Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Launches New Residency Program, with Creativity Explored as Inaugural Participant

Artists from San Francisco arts nonprofit will showcase their artwork in a
newly-reopened space, with free admission and accompanying participatory events.

August 4, 2026 – San Francisco, CA: Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) announces a new residency program, which provides space and resources to cultural partners to collaborate with YBCA on free on-site arts programming for visitors. Creativity Explored, a progressive art studio in San Francisco that supports artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities, will be the program’s inaugural participant. 

“This program expands how we activate our spaces with artists, artmaking, and participatory projects for downtown residents and visitors, and highlights the work of a beloved Bay Area arts organization,” said Mari Robles, CEO of Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with Creativity Explored on the launch of this initiative and to extend their reach in the downtown Yerba Buena arts district.”

Beginning August 5, 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, visitors will be invited in to explore the art on view, to purchase art on display, and to make their own works along Creativity Explored’s studio artists, sharing art-making materials, conversation, inspiration, and community. 

“Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Creativity Explored share a commitment to elevate bold work by artists who deserve to be seen. We’re so excited that Creativity Explored will be in residence at YBCA this summer and fall, so that art lovers can experience the groundbreaking creativity of artists with disabilities in the heart of San Francisco’s arts ecosystem,” said Linda Johnson, Executive Director of Creativity Explored. 

Additionally, Creativity Explored will program one evening event per month, as part of Free Wednesdays at YBCA. The first program will be a film festival of animated shorts made by Creativity Explored artists (August 26), followed by printmaking on a press (September 23), a puppet making workshop (October 14), and a lecture on progressive art studios (November 18). Additional programs, including an open jam session and a zine sale, will be announced soon. 

“Yerba Buena’s art scene just got richer. We’re proud to welcome the artists of Creativity Explored to the neighborhood,” said Scott Rowitz, Yerba Buena Partnership Executive Director. Yerba Buena Partnership has provided a grant to Creativity Explored to permit this first-time artist residency.

The partnership with Creativity Explored comes during a period of expanded programming at YBCA. Concurrent to the residency, YBCA will present visual arts exhibitions from the renowned architecture studio Rael San Fratello, socially-engaged artist Dread Scott, and the first major U.S. institutional exhibition for surrealist painter GaHee Park. This fall YBCA is also relaunching its film program, with screenings every Saturday at 2pm. On Wednesdays, visitors can also enjoy free gallery admission and extended evening hours (made possible with support from Yerba Buena Partnership, Mayor Daniel Lurie, and San Francisco Office of Economic & Workforce Development). 

Creativity Explored’s residency will run through November of 2026, with subsequent participants to be announced soon. Admission to the residency will be free during normal YBCA gallery hours (11am to 5pm Thursday through Sunday, and 11am to 8pm on Wednesdays). 

For more information visit www.ybca.org.

About Creativity Explored: 

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. 

About YBCA:

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) is San Francisco’s home for bold, daring, and breathtaking art. Across contemporary art, performance, dance, film, and public programs, we present essential artistic voices from across the world, while celebrating the vibrancy of Bay Area culture. Embodying the independent and unconventional spirit of our city, YBCA has been the creative heartbeat of San Francisco for more than thirty years. For more information, visit ybca.org.

YBCA is open Thursday through Sunday 11:00am to 5:00pm, and on Wednesdays from 11:00am to 8:00pm with free gallery admission and evening programming. 

General admission is $10, and $5 for students and seniors. Admission is free every Wednesday. For tickets and information, visit ybca.org.

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For media inquiries:

Abby Margulies | (614) 827-5810 | [email protected]