Creativity Explored at YBCA

Public Programs

Creativity Explored at YBCA

Co-presented by Creativity Explored & YBCA |

August 5–November 25, 2026

Creativity Explored, a progressive art studio in San Francisco that supports artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities, will offer free on-site arts activations at YBCA this fall.

From August 5 through November 31, artists from Creativity Explored will showcase their artwork and work on-site in a newly-reopened first-floor programming space at YBCA. Free and open to the public, you’re invited to explore the art on view, to purchase work on display, and to make your own pieces alongside Creativity Explored’s studio artists: sharing art-making materials, conversation, inspiration, and community.

Creativity Explored will also program one evening event per month as part of Free Wednesdays at YBCA, in addition to other free public programs throughout their residency. Explore the full calendar of events below.

The partnership is part of a new residency program at YBCA, which provides space and resources to cultural partners to collaborate with YBCA on on-site arts programming for the public. Read more about this program.

This program is made possible in part by Yerba Buena Partnership.

Front Door Gallery, YBCA

Tickets: Free

Program Schedule

Film Festival

Wednesday, August 26, 2026, 6–8 PM

Full of humor, fantastical worlds, and great adventure, we invite you to join us for an evening of short animations and films made by Creativity Explored artists over the last two decades. A selection of the artists included are Ade Lewis, Andrew Bixler, Elena Cooper, Zachary Adams, and Samedi Djeimguero.

Pressing Matters: Hands-on Printmaking with Creativity Explored

Wednesday, September 23, 2026, 5–8 PM

Come and make an impression with the artists at Creativity Explored! We’ll be hosting a hands-on, family-friendly activity for the public with our artists and staff demonstrating the basics of printmaking. Learn about monoprints, the anatomy of a printing press, experiment with materials, and take home your creations.

Making Faces: A Puppet Crafting Workshop with Creativity Explored

Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 5–8 PM

Learn to craft a puppet ready for center stage! Join Creativity Explored artists for a hands-on, drop-in workshop to build your very own hand or stick puppet. In this family-friendly activity, participants will be guided through the steps of designing, assembling, and puppeteering their work of art.

Progressive Art Studio Models: A Lecture By Cléa Massiani

Wednesday, November 18, 2026, 6:30–8 PM

Join us for a lecture from Cléa Massiani on Progress Art Studios (PAS): radical spaces that support artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities while disrupting normative assumptions about art, labor, and value.

Creativity Explored is a San Francisco–based nonprofit that supports more than 140 artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities to create, exhibit, and sell their art. Founded in 1983 by art and disability pioneers Florence Ludins-Katz and Dr. Elias Katz, the organization advocates for its artists as vital contributors to the contemporary art world. Every artwork exhibited and sold directly enhances an artist’s quality of life by providing income, purpose, and a powerful way to share their lived experience with others. Learn more at creativityexplored.org

YBCA programs are made possible in part by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Blue Shield Of California, Bob A. Ross Foundation, City and County of San Francisco, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Malia Simonds, Mayor Daniel Lurie, National Endowment for the Arts, Pisces Foundation, The Ron Conway Family, Salesforce, San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, The Svane Family Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Yerba Buena Gardens Conservancy, Yerba Buena Partnership, and the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Board of Directors and Members.