What is really happening to San Francisco’s arts ecosystem?

In this episode, Hugh Leeman speaks with Maria Jenson, Creative and Executive Director of SOMArts, about the forces reshaping the city’s cultural landscape. Maria reflects on the fallout from the pandemic, the closure of major institutions, the restructuring of arts governance, and the growing urgency around advocacy, public voice, and sustainable funding.

She also discusses the State of Emergency Summit, direct engagement with city leadership, the importance of protecting arts funding mechanisms like Prop E, and why artists themselves must be included in conversations about recovery. The result is a candid, timely conversation about power, policy, and what it would take to build a more open, accessible, and equitable cultural commons in San Francisco.