More than a decade ago, the Kenneth Rainin Foundation took action against the Bay Area’s arts displacement crisis by launching Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST). Since then, CAST has been securing and stewarding affordable spaces to help Bay Area artists and cultural workers stay anchored in their creative communities. Their success has sparked a global movement, momentum we are now channeling to launch a new event. In late May, the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, along with Left Bank Co. and World Cities Culture Forum, will welcome 20 cities to the inaugural Creative Land Trust Summit in San Francisco.
This event will showcase how a growing number of cities are adapting CAST’s model to preserve their creative communities and help them thrive. It’s especially meaningful to host this event in San Francisco, where CAST’s novel approach was developed and has demonstrated success in addressing the real estate challenges for Bay Area arts and cultural organizations. The four-day summit will take place at buildings and venues that CAST played a role in acquiring.
Building A Global Community Of Practice
In this chaotic geopolitical environment, it’s more important than ever to build a global community of practice dedicated to sustaining diverse, vibrant arts and culture ecosystems to ensure that artists continue their critical work of connecting us with our shared humanity. Creative Land Trusts, like CAST, are an innovative legal structure and a promising remedy for the rapid loss of affordable creative workspace in cities worldwide.
…it’s more important than ever to build a global community of practice dedicated to sustaining diverse, vibrant arts and culture ecosystems to ensure that artists continue their critical work of connecting us with our shared humanity.
Back in 2018, the World Cities Culture Forum invited CAST to talk about their visionary model at the Forum’s annual gathering. Soon thereafter the City of London launched its version of CAST to reduce cultural displacement and now over a dozen cities are operating creative land trusts, with many more on the path to do the same. The Creative Land Trust Summit aims to harness this burgeoning movement and critical mass of knowledge to retain creative communities. Attendees will include cultural city leaders and developers from cities ranging from Austin, TX and Minneapolis, MN to London, Sydney, Helsinki, Montreal and Warsaw. We are also welcoming arts funding partners like Bloomberg Philanthropies, Ford Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation, Bonfils-Stanton Foundation, Barr Foundation, Good Chaos and Hewlett Foundation.
This Summit will strengthen the existing models, provide a chance to exchange learnings and offer a roadmap for other cities to follow. Our partnership with the World Cities Culture Forum taps into an extensive global network that we hope will help fuel the creative land trust movement’s continued growth. Securing more permanent space for arts and culture around the world reduces the financial risks to culture and community. When cities help make the economics work, artists can stay to enliven the places we call home.
Securing more permanent space for arts and culture around the world reduces the financial risks to culture and community. When cities help make the economics work, artists can stay to enliven the places we call home.
Sharing Practical Tools To Help Cities
Beyond the Summit, we aim to foster a community of practice by sharing practical tools to help other cities replicate this work.
- The Foundation’s newly updated Rainin Arts Real Estate Strategy website continues to be a resource for learning more about this collaborative approach to preserving arts and culture organizations.
- Lessons from 10 Years in Cultural Real Estate (PDF), published in 2024, outlines five key takeaways and insights to benefit the wider arts and cultural field about CAST’s first successful decade.
CAST’s Origin And Impact
In 2013, the Bay Area was facing an urgent displacement crisis as artists and nonprofits lost space during a surging real estate market. To imagine possible solutions, the Rainin Foundation came together with public and private partners and experts to challenge the status quo and devise a long-term, sustainable strategy to secure space for the arts in San Francisco’s prohibitively expensive real estate market. Community Vision (formerly the Northern California Community Loan Fund) played a critical role and adapted their extensive experience in finance, real estate and community development to design an innovative model for preserving arts and culture spaces.
Together, we formulated what became the Rainin Arts Real Estate Strategy, which laid the groundwork for creating CAST. The Foundation then seeded CAST with a $5 million grant. CAST builds the capacity of creative enterprises to lease or own property at below market rates and with low-cost, stable financing. As capital is reimbursed, it is reinvested to acquire more spaces, establishing cultural assets that ensure artists have stable creative homes for decades to come.
Our ongoing investments in CAST have supported its expansion into Oakland as well as artist-led innovations for affordable workspace and housing. In 2024 alone, CAST stewarded over 86,000 sq ft of performance, studio and rehearsal space, with another 100,000 square feet in the pipeline. It has helped over two dozen arts and community groups gain dedicated workspace. More than 600 individuals and organizations have benefitted from their real estate advice, capacity building and space solutions.
Catalyzing New Ideas Through Convening And Collaboration
The Creative Land Trust Summit is an extension of the Rainin Foundation’s long tradition of convening and collaboration. Since our founding, we have acted as a catalyst for new ideas and collaborations with creative thinkers in the Arts, Education and Health.
Our work to establish Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST) was a breakthrough in addressing a longstanding problem. In an increasingly volatile political, economic and social environment, stabilizing space for arts and culture is crucial to cultivating vibrant, connected communities and thriving cities. The path ahead requires both practical solutions and an allied community. The Creative Land Trust Summit marks a significant next step for this emerging global movement.
The path ahead requires both practical solutions and an allied community. The Creative Land Trust Summit marks a significant next step for this emerging global movement.
