There are a number of local "galleries" where periodic "group" shows involve renting however much square footage you wish during the venue, with the "gallery"
basically making their profit off a quantity of artists, and the numerous artists generally losing money overall, since those kind of venues attract mostly entry level practitioners. But it is a way to get published in the seasonal guidebook and have a place your friends and contacts can go to see your work. Then there are a lot of Open Studio events in the various artsy neighborhoods. Some do well, some don't. Traditional retail galleries remain a very risky proposition in major urban areas like this due to the extremely high cost of overhead. Cute spaces are even rarer because nice charming old architecture is exactly what gets destroyed during earthquakes. I am looking at a cute neighborhood which has recently been swept by an ornery new sheriff who successfully booted out all the meth labs and is starting to attract a stable art colony, but just all depends. I won't say exactly where yet.