For fifty years, San Francisco Open Studios has served as a vital bridge between the city's creative community and art enthusiasts, inviting the public into artists' private workspaces during an annual month-long celebration each fall. This year marks a significant milestone for the event, which has evolved from a grassroots gathering of 67 artists in 1975 to a comprehensive program supporting hundreds of local creators throughout the year.
The program operates under a simple but powerful philosophy that art requires both creation and observation to reach completion. "Art has two parts – a creator and a viewer," explains Joen Madonna, executive director of ArtSpan, the nonprofit organization that has stewarded Open Studios since 1991. "Art isn't really complete until it's seen. Supporting artists is really about connecting them to art appreciators."
The inaugural Open Studios event took place primarily in the South of Market (SOMA) district, featuring 67 participating artists who opened their studios to curious visitors. A decade later, organizers introduced the Open Studios Guide, a comprehensive catalog that not only serves as a directory during the annual event but also functions as a year-round resource for art enthusiasts. This guide remains one of the program's most distinctive features today.
The event continued to expand as a volunteer-driven initiative until 1991, when ArtSpan assumed leadership responsibilities. The organization achieved federal nonprofit status in 1992 and began developing year-round programming to complement the annual Open Studios event. Madonna, who joined ArtSpan's board in 2013 and became executive director a decade ago, credits her own introduction to San Francisco's art scene to her participation in Open Studios during the mid-1990s while managing her husband Paul Madonna's artistic career.
However, the creative community faced significant challenges during the tech boom of the 2010s. "By 2014, things were really heating up with the next wave of the dot-com boom," Madonna recalls. "Within just a couple of months, about 200 artists lost their studios." Many of these displaced creative spaces were subsequently leased to technology startups, creating what Madonna describes as a crisis for the artistic community. "If we don't have space for artists, we're not going to have artists," she emphasized.
In response to this crisis, ArtSpan negotiated an agreement with a developer to create 11 shared, below-market-rate artist studios in the Journal Building at Van Ness and Market streets. Several artists continue to work in these spaces today, helping maintain an artistic presence during a period when securing affordable workspace became increasingly difficult. The building's exterior features a striking bird mural painted by the late Joshua Coffey, a former Trader Joe's sign painter who leveraged recognition from this artwork to transition into full-time artistic practice.
Beyond the annual Open Studios exhibition opportunity, ArtSpan provides professional development workshops and additional exhibition opportunities for its approximately 1,000 members. Recent initiatives have included juried exhibitions at SOMArts, participation in the Super Bowl 50 fan village art walk in 2016, window displays in vacant commercial spaces at the Salesforce Transit Hub in 2018, and the ongoing Art in Neighborhoods program launched in 2015, which brings artwork into local businesses such as Mission Bowling Club.
The program's impact on individual artists has been transformative. Rachel Znerold, an ArtSpan member, credits the organization with jumpstarting her career after moving to San Francisco 15 years ago. "When I moved to San Francisco 15 years ago, I knew I needed a miracle to jumpstart my art career here," Znerold explains. "Participating in Open Studios, I've made lifelong art friends and mentors, connected to art collectors, gallery owners and fellow artists. ArtSpan truly brought that golden art magic into my life and helped me to become a full-time artist here in the City."
Znerold has also participated in ArtSpan's mentorship initiatives, working with young artists through programs that allow the next generation to exhibit alongside professional artists in both the Art-In-Neighborhoods Program and Youth Open Studios. Madonna emphasizes the professional development aspect of these opportunities, noting that "Art is the oldest profession, but for many artists, Open Studios and other opportunities through ArtSpan are the first time a lot of artists see themselves as professionals."
To commemorate this significant anniversary, ArtSpan will present a special exhibition at the San Francisco Public Library's Jewett Gallery. "From Disco Days to the Tech Craze: 50 Years of ArtSpan SF Open Studios" opens September 12 and will showcase historical ephemera including vintage maps and guides, photographs from past events, and artwork from longtime participating artists. The exhibition provides context for the program's evolution alongside San Francisco's changing cultural landscape.
The 2024 Open Studios event runs from September 19 through October 13, with Madonna projecting approximately 500 participants this year. While this represents an increase from the previous year, participation levels have not yet returned to pre-pandemic numbers, which typically reached around 800 artists. Madonna attributes this ongoing shortfall to continued public health concerns among some artists and what she terms "the great art diaspora" – the migration of artists from San Francisco to more affordable cities.
Despite these challenges, Madonna remains optimistic about San Francisco's creative future. "I think we are in another beautiful renaissance in San Francisco," she states, "moving away from tech dominance and back toward creative dominance." This perspective reflects ArtSpan's commitment to maintaining San Francisco's reputation as a city that values and nurtures artistic expression, even as economic pressures continue to challenge the creative community's ability to live and work in the city.
