As Michelle Mansour, executive director of Root Division, an arts education hub in San Francisco, prepared for this year’s upcoming auction fundraiser, she shared why she has decided to step away after 21 tireless years. 

“I have a true love for Root Division and what we do, but being at one job for over 20 years is a long time, especially for today’s standards,” she says. “[At the start of the pandemic], it seemed as if so many people were taking time to reevaluate their priorities, about how and where to spend their time. At that point, I was just trying to maintain stability for the organization. I also recently had a ‘big’ birthday, and it just felt like time—time for me personally and artistically.” 

Root Division’s fundraiser is slated for Oct. 24 at the nonprofit’s Mission headquarters. In addition to raising money, the gathering will be Mansour’s swan song, complete with a tribute recognizing the decades the artist and educator has spent with the arts hub founded by her graduate school classmates. 

Mansour and Root Division have packed the annual auction (bidding is already open) with an eclectic collection of work by 175 new and emerging artists. There’s everything from oils on canvas, prints and photography to mixed media pieces with gold, laser-engraved glass, fabric, crayons and even salt.  

There is no explicit mention in the collection of the use of artificial intelligence, a controversial tool that enables artists to create finished pieces in record time and can regenerate results by copying others’ work. 

Mansour, an artist and teacher, sees the new technology as simply another resource with which artists can experiment. She says, “As a maker of layered, time-consuming works, what attracts me to making and attracts others to my work is that time and devotional practice. It could be for the surface quality or for the experience of sitting before something made by another person’s hands. I don’t think AI is competition for that kind of alchemy, and I think one can see that counterbalance in the market for ceramic, textile, and other labor-intensive handmade works.” 

For the auction, Root Division has partnered with local art purveyors from independent galleries such as Jonathan Carver Moore to the renowned San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. As many arts organizations struggle for recognition, Mansour and her colleagues find success year after year. She credits it to Root Division’s ethos. 

“Root Division’s niche has been being a connector, the interstitial space between the grassroots and the grandiose,” she says. “Over the years, we’ve cultivated relationships with so many communities and across the size spectrum—everything from inspiring artists to start small businesses and coordinating programming with larger institutions like the Contemporary Jewish Museum and the Museum of the African Diaspora. I’m a believer that we all succeed when the ecosystem is healthy, and that means supporting each other in our endeavors.” 

Yet she’s aware of how the ecosystem has changed. Root Division itself switched locations twice, culling together funds to secure the current Mission location. Other organizations haven’t been as fortunate. 

As San Francisco’s shifting art scene has been the subject of headlines, Mansour takes the news personally: “The area has so much potential, and I really see the arts and hospitality being symbiotic. When one sector does well, so does the other,” she says. “It has definitely been sad to see colleagues working so hard and not being able to survive these very real challenges. I do believe the city has so much remarkable legacy as well as untapped potential for artists—it’s just about supporting an environment where that vibrancy is able to shine.” 

Connections, particularly with small, independent galleries and organizations, are not only what have sustained Root Division; they sustain the greater art scene. Government and private funding also help. 

“I do think the city and funding community are growing and listening to organizations about what is needed: multi-year commitments, unrestricted general operating support, etc., though there is still room for more holistic support of arts and culture,” Mansour says. “About 40% of [Root Division’s] annual budget is earned revenue—a relatively large portion for a nonprofit our size. We also draw from donors with varying capacities, engaging both existing arts and education philanthropists to support us, but also hopefully cultivating new donors and art supporters in order to grow the ecosystem.” 

As she prepares to say goodbye to her longtime artistic home, Mansour looks forward to what’s in store from her successor Demetri Broxton.  

Summing up her time at Root Division, she says, “As an artist, there’s always a sense that there’s more one can do to improve a piece or project, but in general I do feel like I have served Root Division well. It’s been my baby for over 20 years [..] In that time, I’ve onboarded over 250 studio artists, 50 employees, and 80 board members; overseen the exhibitions of over 3,000 artists’ work and supported the training of over 200 teaching artists. And, of course, kept the organization afloat during a global pandemic.” 

Root Division’s 2024 Art Auction takes place online and at 7 p.m. Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. at 1131 Mission St., San Francisco. Tickets are $100-$400 at rootdivision.org.     

Charles Lewis III is a San Francisco-born journalist and performing artist. He has written for the San Francisco Chronicle, KQED, the San Francisco Examiner, and many more. Dodgy evidence of this can be found at The Thinking Man’s Idiot.wordpress.com.