For generations, Labor Day weekend in Sausalito meant one thing: the Sausalito Art Festival (SAF). Since its founding in 1952, it stood as an anchor to the city’s cultural identity. What began as a modest gathering of local artists quickly became a widely popular art festival, transforming the waterfront into an open-air gallery with paintings, sculpture, live music, wine, food and a palpable spirit of community.
The festival’s impact also rippled far beyond its three-day run. It became a proponent of arts funding in the region, with the Sausalito Art Festival Foundation (SAFF) awarding grants, scholarships and supporting arts education programs like “Artists Teaching Art.” Hundreds of artists — both local and national — showed their work, and thousands of visitors made the annual pilgrimage.
Then, in 2021, the festival’s longtime home at Marinship Park was occupied by a homeless encampment, forcing the cancellation of that year’s event. Even after the encampment moved, the park remained closed, leaving SAF without a venue large enough to hold the show.
Instead, the festival began producing benefit shows, auctions and curated events while maintaining its commitment to arts support. Still, its absence left a void for members of the community that once relied on its annual return.
The Birth of a New Hub
That same year, the Sausalito Center for the Arts (SCA) was born, thanks to a coalition that included SAFF, the ICB Artists Association, Marin Open Studios and local community leaders. This new organization reimagined what Sausalito’s art tradition could look like in the 21st century.
The vision was bold: transform the former Bank of America building at 750 Bridgeway into a civic hub for art and culture. Where the festival had once concentrated art into a single weekend, SCA would stretch the celebration year-round. With gallery exhibitions, performances, artist talks and community programming, SCA opened its doors to become a permanent and visible home for art in downtown Sausalito, and it continues to offer accessibility every week, inviting both residents and visitors to encounter art as part of daily life.
Programming With Range and Vitality
At SCA, visual art exhibitions share space with music concerts, spoken word and panel discussions. International performers like guitarist Hiroya Tsukamoto appear alongside local artists; experimental performance-art collides with community showcases.
As a founding partner of this organization, Sausalito Art Festival Foundation provides funding, equipment and expertise in contribution to their success. In fact, SAFF describes SCA as a vehicle through which it continues its mission. Benefit events like Art Weekend Sausalito have helped raise funds for SCA’s growth, and in 2022 SAFF awarded a Leonard Kaprielian Grant directly to the Center.
SCA Open: The Festival Spirit, Reimagined
Perhaps the clearest example of how SCA is continuing the festival’s legacy is SCA Open, a juried exhibition that has quickly become a centerpiece of the Center’s calendar.
In its latest edition, SCA Open drew 1,482 submissions from 590 artists, a scale reminiscent of the Festival’s wide scope. A distinguished jury of curators and artists selected the works, bringing rigor and credibility to the process.
The shift from a single iconic festival to a year-round center represents both loss and opportunity. From the crowds, the music drifting across the bay and the carnival of creativity, the spectacle of the Sausalito Art Festival remains unmatched. But even still, the Sausalito Center for the Arts offers a long-term cultural ecosystem.
