ArtSpan
ArtSpan is a San Francisco, California, nonprofit organization that produces the oldest and largest artist open studios event in the United States. Started in 1975, ArtSpan's San Francisco Open Studios takes place over four weekends in the fall each year with a different city district highlighted each weekend. The Open Studios take place in a myriad of different locations within each district. Some are in art galleries, some in apartments, some in garages and some in store fronts. Local publications often make recommendations for each weekend. In 2023, over 600 local artists participated in SFOS.
50th anniversary
In 2024, San Francisco Open Studios celebrated its 50th anniversary. The inaugural event in 1975 featured 67 artists, primarily in the South of Market area. By 2024, the event had grown significantly, with around 500 artists participating across the city.To commemorate this milestone, ArtSpan, the nonprofit organization that has managed Open Studios since 1991, organized a special exhibition titled "From Disco Days to the Tech Craze: 50 Years of ArtSpan SF Open Studios." The exhibition, held at the San Francisco Public Library's Jewett Gallery, showcased Open Studios ephemera, including maps, guides, photos from past events, and artwork from long-time participating artists.
The 2024 Open Studios event ran from September 19 through October 13, following the opening of the commemorative exhibition on September 12. Despite facing challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the "great art diaspora" - artists leaving San Francisco for more affordable cities - ArtSpan's executive director, Joen Madonna, remained optimistic about the future of the arts in San Francisco, noting a shift "away from tech dominance and back toward creative dominance."
Throughout its history, San Francisco Open Studios has played a crucial role in connecting artists with the public and helping artists see themselves as professionals. The event has also adapted to changing times, including initiatives to secure affordable studio spaces for artists and programs to mentor youth artists.
While many of the artist's works can be found in galleries during the year, Open Studios gives the public the opportunity to meet the artists, see a much broader representation of the artist's work than can be seen in any other exhibit short of a retrospective and to buy original art work without gallery markups.
Artspan also hosts the San Francisco Open Studios Exhibition that includes works from over 400 Open Studio artists organized by the districts the artists are showing in. SFOS gallery curators each choose a favorite piece. The are presented at ArtLaunch, the event that marks the opening of the SFOS Exhibition.
| Year | Artist | Juror |
| 2023 | Joseph Abbati | James Miille, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Superfine Art Fair |
| Andrew DeWitt | Jonathan Carver Moore, Founding Director of Jonathan Carver Moore | |
| Uma Rani Iyli | Michael Arcega, Associate Professor of Art at San Francisco State University | |
| Bussie Parker Kehoe | TaVee Lee, Manager of Transmission Gallery | |
| Bianca Levan | Valerie Imus, Artistic Director & Co-director, Southern Exposure | |
| 2022 | Amber Gruhlkey | Sarah Choe, Co-owner & Director of Soft Times Gallery |
| Debra Dee | Raul D'Mauries & Felicia Ann, Cofounders and Managing Partners of Helvella Gallery | |
| Debra Dee | Michelle A. Delaney, Manager & Owner of 111 Minna Gallery | |
| Debra Dee | Dr. Martina Ayala, executive director of the Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts | |
| Debra Dee | Bradley Platz, Cofounder & Managing Partner of Modern Eden Gallery | |
| 2021 | Uma Rani Iyli | Kelsey Issel, Arts Program Consultant & Co-owner of She Bends |
| Uma Rani Iyli | Justin Hoover, executive director of the Chinese Historical Society of America | |
| Geneviève L'Heureux | Annette Schutz, Owner ArtHaus Consulting | |
| Mike Sanchez | Eric Murphy, Curator for Joyce Gordon Gallery | |
| Artemis Laura Schatzkin | Randolph Belle, Principal of RBA Creative | |
| 2020 | Joseph Abbati | Ashley L. Voss, Owner & Director, Voss Gallery |
| Nina Fabunmi | Eden Stein, Owner & Curator, Secession Art and Design | |
| Nina Fabunmi | Marsha Connell Studio, Sonoma County Art Professor | |
| Roberta Ahrens | Matt McKinley, Owner, McKinley Art Solutions | |
| Geneviève L'Heureux | Philip Bewley, Gallery Director & Curator, DZINE Gallery | |
| 2019 | Joshua Coffy | Irene Hernandez-Feiks, Curator & Founder of WonderlandSF & Chillin Productions |
| Aynur Girgin Westen | James Bacchi, Founding Partner of ArtHaus Gallery | |
| Tanya Herrera | Patience Yi, executive director of Code and Canvas | |
| Paul Madonna | Donna Seager, Founding Partner of Seager Gray Gallery | |
| Mike Sanchez | Dylan Ozanich. Founding Partner of Scale Up Art | |
| Sandra Yagi | Alan Bamberger, Art Consultant & Appraiser of ArtBusiness.com | |
| 2018 | Tamara Avery | |
| Cy de Groat | ||
| Camila Magrane | ||
| Lynn Rubenzer | ||
| Stevan Shapona | ||
| 2017 | Ariel Gold | |
| Jane B. Grimm | ||
| Michael Jang | ||
| William Rhodes | ||
| Cindy Shih | ||
| Beth Davila Waldman | ||
| Aynur Girgin Westin | ||
| 2016 | Paul Madonna | |
| Robert Sakovich | ||
| Amy Ahlstrom | ||
| Catherine Mackey | ||
| Ramiro Cairo | ||
| Liz Hickok | ||
| Katja Leibenath | ||
| 2015 | Amy Ahlstrom | |
| Kathy Aoki | ||
| Monica Denevan | ||
| Ivy Jacobsen | ||
| Nina Katz | ||
| Christine Meuris | ||
| Kim Smith | ||
| Maxine Solomon | ||
| Sandra Yagi |