SOMArts announced Maria Jenson as the organization’s new Executive Director. With her demonstrated history of bridging communities through inclusive, vibrant, and accessible arts programming and advocacy, 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.
Curators Melorra Green and Karen Seneferu open The Black Woman is God at SOMArts, an intergenerational, multidisciplinary exhibition and movement-building platform that explores the intersections of race and gender, dismantling racist and patriarchal notions that devalue Black women’s contributions to the world. Earlier iterations of the exhibition were held at the African American Arts and Culture Complex and the San Francisco Public Library. The exhibition became part of SOMArts annual season between 2016–2022:
- Reprogramming the God Code, July 7–August 17, 2016
- Divine Revolution, July 20–August 26, 2017
- Assembly of Gods, August 30–October 2, 2018
- Reclaim, Reconfigure, Re-remember, November 7–December 12, 2020
- The Blueprint: If the Universe Can Be Imagined, It Exists, December 12, 2021–February 6, 2022