Programs

What happens here.

Assembly SF programming is organised around three pillars. These are the formats we are building — dates are announced on the calendar as each gathering is confirmed.

Create

Making, showing, and experimenting in a room built to be used.

Workshops
Maker experiences
Exhibitions
Fashion, art and design
Creative and media production
Product and prototype demonstrations

Connect

Tables and rooms where people who would not otherwise meet, do.

Founders Coffee
Community dinners
Salons
Partner gatherings
Cross-disciplinary introductions
Visiting creator gatherings

Learn

Ideas explained by the people who are actually working on them.

Assembly Talks
Panels and interviews
Classes
Demonstrations
Cross-disciplinary exchange
Youth creative and maker programs, in time

Formats

Recurring gatherings

Front mezzanine lounge with a sofa framed by tall red steel factory windows overlooking the Mission District street

Connect · Planned as a recurring morning gathering

Founders Coffee

An early-morning table for people building companies. No stage, no pitch order — coffee, a short round of introductions, and time to talk about the problem actually in front of you.

Who: Founders, early operators, investors who like listening
Host: Assembly SF

Long stone kitchen island and gas range under angled skylights, with counter seating along one side

Connect · Planned as a recurring evening gathering

Ideas Over Dinner

One long table, a single question, and a group assembled so that no two people do the same work. Dinners are curated and deliberately small.

Who: Founders, artists, designers, engineers, writers
Host: Assembly SF

Wide interior view of the loft showing skylights, lighting truss, spiral staircase and long tables set for a working session

Learn · Planned as an evening series

Assembly Talks

Conversations with people doing the work — research, craft, product, practice. Long-form, honest about what is unfinished, and followed by time to keep talking.

Who: Anyone curious enough to come
Host: Assembly SF and invited partners

White gallery wall with three circular mirrors, two black leather armchairs and exposed timber joists above

Create · Planned as rotating exhibitions

Innovation on View

Exhibitions of work in progress: hardware, robotics, materials, experimental software, and objects that do not yet have a category. Shown early, explained plainly.

Who: Makers, engineers, curators, the public
Host: Assembly SF with exhibition partners

Main floor work area with a round meeting table, blackout drapes, exposed timber ceiling and open shelving

Create · Planned as open working hours

Open Studio

Hours where the floor is simply open to work in — alone, together, or somewhere in between — with the coffee on and the doors unlocked.

Who: Artists, makers, builders, students
Host: Assembly SF

Small side room with a full-height living plant wall, mats and shelving

Create · Planned as a rolling workshop series

Creative Workshops

Hands-on sessions led by practitioners across fashion, photography, ceramics, print, food, code and fabrication. You leave with something you made.

Who: Anyone willing to make a mess
Host: Visiting practitioners

Double-height main floor at 270 14th Street with concrete columns, perforated steel mezzanine railings and a long communal table beneath skylights

Learn · Planned alongside launches and exhibitions

Product Demonstrations

Live demonstrations of new products and prototypes, with the people who built them answering real questions in the room.

Who: Builders, buyers, press, the curious
Host: Assembly SF and hosting teams

View from the kitchen mezzanine across the open loft toward tall red-framed factory windows and a dining area

Learn · Planned as residencies and visits

Visiting Creators

Short residencies and visits from creators passing through San Francisco, ending in an open studio, a talk, or a meal with the people who gather here.

Who: The Assembly community
Host: Assembly SF

Dates are published on the calendar as gatherings are confirmed.

Propose a program

Have something worth gathering around?

We are actively looking for talks, workshops, exhibitions and dinners to host as part of Assembly SF's own programming. Tell us what you would run.