Mayor Daniel Lurie has tapped Matthew Goudeau, a former adviser and executive for Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, to lead the precarious next chapter of San Francisco’s civic arts community.

Goudeau will serve as the city’s inaugural executive director of arts and culture, overseeing a new department that is the result of merging the San Francisco Arts Commission, Grants for the Arts, and the Film Commission.

In May, Lurie unveiled a budget proposal that outlined major cuts in order to close a historic shortfall. That included merging the three agencies. 

Goudeau has had a 27-year career in San Francisco government, private finance, and civic arts. After graduating from the University of San Francisco with a bachelor’s degree in politics, he served under six mayors, in a family office, and in executive roles at 500 Capp Street, Grants for the Arts, and, for the last 10 months, YBCA. 

Goudeau was a linchpin in establishing Lurie’s tenure as mayor, starting in March 2024, when he joined as a senior adviser for the campaign. He oversaw planning across the mayor’s transition team, then joined as deputy chief of staff before shifting to YBCA as chief development officer in July.

The merging of the three city agencies, with the possibility of cutting bureaucracy and streamlining funding to artists, could be a boon at a time when federal funding is being axed by the Trump administration, and the city’s galleries, museums, and art schools are shuttering at an unprecedented rate. 

In 2025, the Trump administration cut funding for nearly every major Bay Area museum, and five galleries in San Francisco closed, citing financial shortfalls. The Contemporary Jewish Museum, which closed in December 2024 due to financial strains, announced in March that it will sell its bespoke downtown building (opens in new tab). In January, California College of the Arts announced that it will close in 2027 and sell its campus to Vanderbilt University. 

“Our arts community has been holding a lot of anxiety because of many uncertainties in the sector, largely centered on the city’s role in the arts ecosystem,” Rachelle Axel, executive director of Artists for a Better Bay Area, said in a statement. “This hire was among the top concerns, and now we can cross it off our list.”

The merger of the agencies has been discussed as a way to save money as far back as 2004 (opens in new tab), when Gavin Newsom was mayor. 

The job of executive director of the newly formed agency was posted in January, with a salary between $210,678 and $268,814. According to the mayor’s office, Goudeau was selected from 259 applicants following a three-month national search process.