San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery
401 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
t: 415.554.6080
f: 415.554.6093
www.sfartscommission.org/gallery

For Immediate Release
Press Contact: Aimee Le Duc, SFAC Gallery Manager
e: aimee.leduc@sfgov.org, t: 415.554.6080
Photos available upon request

The San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery presents

As We Live It
An exhibition by participants of San Francisco Behavioral Health System presented in partnership with San Francisco Study Center.

Opening reception: Wednesday, June 8, 2011 5:30-7:30
Exhibition dates: June 8 – September 9, 2011
Location: SF City Hall, ground floor, 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place, San Francisco, CA
Hours: Monday – Friday, 8 am – 8 pm

The San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery (SFAC Gallery) and the San Francisco Study Center are proud to present As We Live It, a juried exhibition at historic San Francisco City Hall featuring works created by participants of San Francisco’s Community Behavioral Health Services. The selected artists are  among thousands of San Francisco residents who access the City’s multiple programs of assistance for anything from temporary counseling to places to live, and who receive substance abuse and mental health treatment.

As We Live It celebrates the vast and deep talents of artists who use their visual art practice as one form of articulating their identities in a way that words cannot.

The call for submissions was distributed to art therapists and staff of the city’s Community Behavioral Health Services organizations. We received almost 100 submissions from participants of 18 different organizations. The jury then selected 33 artists, giving five the honor of becoming a featured artist: Rene Avalos, Kami Cheatem, Annamar, Jeff Roysdon and John Wotipka. As part of As We Live It, SF Study Center staff member, Heidi Swillinger interviewed the featured artists and excerpts are presented next to the artists’ work.

Jurors: M. Roy Crew, program director, Office of Self Help; Aimee Le Duc, gallery manager, SFAC Gallery; Geoffrey Link, executive director, San Francisco Study Center; and Heidi Swillinger, advertising and special projects, San Francisco Study Center.

Featured Artists: Rene Avalos, Kami Cheatem, Anamar, Jeff Roysdon and John Wotipka

Artists: Donald Becerra, Charles Blackwell, Tim Cavey, Phillip Cha, Daniel Conant, Will Dempsey, Harry Driggs, Maria Enrique-Leach, Mehrin Ganjeizadeh, Ronald Goodman, Ethyl Hayes, Raisa K., Michael King, Lucky Lee, Amelia Lewis, Bill Malcolm, Richard McIzzie, Robert Miklos, Phillip Pena, Cipriano Perez, John Rhodes, James Scoville, Marjorie Shiffer, Bill Snook, Ron Takeuchi, Taeafa Togia, Doris Yen, Raymond Young

Partnering Organizations: San Francisco Study Center and Central City Hospitality House, Central City Older Adults Mental Health Clinic, Chinatown/North Beach Mental Health Services, Citywide and Community Focus Center, Creativity Explored, Family Service Agency – Older Adult Day Support, Hyde Street Community Services, Janet Pomeroy Center, Mission ACT DPH Mental Health, Mission Mental Health, Office of Self Help, RAMS Inc., San Francisco Department of Public Health, SOMA Mental Health Services.

The 2011 exhibition season is supported by the following donors; Paule Anglim, the Graue Foundation, Cheryl Haines, Barbara J. Herbert, Jill S. Manton, Anthony Meier, Joanne K. Vidinsky, Dede Wilsey and Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund.

About San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery
Located in the heart of San Francisco’s Civic Center, the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery makes contemporary art accessible to broad audiences through curated exhibitions that both reflect our regional diversity and position Bay Area visual art production within an international contemporary art landscape. By commissioning new works, collaborating with arts and community organizations and supporting artist’s projects, the SFAC Gallery’s programs provide new and challenging opportunities for contemporary art to engage with a civic dialogue.

The SFAC Gallery was founded in 1970 and is the exhibitions program of the San Francisco Arts Commission, the arts agency of the City and County of San Francisco

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