Cultural Centers
The community-based cultural centers are dedicated to providing accessible arts opportunities for all San Franciscans.
Four city-owned facilities operated by nonprofit arts organizations provide cultural and arts programs. The centers are venues for performances, festivals, and gallery exhibits and offer free or low cost classes.
CAE also supports the programming and operations of three cultural centers “without walls.”
Cultural centers are an integral part of the arts in San Francisco, serving artists, community groups, neighborhoods and visitors.
- African American Art and Culture Complex
- Bayview Opera House Ruth Williams Memorial Theater
- Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts
African American Art and Culture Complex
The African American Art and Culture Complex (AAACC) supports, enhances, and promotes African American art and culture, providing space and programs for residents, organizations, and individual artists. AAACC presents programs in performing, visual, literary, and expressive arts, and humanities which positively enhance and promote the understanding of both the multicultural and the multi-dimensional definition of African and African American derived art and culture.
Bayview Opera House Ruth Williams Memorial Theater
The mission of the Bayview Opera House Ruth Williams Memorial Theater is to provide cultural enrichment by promoting community arts and education to ensure economic and employment development in the Bayview Hunters Point Community. Their vision is to develop an urban arts center that facilitates cultural diversity while providing an environment that promotes artistic expression in performing, literary and visual arts, music production, and sound recording.
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts
The Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts (MCCLA) was established in 1977 by artists and community activists with a shared vision to promote, preserve and develop the Latino cultural arts that reflect the living tradition and experiences of Chicano, Central and South American, and Caribbean people. The MCCLA makes the arts accessible as an essential element to community development and well-being. As a community non-profit arts organization, MCCLA prides itself in enriching the cultural and artistic life of the Mission, San Francisco, and Bay Area residents as well.
SomArts
SomArts (South of Market Arts Resources, Technology, and Services) is a multicultural center that serves the arts community city-wide though its arts support services. somArts serves approximately 450,000 middle to low-income people annually with its year-round schedule of community arts classes, theatrical performances, gallery exhibitions, the Mural Resource Center and technical services' support of cultural events.
Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center
Asian Pacific Islander Cultural Center (APICC) supports and nurtures the artistic endeavors of the San Francisco Bay Area Asian Pacific Islander community. Since 1998 the Center has promoted the artistic and organizational growth of the City’s Asian/Pacific arts community by organizing and presenting the annual United States of Asian America Festival. The Festival presents over 20 different programs reflecting the artistic accomplishments and the cultural diversity of San Francisco’s Asian and Pacific Island communities.
Queer Cultural Center
Founded in 1993 Queer Cultural Center (QCC) is a multidisciplinary arts presenting organization that conducts artistic and interpretive programs exploring queer identity issues. The programs promote the careers of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender artists, foster the growth of queer arts organizations, and serve queer and non-queer audiences alike. By presenting, exhibiting, and screening queer artists' work QCC contributes a multicultural perspective on the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender experience.