Culture
San Francisco Art Institute files for bankruptcy
San Francisco Art Institute’s North Beach campus.
Image courtesy of: Art Forum (courtesy of San Francisco Art Institute)
Troubles at the San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) are not new… but sadly, the Bay Area’s leading art school is finally forced to face the music. Filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy seems to be the last chapter in several years of mounting financial troubles.
The pandemic did not help matters, but there is no doubt that SFAI was facing substantial difficulties prior. In fact, back in 2020, SFAI announced that it would be graduating its final class after (courtesy of The Art Newspaper article by Torey Akers) “a last-ditch bid from the University of San Francisco to acquire the struggling school fell through, leaving the institution no choice but to shutter its doors.”
SFAI’s army warehouse at Fort Mason.
Leddy Mayhem Stacy Architects was commissioned to convert the warehouse into a new campus building; unfortunately, this only added to the school’s mounting debt.
Image courtesy of: The Architect’s Newspaper, photographed by: Bruce Damonte
When it announced that it would suspend degree programs after more than 150 years of operation, a number of financial routes were explored in attempts to save the institution. Among the possible solutions were discussions of the University of San Francisco acquiring the school, the University of California Regents purchasing the institution for $19.7 million debt, and reopening enrollment… in addition to various other fundraising efforts. Unfortunately last year, all of these efforts proved insufficient.
Diego Rivera’s mural at the SFAI.
Image courtesy of: KQED (courtesy of SFAI)
SFAI’s campus is home to Diego Rivera’s famous “The Making of a Fresco Showing the Building of a City” mural. Rumored to be worth $50 million, in 1931 the institute commissioned Rivera to paint the mural for $2,500. Efforts to save the masterpiece (and some of the school’s other pieces) led to creating the SFAI Legacy Foundation, an independent non-profit operated by Jeff Gunderson and Becky Alexander, two former SFAI librarians.
When the mural was first commissioned by SFAI President William Gerstel, the request was that the mural’s subject be non-political. However upon completion, it was clear that the work was quite political. This bit of history, in addition to the history behind why the Mellon Foundation issued a $200,000 grant towards initiatives including conservation work, the preservation and digitalization of relevant archival materials, and a dedicated scholarship has added to the mural’s intrigue.
At the Chestnut Street Campus, The Anne Bremer Memorial Library.
Image courtesy of: Artsy (courtesy of SFAI)
For years, SFAI has been the West Coast’s renowned educational institution. Art masters have graced the halls both as faculty and students; those esteemed individuals include Ansel Adams, Annie Leibovitz, Dorothea Lange, Mark Rothko, and Clifford Still.
Since the middle of the twentieth century, SFAI has been at the center of each new national and regional artistic movement. Following World War II, the institute’s enrollment surged as artists sought to take advantage of the GI Bill. Those artists selected to teach summer sessions also helped to make the school a center for Abstract Expressionism. Specifically, Clifford Still was especially influential for his “anti commercial” view of an artist’s role.
Inside one of the working spaces.
Image courtesy of: Hoodline, photograph via Cushman & Wakefield.
Questions remain regarding what will happen to the archives; those remain extremely important because of their historical connection to the school and the art movements that spawned there. Last year, the National Endowment for the Humanities awarded SFAI a $234,820 grant. The grant was specifically intended to rehouse all 544 linear feet of archival material. In addition, this project included (courtesy of an article written by Sarah Hotchkiss for KQED) digitizing 23 hours of “‘at-risk audiovisual materials,’ to be made available via the Internet Archive.”
As this story continues to unfold, there is no doubt that many remain committed to a long-term solution and to permanent preservation of all that is housed within SFAI’s walls. With over $65 million in assets, the city, San Francisco’s residents, and art lovers throughout await in suspense.
