’s what Warfield Commons is all about—nurturing culture, amplifying community voices, and creating something sustainable that will keep growing for generations.

🌱 Resilience: deep roots = strength beneath the surface
🌍 Adaptability: grows anywhere, even in tough conditions
💡 Incubation: one seed head holds endless possibilities
📣 Amplification: carried by the wind, one idea can spread far
♻️ Renewal: it always comes back, season after season