The Chan National Queer Arts Center

The Chan

A home for queer arts in San Francisco

The Pansy L. and Terrence D. Chan National Queer Arts Center is the home of SFGMC. Our chorus and ensembles rehearse here, and the queer community gathers here for performances, sing-alongs, film, talks and celebrations.

Where: 170 Valencia Street, San Francisco
Opened: fall 2023
Open for: performances, programs and private events

What’s on

Plan your visit

Programs

What happens at the Chan

Most weeks you’ll find the full chorus rehearsing on Monday evenings, along with our ensembles, The Lollipop Guild, HomoPhonics and HarmoniQ.

On show nights the building opens up for sing-alongs, cabaret, film, talks and cultural celebrations.

Coming up at the Chan

See all programs

Spaces

Perform, gather and celebrate

The Grand Hall is our main auditorium, with updated sound, acoustics and stage lighting. The Valencia, Elgin Park and Ensemble rooms and a conference room host rehearsals, meetings and smaller gatherings.

Spaces are available to rent for your event.

Explore the spaces

Visit

Plan your trip

Transit: BART’s 16th Street Mission Station and Muni’s Van Ness and Church stations are nearby.
Parking: the venue has no parking and street parking is limited. The 16th & Hoff Garage is about a 10 to 15-minute walk.
Access: an accessible ramp and restroom, a stage wheelchair lift and an all-gender restroom.
Tours: weekdays, 10 AM to 5 PM, by appointment. Email info@sfgmc.org at least three business days ahead.

Plan your visit

Our story

From borrowed rooms to a home of our own

1930 Architect Harold Stoner designs 170 Valencia Street. Its Art Deco details remain today.
1976 The building becomes a Baha’i house of worship.
2019 After four decades in borrowed rooms, SFGMC buys the building, helped by an anchor gift from Terrence Chan and Edward Sell.
2023 The renovated Chan opens with new sound and lighting, better accessibility and renewed gathering spaces.

Sources: Dr. Tim Seelig’s firsthand account in the San Francisco Bay Times · SFGMC’s Legacy Business application (PDF)

Read about the opening

Namesakes

The people behind the name

The center honors Pansy L. Chan and Terrence D. Chan, a mother and son whose love of music and support for the arts helped shape this home for queer creativity.

A shared legacy

The donors and Founders Circle members recognized on the lobby wall helped turn a shared vision into a lasting home. Their generosity continues to support a place for art, community and connection.

Pansy L. Chan

1924–2017

A San Francisco native and UC Berkeley graduate, Pansy Lim Chan worked as a clinical laboratory scientist before retiring in 1989. She supported SFGMC and the wider Bay Area arts community, including the Oakland Symphony and its LGBTQ-themed program Pride & Prejudice: Notes from LGBTQ. SFGMC’s Home for the Holidays performances have been presented in her memory.

Terrence D. Chan

With SFGMC since 1978

Terrence attended SFGMC’s first rehearsal in October 1978 and joined its first national tour in 1981. With Edward Sell, he made the anchor gift that helped the chorus buy 170 Valencia Street. His support connects the chorus’s beginnings with a place where future generations of queer artists can create, learn and grow.

Land acknowledgement

We acknowledge that we gather on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone people, who are the original inhabitants of the San Francisco Peninsula. We recognize their enduring relationship with this land and honor their elders past, present, and future. As we celebrate community and renewal, we commit ourselves to ongoing learning, respect, and action in support of Indigenous sovereignty.