About SOMArts

Under her leadership since 2016, Maria Jenson has expanded SOMArts’ programming, championed diverse voices, broken down hierarchical structures, and created clear pathways for Bay Area artists to cultivate new ideas and grow their careers. Prior to joining SOMArts, Jenson founded ArtPadSF, an independent art fair at the Phoenix Hotel, and was a member of SFMOMA’s External Relations team. She is on the boards of Californians for the Arts, SOMA West Community Benefit District, SF Arts Alliance and Arts for a Better Bay Area.

A practicing dancer and playwright, Jenson has written three satires, and recently participated in the Bay Area’s Crowded Fire Theater’s 2021-23 Resilience & Development Cohort. She speaks regularly on panels about art, activism, and the role of cultural institutions today.

Amid anti-war protests and struggles to establish civil rights in the 1960s, the Neighborhood Arts Program (NAP) is created by the San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) in order to provide funding for the arts beyond the city’s established arts institutions. The city purchases the Brannan Street building that becomes home to “Support Services for the Arts.”

Funding is drastically cut for the arts in California, and the organization is forced to restructure. Private funding is sought for the South of Market Cultural Center through the establishment of “Friends of Support Services for the Arts.” FSSA becomes an independent 501(c)3 organization in August 1979.

SOMArts launches the Commons Curatorial Residency program and secures critical funding support to expand its artistic programming and support of art made with, by and for cultural communities.