SOMA Pilipinas

SOMA Pilipinas is San Francisco's officially recognized Filipino Cultural Heritage District, spanning 1.5 square miles in the South of Market neighborhood. Established as a city-designated cultural district in 2016 and state-designated in 2017, SOMA Pilipinas serves as a comprehensive cultural and community resource celebrating over 120 years of Filipino history and presence in San Francisco. The organization specializes in cultural preservation, community organizing, and place-keeping initiatives that honor the Filipino-American legacy while addressing contemporary issues of economic and racial justice in the rapidly gentrifying South of Market area. SOMA Pilipinas operates multiple programs and services including public art projects featuring commissioned murals, cultural events such as the annual Parol Lantern Festival, educational workshops, and community engagement initiatives rooted in the spirit of bayanihan. The organization has earned significant recognition for its work, including selection as a 2020 YBCA 100 Honoree, designation by the Architects International Association SF for revitalization efforts, and receipt of the prestigious National Endowment for the Arts "Our Town" grant in 2018 for creative place-keeping. Operating from their office at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco, SOMA Pilipinas works in solidarity with other cultural districts and Filipino community organizations to ensure that the stories, contributions, and ongoing struggles of Filipinos in San Francisco remain visible, celebrated, and centered in the city's cultural landscape.