San Francisco is renowned for its art scene, with more art museums, theaters, music venues, cultural centers, art supply stores, and music stores per square mile than any other city in the US. Every year, UBS and economist Clare McAndrew publish a report that analyzes the global art market, and for the first time, McAndrew has also published a second report dedicated to the role played by cities in the United States in the global art market. The report revealed that star artists were the subject of 47 percent of institutional exhibitions and 23 percent of exhibitions in commercial galleries, while emerging artists represented 84 percent of the database but only 17 percent of institutional exhibitions and 36 percent of gallery exhibitions. Gender parity has not yet been achieved in these cities, as women's exposures represent between 30 and 45 percent of exposures in each urban center surveyed.
New York's risk appetite score was 82 in galleries and 70 in museums, with a performance score of 21 for galleries and 36 for museums. Galleries scored the best risk appetite score for male and female artists, with a score of 83 for both. New York museums obtained the best risk appetite score for male artists (7) and the second best for women (6). Los Angeles has long been a city known for encouraging diverse experimental practices, and its group of major art schools have attracted some of the country's best artists as teachers.
Locals have always considered Los Angeles a key art center, but at an international level, the city's profile has grown in recent years thanks to the arrival of first-rate galleries, the opening of new private museums and the arrival of an edition of the Frieze art fair. San Francisco has a long history of culture playing an important role in its earliest days. This is reinforced by key institutions such as the SFMOMA, the San Francisco Fine Arts Museums and the San Francisco Institute of Art, as well as notable galleries like Berggruen, Fraenkel, Jessica Silverman and Jenkins Johnson. San Francisco's risk appetite was 74% for its galleries and 61% for its museums, with a performance score of 16 for galleries and 16 for museums.
Chicago's risk appetite was 74 percent for galleries and 48 percent for museums, with a performance score of 23 for galleries and 3.4 for museums. When analyzing the breakdowns by gender, Chicago museums obtained the best score for male artists (5) and the worst for women artists (1). Chicago galleries and museums also scored the worst risk appetite scores for women artists, with 68 and 33 respectively. Miami's fame has been rising over the past two decades due to Art Basel taking up residence in nearby Miami Beach.
Meanwhile, museums have built strong programming and have started opening more galleries across South Florida. Miami's risk appetite score was 74 for galleries and 48 for museums, with a performance score of 17 for galleries and 3.3 for museums. Complex named San Juan one of the “10 cities creatives should move to that aren't New York or Los Angeles” while Citylab rated it as one of the most artistic cities in the United States. Bustle ranked San Juan third on its list of “Best Cities for Young Artists” and Phaidon named it one of the Art Cities of the Future. When it comes to art in America, San Francisco stands out from all other cities.
With its abundance of art-related venues – from theaters to music stores – plus its commitment to gender parity in its art scene, it's no wonder why San Francisco is known as one of America's premier art cities.
