Bay Area artists Kelly Tunstall and Ferris Plock. Photo: Shaun Roberts
Affordable Housing for Artists in the San Francisco Bay Area
The AST Artist Housing Commons:
Rooting Artists and Sustaining Communities
Our Purpose
Artist Space Trust is building an Artist Housing Commons — a growing, distributed network of affordable housing and live/work spaces held outside the for-profit real estate market and co-stewarded with artists and culture bearers across the Bay Area. The Commons supports artists’ autonomy, continuity of practice, and the wellbeing of the communities they anchor.
AST is a joint program of Vital Arts and Northern California Land Trust, and serves San Francisco Bay Area artists.
300 Homes for Artists in 10 Years
Over the next decade, Artist Space Trust is working toward securing 300 artist households within the AST Commons — a scale at which the Commons becomes visible, resilient, and capable of meaningfully countering displacement and stabilizing artists’ presence across the Bay Area, particularly for artists who have been, and continue to be, most impacted by structural housing inequities.
With the support of AST’s CalHome Down Payment Assistance program, Mihee Kim now owns a single-family home in Alameda County
Mihee has an active and celebrated multidisciplinary artistic practice and is the Co-Executive Director of Kearny Street Workshop, a longstanding San Francisco arts nonprofit for Asian Pacific Americans.
“Arist Space Trust has drastically improved my quality of life through their down payment assistance program. Their significant support was the difference between remaining in taxing rental situations for the rest of my life vs. creating long-lasting stability and a home that I can rely on.”
- Mihee Kim
When Artists Stay, Communities Thrive
Stable housing allows artists to remain rooted in the Bay Area — strengthening communities in measurable ways:
Educational and youth outcomes improve
Schools and community programs with sustained artist involvement show higher student engagement, stronger creative learning outcomes, and increased participation in culturally responsive education.
Source: National Endowment for the Arts; Urban Institute
Health and wellbeing outcomes are strengthened
Long-term artist presence is associated with improved mental health, reduced social isolation, and stronger community wellbeing — particularly in historically disinvested neighborhoods.
Source: National Endowment for the Arts; World Health Organization
Community resilience and social cohesion increase
Artists contribute to neighborhood stability, civic participation, and local economic activity. When artists are displaced, communities lose cultural infrastructure and informal leadership.
Source: Markusen & Gadwa, NEA; SF Arts Commission
Photos from top: Sam at home, Flee Kieselhorst moving in by C. Wagner Photography, Cherie Hill and Irie Dance by Robbie Sweeney.
AST Commons
This includes single-family homes, multi-unit housing, and artist-centered live/work complexes designed to reflect artists’ real lives and needs. Homes enter the AST Commons through donations, bequests, below-market-rate purchases, and development partnerships, and are stewarded using tools such as community land trusts and master leases to support long-term care and affordability.
▧ View Current Housing Opportunities
Our Programs: How We Help
AST Foundations & Consulting Services
AST Foundations offers free financial education workshops that help Bay Area artists navigate affordable housing and financial decisions with greater agency. We also provide consulting services to support communities across the country in creating needs-based, artist-centered affordable housing. A toolkit to support AST replication is currently in development.
▩ Explore AST Foundations
AST Accelerator Fund
The AST Accelerator Fund is a reserve of loan capital from individual donors and foundations, structured as Program-Related Investments (PRIs). This loan capital enables AST to acquire properties and prepare them for artist residents and homeowners, providing the flexibility needed to bring homes into the Commons.
▤ Learn About the Accelerator Fund
AST Policy Engagement
AST brings artist-informed housing perspectives into municipal, regional, and statewide policy conversations, advocating for approaches that support housing stability, cultural continuity, and community wellbeing.
Meet Rafael Jesús González, artist, eductor, activist, and AST property donor
Mutual aid is at the center of AST’s model, and renowned Bay Area artist Rafael Jesús González is building a legacy by bequeathing his beloved home to AST.
The first Poet Laureate of Berkeley, lifetime peace and anti-nuclear activist, and founder of the Latino Studies program at Laney College, Rafael was the first in a beautiful, growing group of elder artists committed to rooting future generations of artists in their homes.
“I refuse to let my home, my spaces consecrated by my art, my scholarship, my activism, my celebrations, my living be subject to ‘The Market.’ I will leave my home to Artist Space Trust instead so that it may house hard-pressed artists who, I hope, will be engaged in art dedicated to the Earth, justice, peace, beauty, and healing.”
- Rafael Jesús González
Amy Trachtenberg at work in her studio by Jeffrey Miller
Frequently Asked Questions
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Eligibility varies by program, and we encourage artists to review the criteria for each opportunity. In general, AST serves artists who:
Can demonstrate an ongoing artistic practice
Currently live in the San Francisco Bay Area
Earn below 80% of the Area Median Income
Are a first-time home owner as defined by the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for our home ownership opportunities
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AST serves artists and culture bearers working across disciplines and traditions. Applicants are asked to provide a narrative about their practice, work samples, and references. We recognize a wide range of artistic practices, including visual, performing, literary, and cultural work rooted in community traditions.
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We invite you to explore the information throughout our website and sign up for our newsletter for updates on housing opportunities, workshops, and events.
AST also offers free housing and financial education workshops.
Artists interested in homeownership are encouraged to complete the HUD Pre-Purchase Homebuyer Education Workshop through Richmond Neighborhood Housing Services.
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Artist Space Trust does not provide immediate crisis support for people facing eviction or those who are currently unhoused.
However, we encourage you to explore our Current Housing Opportunities and to visit our Resources page for community-based support services and referrals.
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AST serves individual artists, artist families, and artist cooperatives. We do not secure space for nonprofit arts organizations. Bay Area arts organizations seeking space are encouraged to contact the Community Arts Stabilization Trust.
Support the Artist Housing Commons
Donors are key partners in building the Artist Housing Commons. Your contribution helps Artist Space Trust secure and steward housing that supports artists’ long-term stability and strengthens communities across the Bay Area, while advancing housing justice and self-determination for low-income artists who have been systematically excluded from housing opportunities.