“The arts have shaped so much of my life,” Matthew Goudeau, the City’s new ‘culture czar,’ told SF Classical Voice.
“Many of my closest friendships began through the arts. Some of my favorite memories happened in theaters, museums, clubs, concerts, and neighborhood festivals.”
After months of debate over the future of the SF Arts Commission, Mayor Daniel Lurie resolved both the structure of the commission and its leadership. On July 7, the mayor swore in Goudeau as Executive Director of Arts and Culture, a newly unified city agency comprised of the Arts Commission, Grants for the Arts, and Film SF. The reference remains “Arts Commission.”
Goudeau has worked in City Hall since 1999. He has held senior roles across six San Francisco mayoral administrations, most recently as Deputy Chief of Staff to Mayor Daniel Lurie. His public service also includes roles as Deputy Chief of Protocol and Director of Grants for the Arts.
Goudeau serves on the board of the Yerba Buena Partnership and is a former board member of ArtCare, CinemaSFBay, Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, and the GLBT Historical Society.
Mayor Lurie said Goudeau “will bring deep knowledge of the city’s arts community from his years leading cultural organizations to this new role.”
Of the city’s new two-year $16.9 billion budget, the three agencies have a total estimated annual allocation of approximately $42 million. But their importance as leaders, supporters, and grant-managers far exceed dollar figures.
Virtually from its birth, San Francisco has been known as a center of arts and culture. Besides having a large symphony orchestra, opera, and ballet companies that are among the country’s oldest, and a busy theater, literature, and chamber music scene, the city is also known for its counterculture movements, LGBTQ+ rights history, and diverse arts scene.
SF Classical Voice has followed the important and at times controversial role of the Arts Commission for over two decades, publishing both acknowledgments and critical reports.
The city of San Francisco was forced to review the role of the Arts Commission in response to the devastating pandemic, recession, lack of participation in the arts from the trillion-dollar tech sector, and the current federal administration’s ideological and fiscal constraints.
After months of rumors about the creation of a new top agency, Mayor Lurie and the Commission acted quickly, and resolved the situation within days by restructuring the commission, rather than forming a new one:
June 30 was former Arts Commission director Ralph Remington's last day in office. On July 6, the Commission voted in a closed session about the new appointment and restructuring, and the next day Goudeau was sworn in.
SF Classical Voice spoke with Goudeau about his recent appointment:
How will the new department work?
I hope people experience one arts agency that’s easier to navigate. Whether you’re an artist applying for a grant, a filmmaker producing a project, an arts organization serving your community, or someone attending a performance or visiting a museum, City Hall should make that experience easier, not harder. Our agency exists to help people create art, support art, and experience art.
What does San Francisco’s arts community mean to you personally?
I’ve lived in San Francisco for more than 30 years, and the arts have shaped so much of my life. Many of my closest friendships began through the arts. Some of my favorite memories happened in theaters, museums, clubs, concerts, and neighborhood festivals.
They’ve introduced me to remarkable people, challenged the way I think, and given me a real sense of community. That’s why this role feels so personal. It’s an opportunity to give something back to a community that has given me so much.
Why do you care so much about the arts?
Because beauty changes people. I know it has changed me. A great painting, a piece of music, or a powerful performance can leave me seeing the world a little differently.
The arts cultivate wonder and a deeper appreciation for one another. That's part of what makes us human. At the same time, the arts create jobs, attract visitors, and strengthen our economy. I don't see any tension between those ideas. The very things that make San Francisco beautiful are also the ones that make it prosperous.
What is the significance of the department's new structure?
The chance to build something new. Bringing together the Arts Commission, Grants for the Arts, and Film SF gives us an opportunity to create one agency that's easier to work with, more responsive, and better able to support artists, cultural organizations, filmmakers, and everyone who experiences the arts.
Which arts hold personal interest for you?
Opera is probably my biggest artistic love, especially Wagner. It all goes back to an opera class I took in third grade at my elementary school in Modesto. I’ve been hooked ever since.
I also come back again and again to Bach and Philip Glass. MTT’s concert with Metallica at the opening of the Chase Center opened my ears and mind to heavy metal.
Outside of classical music, I'm just as happy listening to Bob Dylan, Tracy Chapman, Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna, or Bleachers. I love a great pop anthem. When I first moved to San Francisco in the 1990s, I spent plenty of nights in the city's incredible rave scene. My playlist depends entirely on my mood.
Other musical interests?
I’m a parishioner at St. Dominic’s Catholic Church in San Francisco, where we’re incredibly fortunate to have the Schola Cantorum, led by Simon Berry, who I think is one of the most talented music directors in the region. Every Sunday we hear incredible music as part of the liturgy, everything from Gregorian chant and Renaissance polyphony to beautiful motets.
And in the visual arts?
I’m especially drawn to modern and contemporary art, particularly Minimalism, Land Art, and the Light and Space movement. I can also spend hours in the Medieval and Renaissance galleries at the Legion of Honor.
I also love discovering neighborhood galleries, wandering through a museum, or catching a film at the Vogue or the 4 Star. I stream my music, but I don't stream television or movies. I still go to theaters because there’s something special about sitting in the dark with an audience and experiencing a film together.
What's your first priority?
Listening and delivering. I’ve spent my first weeks meeting with artists, nonprofit leaders, filmmakers, commissioners, staff, and community members. Before we change anything, we need to understand what's working and what isn’t. But listening only matters if it leads to action. Our incredible staff at the Arts Commission is focused on improving how we deliver services and making the agency easier to work with.
What do you hope people will say about the department in the future?
That we made it easier. Easier to apply for grants. Easier to produce a film. Easier to commission public art. Easier to work with City Hall.
If artists are spending more time creating and less time navigating bureaucracy, and more people are experiencing great art across San Francisco, I'll feel like we've done our job.
