A New Cultural Anchor
For 26 years, the Center for the Art of Translation has brought the world’s voices to readers like you. We’ve made the work of literary translators visible through our award-winning book publisher Two Lines Press, by bringing poetry translation into classrooms through our education program, and by hosting hundreds of events with international authors and translators—all without a permanent home of our own.
Thanks to individual donors and philanthropic partners, that’s about to change.
In 2022 we launched an ambitious $17 million campaign to open a literary and cultural center at the corner of Leidesdorff and Commercial in downtown San Francisco—steps from the Transamerica Pyramid, at the intersection of Chinatown, North Beach, and the Embarcadero. As of October 2026, we are ecstatic to announce we’ve exceeded our fundraising goal!
Thanks to the generosity of our donors and philanthropic partners, whose support has driven this campaign, along with a landmark $2.8 million investment from the State of California, we have the resources we need to open the Center to the public in 2027 and a strong foundation for the work ahead that will deepen CAT’s impact, expand our reach, and help turn our vision into action.
What We’re Building
CAT is transforming a three-story, 7,400-square-foot building that’s been part of San Francisco since 1908. Working with local architecture firm Jensen Architects, we’ve already begun a major renovation. When we open in 2027, the Center will be a home for:
- A state-of-the-art event space with livestreaming capabilities to connect local and global audiences.
- The West Coast’s only bookstore dedicated exclusively to translated literature—a welcoming destination where anyone can walk in and discover a perspective from somewhere else in the world.
- Opportunities for translators and writers to gather, learn, and build community.
- Educational programming that brings poetry in translation to students and educators, helping them explore international writing and develop an appreciation for diverse languages and cultures.
- Shared resources for the larger Bay Area literary and arts community—providing technical resources and venue access to other arts and culture organizations struggling with displacement and rental costs.
Why It Matters
At a time of growing division, we need spaces where people can connect across cultures and languages. With your help, we’re building exactly that kind of place—where readers, translators, and writers can gather around stories from around the world.
A permanent home changes everything. It means we can serve our community the way we’ve always imagined: with year-round programming, a public bookstore and event space, and shared infrastructure that supports not just CAT, but also the larger literary ecosystem.
Our Record
In the past decade alone, the Center for the Art of Translation and its events, publishing, and education programs have:
- Spotlighted 100+ languages in our publishing program, online journal, and translation-focused events
- Reached 151,000 readers through public events across the Bay Area and US, and through Two Lines Press, distributed throughout the US and UK
- Served 20,000+ students & teachers through our education program, Poetry Inside Out, bringing poetry translation into grades 3-12
- Hosted 32,000+ attendees at 325+ events, including our annual Day of Translation partnership with the Center for Fiction
- Published over 70 books in translation, including five National Book Award finalists and winners of the PEN Translation Prize and Helen & Kurt Wolff Translator’s Prize
Capital Campaign Funders Made Possible:
$5.6M | Building Purchase
554-556 Commercial Street
$8.1M | Renovation & Technology
Seismic upgrades, ADA accessibility, elevator, A/V equipment, recording/livestream capabilities
$2.3M | Program Expansion
Events, workshops, education programs, shared resources, new staff
$1M | Operations & Maintenance
Upfront investment protecting future resources for artistic work
What’s Next?
With funding for our new literary and cultural anchor in San Francisco secured, we can now turn to deepening CAT’s impact by:
- Bringing our powerful Poetry Inside Out education program, which uses translation to inspire more confident learners, to teachers and students across the country.
- Building and diversifying the field and elevating the human-centered art of literary translation at a time of rapid AI growth and depersonalization.
- Expanding our partnership ecosystem to give language and cultural communities a larger stage and build a network that carries the reach of literary translation far beyond our building’s walls.
- Strengthening CAT’s capacity through strategic planning, staff support, leadership development, and DEIB practices
In the News
Listen to an interview with our founder and board chair, Olivia Sears, where she talks about the new space in conversation with our Bay Area neighbor, Adam Levy, from Transit Books and translator Bruna Dantas Lobato on KQED’s Forum(opens in a new tab).
Read a Poets & Writers(opens in a new tab) interview with CAT’s founder and board chair, Olivia Sears, and CAT’s president, Michael Holtmann, on the vision for CAT’s new permanent home in San Francisco.
Read a feature about the space we’re building in Publishers Weekly(opens in a new tab) and Literary Hub(opens in a new tab).
For media inquiries, contact Alyson Sinclair, Communications Director, alyson@translation.org(opens in a new tab).
Read the press release here(opens in a new tab).
Read our Capital Campaign brochure embedded below.