Saint John Coltrane Arts
Youth music education and cultural enrichment in San Francisco, guided by the spiritual and artistic legacy of John Coltrane.
Mission
Saint John Coltrane Arts cultivates the next generation of artists, thinkers, and leaders through free, world-class music education in San Francisco.
Inspired by John Coltrane's legacy of artistic excellence and human dignity, we bring young people from low-income communities together with master musicians and mentors. These opportunities for intergenerational cross education don't just impart the lessons of the past, but also share the realities of today.
We don't just teach music. We teach the connection between self-discipline and self-determination, the power of art in the fight for civil rights, and that Mr. Coletrane was one cool cat. We treat music not just as a discipline to master, but as a language for exploring: history, identity, and self-empowerment.
Events
Fundraiser for Coltrane Arts + di Rosa
Contemporary sound and movement performance in honor of John Coltrane's centennial birthday. Selections from 'A Love Supreme' performed by Archbishop Franzo Wayne King, Mother Marina King, Archbishop Wanika King-Stephens, and Manny Berry on the piano.
Gallery
1972 / 2026
Charcoal & ink on paper, 30 × 36 inches. by Emory Douglas. A painting whose provenance is itself a story of San Francisco and st John Coltrane Arts.
Emory Douglas, 'Coltrane' 1972 / 2024. Charcoal & ink on paper, 30 × 36 inches.
1972
Emory Douglas, Minister of Culture of the Black Panther Party, creates 'Coltrane' in comradely collaboration with Dr. Huey P. Newton, founder of the Party. The painting is gifted to His Eminence The Most Reverend Franzo W. King, then Yardbird Temple, Revolutionary Church of the Hour, in honor of his dutiful service to the San Francisco and Oakland communities.
Aubrey Haqq and King Bishop Franzo Haqq XIX with the painting at the first Community Workers Day.
2024
Douglas returns to the painting fifty-two years later and signs it again, '1972 · 2024', marking its passage and its renewed purpose. Four artist proofs and a limited edition of twenty are produced with Magnolia Editions.
The double signature: 'Emory 72' and again in 2024.
2025
Spike Lee acquires an artist proof of 'Coltrane' as a contribution to the Saint John Coltrane Arts Foundation, a youth education program in music and sound. His visit to ARTS SPACE on Post Street at Union Square is documented in the photograph below.
Reverend Mother Marina King, Archbishop Reverend King, Peter Shaw & Spike Lee at Shaw's studio, July 2024.
As Seen On
A look inside the congregation, the music, and the lineage of the painting.
Board of Directors
Founder & Chair
Co-founder of the Saint John Will-I-Am Coltrane African Orthodox Church. A lifelong advocate for the spiritual and cultural power of John Coltrane's music as a vehicle for community uplift in San Francisco.
Co-Founder & Vice Chair
Co-founder of the Coltrane Church and a steward of the congregation for more than four decades. Vocalist, minister, and a guiding force for the Foundation's youth education mission.
Support the Work
Your gift supports curriculum-based music education for underserved youth in San Francisco, taught weekly at the Saint John Coltrane Church by university-level instructors and PhD-level scholars.
Saint John Coltrane Arts is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. All gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
