SAN FRANCISCO—The Cartoon Art Museum will be moving its location in the spring of 2017 after rent was doubled at their original site on Mission Street.
Summerlea Kashar, Executive Director of the museum stated to the SF Examiner, “We’re just really excited and really looking forward to making new partners in a new neighborhood.”
Cartoon Art Museum was founded by art enthusiasts through the organization of exhibits in local museums and corporate offices, as a “museum without walls.” The exhibits featured art from the founders personal collections. Peanut’s creator Charles M. Schultz funded the first official location of the museum in Yerba Buena Gardens in 1987. The museum would move 3 more times before settling in the latest location at 655 Mission Street. The museum will move to 781 Beach Street nearby to Ghirardelli Square and a block from Aquatic Park.
For the past 30 years, Cartoon Art Museum has featured work from a wide range of artists such as Dr. Seuss, Kate Beaton, Stan Sakai, and countless others. Artists contributed to almost 200 exhibitions showcasing varying genres of comics, Latino culture, politics, sports, and much more. Their website states that Cartoon Art Museum is the only museum dedicated to preserving cartoon art in every form in the West. The current facilities offer classrooms with a research library, 7000 original artworks, classes, and lectures.
The Cartoon Art Museum strives to reach communities through cultural diversity and emphasizes on self-expression. The Museum’s mission as stated on their website is, “to ignite imaginations and foster the next generation of visual storytellers by celebrating the history of cartoon art, its role in society, and its universal appeal. “
Staff members are looking forward to the move to Beach Street, although, the space is one story less than the location on Mission Street, but is one block from Aquatic Park, the Maritime Museum, Ghirardelli Square, and the Hyde Street cable car turnaround. During the transition, the Cartoon Art Museum will still host offsite events with partner organizations throughout the Bay Area.
