More than a decade ago, the Kenneth Rainin Foundation embarked on an unusual journey in response to the escalating displacement crisis facing the San Francisco Bay Area arts community. In 2013, the Foundation seeded a bold idea called Community Arts Stabilization Trust (CAST) to serve as a long-term solution to the Bay Area’s real estate challenges for arts and cultural organizations. CAST, a community-centered real estate organization, works to secure and steward affordable spaces, ensuring artists and cultural workers can stay anchored where they create.
CAST acts as a living laboratory, pioneering new ways of securing permanent, affordable space for artists, creative entrepreneurs and arts and culture organizations. In celebration of CAST’s first successful decade, the Rainin Foundation commissioned WolfBrown in 2023 to interview CAST’s senior staff members about the evolution of their work. Lessons from 10 Years in Cultural Real Estate, prepared by John Carnwath, outlines five key takeaways and insights from these interviews to benefit the wider arts and cultural field.
The report coincided with both a transition in leadership and a strategic planning effort that affirmed CAST’s mission and formalized some new priorities. We asked Ken Ikeda, Chief Executive Officer of CAST, to share his thoughts on the report and how CAST is meeting this extraordinary moment in time.
We hope these learnings and perspectives benefit others who are seeking solutions to ensure the long-term stability of arts and culture organizations.
