SFAC Gallery and PhotoAlliance Open Call for Submissions

Night/Light: Bay Area Photographers Take Aim After Dark
Supporting Organizations: San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery and PhotoAlliance

Exhibition: Night/Light: Bay Area Photographers Take Aim After Dark
Exhibition Dates: September 16 – January 14, 2010
Location: SFAC Gallery, Art at City Hall, ground floor
Submissions Due: Saturday, August 14, 2010, 6pm
For more information: contact the SFAC Gallery at 415.554.6080 or aimee.leduc@sfgov.org

THE PROGRAM: ART AT CITY HALL
The San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery (SFAC Gallery) and PhotoAlliance invite you to submit images of your work to be considered for the exhibition Night/Light. The San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery’s Art at City Hall program began in 1996 with the goal of bringing artwork with a social conscience into the seat of government. Fourteen years later, Art at City Hall has matured into a premiere program for the exhibition of photography by local, national and international artists.
Our current exhibition can be viewed at:

http://www.sfartscommission.org/gallery/2010/picturing-power-potential/

THE EXHIBITION: Night/Light: Bay Area Photographers Take Aim After Dark
We are inviting submissions of works that explore what happens after sunset and before sunrise. Nighttime images of interest will range from landscapes to portraits, from photodocumentary essays to fantastical narratives. We’ll be looking for technical proficiency, creative innovation, and a wide variety of subject matter. Note: The subject matter of the images does not have to include a Bay Area location. The photographs can include imagery of any geographical location.

THE LOCATION
The City Hall ground floor exhibition space can accommodate up to 100 photographs. The jury will choose between three and ten images from each selected artist. Please do not submit less than three images. There will be no stipend for selected artists.

Please be conscious of the fact that the exhibition space at City Hall is a multi-use area that acts as a busy intersection for City employees, tourists, children and arts patrons. It is both a municipal cross roads and a place where individual concerns may be expressed. Please note that exhibited works will not be insured.

SUBMISSION PROCEDURES
• Eligibility:
All living artists over the age of 18 who are residents of the greater San Francisco Bay Area are eligible to apply. All work should have been completed in the past five years. (San Francisco Bay Area counties include: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma Counties)
No entry fee required
• Medium, framing, Delivery:
All two-dimensional works using any photographic process including digital and/or analog are eligible for exhibition. All chosen works should be delivered to the Gallery framed behind glass or plexi. All selected artists need to be able to deliver and pick up their work from San Francisco City Hall on designated installation and de-installation dates. Works that need to be shipped will not be considered.
• Portfolio:
Only digital submissions will be accepted. Submit three to ten images. Files should be on a CD in JPEG format. Image size should be no larger than 2MB or 8 inches in one dimension with a resolution of 150dpi.
Files should be titled: Lastname_Firstname_imagenumber.jpg

Please submit an accompanying inventory sheet with the image number, your name, title, date, medium and unframed dimensions of each piece. You may also include a one-page statement about the work and a one-page bio.
• Please include a cover sheet with the following information:
Full name
Address
Phone number
Email address

• Mail or hand deliver submissions to:
San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery
401 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102
Attn: Night/Light Jury
No emailed submissions will be accepted. Hand delivered or mailed applications only. Submissions must be received by the Gallery by the deadline. No exception.

• Submissions Due:
Must be received by Saturday, August 14 by 6pm. This is not a postmark deadline. No late entries will be accepted under any circumstance.

• Special Note: CDs will be returned only if a self-addressed stamped envelope with appropriate postage is submitted with entry.

JURORS for Night/Light: Bay Area Photographers Take Aim After Dark include:

Aimee Le Duc, Gallery Manager, San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery

Thom Sempere, Executive Director, PhotoAlliance

Tim Baskerville, Founder, The Nocturnes

CALENDAR
August 14 Submissions due by 6pm
August 17 Jury panel meets to make decisions
August 18 Notify selected artists (emails or letters will be sent)
Sept. 2-4 Artists deliver artwork
Sept. 16 Opening reception at City Hall, 5:30 – 7:30pm
January 17 Artists pick-up artwork

SFAC Gallery 40th Anniversary Celebration and Exhibition Openings

40th Anniversary Season: A Year of Artist-Driven Projects

Opening Reception: Friday, February 12, 2010
5:30 – 7:30pm, San Francisco City Hall, Ground Floor
6:00 – 9:00pm, Main Gallery and Grove Street

The San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery and Director of Cultural Affairs, Luis R. Cancel are proud to announce the opening of our 40th Anniversary Season. Since 1970 the SFAC Gallery, originally Capricorn Asunder Gallery, has been a vibrant part of the Bay Area art scene and a champion of regional emerging and established artists. In the past 40 years we have exhibited over 4000 artists in over 500 exhibitions. This year we’re commemorating the past, celebrating the present and looking toward the future with a series of exhibitions that positions Bay Area artists at the front and center of our upcoming exhibition programming.

Please join us on February 12 at all three at our exhibition spaces to celebrate our long and cherished history as well as all of the thrilling programming coming up in the future!

Chain Reaction XI
Exhibition Dates: February 12-May 14, 2010
Locations: Main Gallery, Grove St and City Hall

Since launching a quarter century ago, Chain Reaction (the 11th exhibition of this kind at the SFAC Gallery) mimics the format of a chain letter. For this Chain Reaction, ten artists will be selected by a group of advisors, curators and luminaries; those artists will then each choose an artist and then those artists will choose an artist. Works by thirty artists will be exhibited at our three locations: the Main Gallery in the Veterans Building, our window installations site at 155 Grove Street and our exhibition space at San Francisco’s City Hall. Chain Reaction 11 takes the pulse of the current Bay Area art scene and allows us to get inside the artists’ minds to see what they find most compelling.

The ten chains include the following artists: (Initial choosers are not exhibiting work.)

SFAC Staff – Anne Colvin – Ginger Wolfe-Suarez – Lordy Rodriguez

SFAC Advisory Board – Walter Logue – Alexander Cheves – Paul Clipson

Glen Helfand – Christine Wong Yap – Pablo Guardiola – James Tantum

Enrique Chagoya & Kara Maria – Justine Lai – Emily North – Angie Wilson

Desiree Holman – Joshua Churchill – Jasmin Lim – Cameron Soren

Judy Moran – Michael Arcega – Suzanne Husky – Amy Balkin

SFAC Gallery Window Installation Site at 155 Grove St.

Kamau Amu Patton – Chris Bell – Elaine Buckholtz – Floor Van Herreweghe

SFAC Gallery at City Hall, Ground Floor

Abby Chen –  Hui-Ying Tsai – James S. Kang – Scott Polach

Rupert Jenkins – Gabriela Hasbun – Karna Kurata – David Paul Morris

Kari Orvik – Robyn Twomey – James Chiang – Josh Kirschenbaum

Chains in Main Gallery at 401 Van Ness

Chain:  SFAC Gallery Staff – Anne Colvin – Ginger Wolf-Suarez – Lordy Rodriquez

The SFAC Gallery Staff selected Anne Colvin

(The SFAC Gallery full time staff consists of Gallery Director, Meg Shiffler and Gallery Manager, Aimee Le Duc.)

Anne Colvin is a Scottish artist known in the Bay Area for her work as a curator (TART, New Langton’s Colony Room, I Am Curious Orange at David Cunningham Projects, and her upcoming L@TE night series at BAM) and the publisher of the acclaimed journal Skank Bloc Bologna. With a long history of exhibiting internationally, Anne has had far too few opportunities to show her remarkable videos locally. We’re so proud to support her studio practice and share a recent work in Chain Reaction, which coincides with her participation in SFMOMA’s exhibition Long Play: Bruce Connor and the Singles Collection.

Anne Colvin selected Ginger Wolfe-Suarez

In Ginger Wolfe-Suarez's words she is 'an artist, writer, teacher and kind of organizer." I am interested in artists who come up against and break down boundaries within their practice. Through her studies in sculpture, text, performance and ephemeral events, one gets the sense that Ginger is engaged in an ongoing experiment rooted in a deep exploration of life and art.

Ginger Wolfe-Suarez selected Lordy Rodriguez

Lordy's work prompts us to re-imagine the criteria of our physical and social boundaries. Both witty, thoughtful, nuanced, and complex-  the work transgresses the space between real and imagined, inviting viewers to imagine a world unlike this one-within this one.

Chain: Judy Moran – Michael Arcega – Suzanne Husky - Amy Balkin

Judy Moran selected Michael Arcega

(Judy Moran is currently a Project Manager for the SFAC’s Public Art Program. She served on the SFAC Gallery’s Advisory Board from 2006 – 2008. In 1986 she exhibited artwork in Chain Reaction 2.)

I selected Michael Arcega for Chain Reaction because his artwork explores serious cultural issues with humor, elegance and hands-on dexterity. We are initially engaged by the unique beauty evident in his artwork; further scrutiny reveals deeper references with complex implications. I appreciate Arcega’s respect for the intelligence of his audience and I always look forward to seeing his next project.

Michael Arcega selected Suzanne Husky

I first saw Suzanne Husky's work at Southern Exposure in 2003. I was immediately drawn to the awkward representations of people, objects, and plants. I have been following her work ever since. Her subject matter is subversively political in nature. The charming objects distort the socio-political and environmental issues that trouble us. She transforms them into a poetic and surreal alternate that might be more truthful.

Suzanne Husky selected Amy Balkin

Amy Balkin's work 'combines cross-disciplinary research and social critique to generate ambitious ways of conceiving the public domain outside current legal and discursive systems.' Amy's work addresses issues, sometimes similar to those I work with, in ways completely opposite to mine.

Chain: Desiree Holman – Josh Churchill –Jasmin Lim – Cameron Soren

Desiree Holman selected Josh Churchill

(Desiree Holman was the 2005 recipient of the SFAC Gallery’s Construct Award. Her resulting solo installation Breath Holes, curated by Mary Ceruti, was accompanied by a catalogue.)

I chose Joshua Churchill because his work, especially the site-specific installation work, provides an experience that is beyond words for me. Though I'm aware of the technical craft involved, the deep, guttural, limbic sensation is what is so remarkable about his work.  It's pure experience.

Joshua Churchill selected Jasmin Lim

Jasmin Lim has the unique ability to create photographic works that function simultaneously and seamlessly as documents, sculptures, and actions. Her use of abstraction in the composition of her photographs is both thoughtful and poetic - through the process of re-photographing original images that have been distorted using light (to either highlight or obscure) or by folding or bending them, she achieves a dimensionality in her work that is not usually present in an ordinarily 'flat' medium.

Jasmin Lim selected Cameron Soren

Cameron Soren's work comes in codependent parts where meaning is produced in the conceptual space between pairs, drawing attention to how we understand things through a process of editing. The two parts are characterized by cultural reference, appropriation, and experimentation with form and material.

Chain: SFAC Advisory Board – Walter Logue – Alexander Cheves – Paul Clipson

The SFAC Gallery Advisory Board selected Walter Logue

(2010 SFAC Gallery Advisory Board members: Heather Holt Villyard (Chair), Noah Lang (Co Vice-Chair), Lauranne LoSpalluto (Co Vice-Chair), Marcus Keller, Mario Lemos, Alice Shaw, Ellen Shershow-Peña, Jessica Silverman, Brian Singer, Helen Wills and Robyn Wise)

Walter Logue seemed an ideal selection for the Gallery Advisory Board. His deceivingly simple work plays with humor, charm, text, symbolism and popular culture. Additionally, we felt like it was important to recognize an artist who has such a strong presence in the Bay Area art community, and has never exhibited at the SFAC Gallery. We were excited to see what artist he would pick to follow him in the chain, and were very confident that both Walter and his selected artist would each bring unique and vital elements to Chain Reaction.

Walter Logue selected Alexander Cheves

I’ve been a close friend and artistic collaborator with Alexander Cheves for over 10 years. I’m an admirer of his paintings and sculptures. I think he’s a brilliant and innovative colorist and has developed a lexicon of recurring shapes in his work that are enigmatic and emotionally moving. The pieces seem familiar yet strange, a eulogy for the slow disappearance of the rural farming based way of life in California’s central valley. Looking at his work makes me feel the way I feel when I listen to old Neil Young albums, a kind of sweet sadness that I ultimately

find uplifting and transcendent.

Alexander Cheves selected Paul Clipson

I chose Paul for his breadth of understanding and intelligence for and about art.  He makes lush films, articulated cinema sculptures and has the gift of collaboration. His willingness to go “there” artistically, and when “there” to stay cool, fosters a lot of respect.

Chain: Kara Maria & Enrique Chagoya  - Justine Lai – Emily North – Angie Wilson

Kara Maria & Enrique Chagoya selected Justine Lai

(Kara Maria and Enrique Chagoya are Bay Area artists that have each left their mark on the SFAC Gallery’s past. Kara Maria curated the exhibition The Meat Show in 2004 and contributed a limited edition print to the Commission ’02 fundraiser. Enrique Chagoya exhibited work in the following exhibitions: Great Gifts in Small Packages in1984, Chain Reaction in1985, Tableaux Vivant in1989,

Funny Show in 1989, When Borders Migrate in1998.)

We chose Justine Lai because her work contains both witty political content and a sly sense of humor. Justine was one of Enrique's best student's in Standford's undergraduate program. She is a skillful painter who shows great promise and deserves our support.

Justine Lai selected Emily North

I chose Emily because I was curious about trusting a virtual stranger. Emily and I emailed back and forth after she came across my work online. We've never met, spoken, or seen each other's work in person. But her JPEGs resonated with me, and as a relative newcomer to the scene, I wanted to embrace the risk and serendipity of the situation. For once, it's about whom you don't know.

Emily North selected Angie Wilson

I chose Angie Wilson as we worked together for Alison Smith in Oakland. She uses similar themes of negation in her textile work.

Chain: Gelen Helfand – Christine Wong Yap – Pablo Guardiola - James Tantum

Glen Helfand selected Christine Wong Yap

(Glen Helfand began working for the SFAC Gallery as a graphic designer, and then went on to curate What’s Wrong with this Picture in 1989, Real Tears in1992 and Celebrity/Self in 1996. He was also an active member of the SFAC Gallery Advisory Board. Glen is currently an educator and writer in the Bay Area.)

The Chain Reaction show always seemed like such a wonderful means of revealing various communities and emphasizing how their art thrives with dialog. Christine Wong Yap, whose work I got to know during her graduate studies at CCA, has a background in community activism, and has recently organized an exhibition of her own tapping into a network of like-minded artists, seemed like a perfect choice. Her artwork is about all of us, as she creates barometers of public mood, and usually aims to spread some good vibes with astute visual choices-- skills I knew she'd apply to the chain.

Christine Wong Yap selected Pablo Guardiola

Pablo Guardiola's idiosyncratic ouvre includes installation, sculpture and photography. His work is rigorous, humorous and thought-provoking. Primero La Caja, his recent exhibition at Galería de la Raza, examined who is responsible for the construction of meaning in artworks. I'm fascinated by how his work is both formally resolved and conceptually open-ended. As a fellow artist, I sense a kinship in his regard for viewers' intellectual experiences of looking.

Pablo Guardiola selected James Tantum

I have always respected the honesty behind James Tantum's work.  Honesty is not an adjective frequently used within the art context, but I think is a great one to describe his work.  It even works when it is dishonestly honest. His art work always departs from strict ontological concerns that, while totally immersed in "everyday life" (as in within a social context), it creates its own and unique cosmogony.

Chains in City Hall, ground floor

Chain: Abby Chen – Hui-Ying Tsai – James S. Kang – Scott Polach

Abby Chen selected Hui-Ying Tsai

(Abby Chen organized an extensive exhibition of photographs from the Chinese Artist Network for the China Today exhibition at City Hall in 2006. She also exhibited her work in 2003 at City Hall in the exhibition Something in Common.)

Kite, umbrellas, suitcase and raindrops are drawings Hui Y Tsai incorporated into her photographic work, creating a surreal and often playful landscape that blurs reality and fantasy. Her obsession with the gloomy sky and darker milieu leads the viewer into somewhere obscure that is imperfect and fragmentary.

Hui-Ying Tsai selected James S. Kang

Sung Yoon Kang's (aka James S. Kang) works suggest points of view to the viewers related to their relationship with the environment they are in. His works creates a space that bridges imagination and reality based on everyday life scenes. The moment/encounter in his works suggest something that might/might not happen. The ambiguous quality of his works resonates with my artistic focus and has always interested me. Sung Yoon Kang is an insightful and skillful photographer of contemporary urban life.

James S. Kang selected Scott Polach

First of all, he is not only a photographer but also a thinker. That is why I like seeing the agony and serious wit in his subject matter. In some ways, my work resembles his work. He tries to construct images that show the viewer question marks. Asking the viewer what is real or not? Whenever I see his work, I have a lot of questions and impressions. But it doesn’t mean that his work is far from the aspect of aesthetic or beauty. His pieces are still beautiful.

Chain: Rupert Jenkins – Gabriela Hasbun - Karna Kurata - Eros Hoagland selected David Paul Morris

Rupert Jenkins selected Gabriela Hasbun

(Rupert Jenkins was the SFAC Gallery Director from 1996 – 2005. He founded the Art at City Hall program.)

I chose Gabriela Hasbun for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the City Hall space is a terrific venue for her type of investigative photography. It’s important for the city’s administrators to see their constituents and to feel their presence in the building; I like to think that photo series’ such as this one jog the institutional conscience of a city. Where better to do that than in City Hall, where decisions affecting neighborhoods and residents are made every day?  Secondly, I chose her because she works in the time-honored tradition of documentation. In the early 1980s I saw a photographic survey by Janet Delaney of the South of Market redevelopment (I think it is at Camerawork again right now as part of their own anniversary exhibitions). Gabriela’s Polk Street series documents a more gradual process of redevelopment, one that perhaps impacts residents less dramatically but nevertheless forces change onto people. Some of whom can cope, others not. Polk Street is just a block away, and so are these people.

Gabriela Hasbun selected Karna Kurata

Karna’s commitment to developing a long term body of work in Mongolia is truly inspiring. She has traveled with nomadic families under freezing conditions and gone underground to document the illegal coalmines outside the capital of Ulaan Baatar. The images in the series ‘Living Underground’ are my favorite because they are a stark and captivating look at the street children in Mongolia. Karna has also worked tirelessly to support other documentary photographers in the Bay Area. I am very excited to exhibit my work next to hers.

Eros Hoagland selected David Paul Morris

(David was selected by Eros Hoagland, who was originally selected to be in the exhibition. Eros is a photojournalist who is currently on assignment in Afghanistan and Iraq. Due to current conditions, Eros was not able to make it back in time to participate, but wanted to share his thoughts on his selection of David Paul Morris.)

David Paul Morris' photography spans such a wide array of subject matter, I think him a fine example of a man truly fascinated with the human spirit. Many photojournalists are glued to the drama of war and disaster, David is not. David photographs people, not events. His visual style and thematic ideas range from simple and elegant, to multilayered and humorous. I chose him for the chain reaction exhibit for all of these reasons. I am proud to be both his colleague and friend.

Chain: Kari Orvik – Robyn Twomey – James Chiang – Josh Kirschenbaum

Kari Orvik selected Robyn Twomey

(Since 2002, Kari Orvik has coordinated the annual international juried exhibition Insights presented by San Francisco’s LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the SFAC Gallery’s Art at City Hall program.)

As a photographer, my bias towards portraiture is no secret. When asked to begin the chain of artists to celebrate the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery’s 40th year, I imagined the range of possible faces that could be shown in City Hall. From celebrities to less-celebrated citizens, photographer Robyn Twomey’s portraits offer a lush assortment of personalities to choose from. Her photographs invite viewers to focus on each individual, making her a natural choice to exhibit on these walls.

Robyn Twomey selected James Chiang

I chose photographer James Chiang for this show because of his commitment to work that is rooted in a sensibility of intimacy and soulful intellect. Through both his documentary and portrait work, Chiang relinquishes the safe and familiar composition for a more uncharted and complicated visual experience. Chiang's gift of creating whimsical and spontaneous moments is the true gift of photography itself: revealing life's magic beyond human control. Chiang serves it with grace, while thoughtfully carving away its boundaries.

James Chiang selected Josh Kirschenbaum

It is an oft-shared opinion of mine that Josh Kirschenbaum is unequivocally one of the most innately gifted contemporary artists today. The reason lies within Josh himself – his charisma and conviction are in harmony with, and yet contrapuntal to, the empathetic and human way that he connects to his subjects. It is his own vulnerability that emboldens his subjects and yields something so visually arresting.

Chain at 155 Grove Street

Chain: Kamau Patton – Chris Bell – Elaine Buckholtz – Floor vahn

Note: The Chain Reaction artists at Grove Street decided to collaborate on a single work rather than exhibit works side-by-side as is the case in the two other SFAC Gallery locations.

Kamau Amu Patton selected Chris Bell

(Kamau Amu Patton was the exhibitions curator for the SFAC Gallery window installation site at 155 Grove Street from 2004 - 05. He also created a site specific installation for this site in 2004.)

My interest in Chris Bell’s work centers on his ability to improvise with space and materials in an incredibly open-ended way. Because of this, it seemed to me that his practice would lend itself to collaboration. His work often centers on installations and sculpture that incorporate light, sound and images.  The sculptural elements of his installations are really layered and generally also include the intricate and crazy mechanisms he builds in order to produce the effects he desires.

Chris Bell selected Elaine Buckholtz

Elaine Buckholtz, has been a friend and colleague to me since my arrival to the US 4 years ago. I admire her poetic sensibility and aptitude within her work. Her latter works with kinetic projections of colour and form are excellently suited to architecture. As this gallery is a shadow box, to be experienced only from outside through glass, I know Elaine will make it head-turning and captivating. I know I will also learn much from working with her.

Elaine Buckholtz selected Floor Vahn

I chose Floor Van Herreweghe as a collaborator because I admire the musical scores that I have heard her perform live over the last year as both a Composer and DJ. I was fortunate enough to collaborate with her on my latest piece for Triple Base Gallery / SFAC entitled Wandering Night House. She made a 17 minute music mix loop that played through speakers in the back of a pick up truck while I drove people around the Mission projecting moving light onto the architecture on 24th street and down the dark interstitial allies along the way. Her score was a hit!!

Read Press Release

Replay: The San Francisco Arts     Commission Gallery 1970 - Present
Exhibition dates: February 12 - May 14, 2010  Opening reception: Friday, February 12,  5:30-7:30
Location: City Hall

Curated by Kelly Lindner, Replay is a diverse array of historic posters, photographs and artwork come together to illustrate the impact of the SFAC Gallery on the local arts landscape from its founding in 1970 as Capricorn Asunder Gallery, a space that championed local under represented artists, to today’s three-sited Gallery program that features emerging and established regional artists alongside artists from across the globe. (Photo: SFAC Gallery archives)

The 2010 exhibition season and forthcoming book are supported by the Do a Little Fund, Paule Anglim, Robert and Elizabeth Fisher, The Graue Family Foundation, Jeannene Przyblyski and Eric Jaye, Joanne Vidinsky, Dede Wilsey and Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund.

Read Press Release

October 23 & 24, 2009, the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery (SFAC Gallery) inaugurated Passport, an annual event that invited the public to stroll through one of San Francisco’s neighborhoods to create their own limited edition art book by collecting “passport stamps” made by local artists. The two-day event was a tremendous success! The advisory board and staff of the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery would like to thank all of the artists, businesses and participants to took part in this incredible event.

The San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery raised nearly $6,000 during Passport! This money will go directly to supporting artists, arts workers and promoting the SFAC Gallery which is dedicated to providing spaces for the residents and visitors of San Francisco to experience challenging contemporary art.

This success would not have been possible without the dedication and stunning work provided by the Passport 2009 artists; Libby Black, Michelle Blade, Lisa Congdon, Maria Forde, Colter Jacobsen, Veronice De Jesus, Sean McFarland, Barry McGee, Tucker Nichols, Maria Proges, Clare Rojas, Andrew Schoultz and Marci Washington. Thank you for good spirits, hard work and beautiful contributions to Passport.

The SFAC Gallery would also like to thank all of the businesses that provided space for the artists to distirbute their stamps. Thank you for opening your doors to the SFAC Gallery and to the community as a whole. Thank you very much to; Aquarius Records, Bombay Ice Cream Company, Paxton Gate, 826 Valencia, Mission Pie, Box Dog Bikes, Needles & Pens, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, Casa Sanchez Restaurant, Dynamo Donuts & Coffee, Curiosity Shop and Schmidt’s.

Information about Passport 2009

How to Buy a Passport

Passports are $25. Available NOW at locations including the SFAC Gallery, Electric Works Gallery, Silverman Gallery, Rare Device and at the Passport 2009 kick-off party or you can buy Passports online by clicking here or here! Passports may also be purchased the day of the event, at Passport 2009 home base, located at the Mission Playground, (enter on Valencia between 19th & 20th).

Participating Artists: Libby Black, Michelle Blade, Lisa Congdon, Maria Forde, Colter Jacobsen, Veronice De Jesus, Sean McFarland, Barry McGee, Tucker Nichols, Maria Proges, Clare Rojas, Andrew Schoultz and Marci Washington

Passport 2009 Kick-Off Party

Friday, October 23, 7–10 p.m.
The Polish Club, 3040 22nd Street, San Francisco

$5 suggested donation at the door; free for passport holders.
Live music by The Old Fashioned Way
Tunes by DJ Sharbaugh

At the Passport 2009 kick-off party, guests can pre-purchase passport books, enjoy drinks, get down to live music and enter to win raffle prizes from community partners. Valet bike parking provided by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.

Enjoy wine from Bear Flag Winery, and exclusive cocktail menu by Dana Younkin, IZZE sodas and more!

Passport 2009

Saturday, October 24, noon–4 p.m.
Passport 2009 home base: Mission Playground, Valencia between 19th & 20th.
Stamps located at various locations in the Mission District, San Francisco
Pick up a map, purchase a passport, or bring family and friends to relax on the lawn and enjoy a hot dog and soda. Nice.

Participating Locations: Aquarius Records, Bombay Ice Cream Company, Paxton Gate, 826 Valencia, Mission Pie, Box Dog Bikes, Needles & Pens, Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts, Casa Sanchez Restaurant, Dynamo Donuts & Coffee, Curiosity Shop, Schmidt’s. Map

Visit favorite spots in the Mission District or discover new ones while collecting original stamps created by Bay Area artists for Passport 2009. Stop by Passport 2009 home base at Mission Playground to purchase a passport, pick up a map of locations, learn more about the SFAC Gallery, or relax and enjoy $1 hot dogs in the park with the whole family.

Participants purchase a passport booklet, (featuring a cover-design created by artist Tucker Nichols specifically for this project,) and then follow a map to various neighborhood locations where they can collect artist-made stamps. Passport 2009 will take place in San Francisco’s Mission District, celebrating its longstanding status as the hub of the city’s art community. After a day spent discovering some of the brightest spots of this lively neighborhood, each passport holder will have a limited-edition book with original artwork from some of San Francisco’s finest artists, both established and emerging.

Passport 2009 is organized by the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery. Proceeds from the event go toward the SFAC Gallery’s Programming Fund, which supports artist honoraria and exhibition costs.

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Preview additional work from Passport 2009 artists:

Dates: October 2-December 12, 2008

Location: Ground Floor of City Hall, San Francisco, CA

Hours: Monday – Friday, 8am – 8pm, Free

Opening Reception: Meet the Artists Tuesday, October 21, from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Artists: Lois Ann Barnett, Charles Curtis Blackwell, Phillip "Otiss" Brown, Mari Cardenas, George A. Covington, Martha Cowden, Kristi Dean, Annabella Denisoff, Virginia Knepper Doyle, Pete Eckert, Rosemarie Fortney, Carmelo Gannello, George Geadah, Haley Goodlett, Quin Graddy, Bobbie Gray, Felecia Griffin, Charles Grover, Susan Joy Gustafson, Sharon Haynes, Passle Helminski, Anne Hesse, Michelle Hurdt, Lacee King, David Kontra, Laura Landry, Marie Lane, Sarah Levin, Sergio Lopez, Genesse Mc Gaugh, Richard Mickley, Theadora Moore, Angel Muñoz, Mari Newman, Barbara Romain, Shirley Sanchez, Tamar Solomon, Michael Sutton, John Theiss, Kurt Weston, Dona Wilson

Featured Artists: Phoebe Barkan, Bruce Hall, Michael Jameson

“Insights is the venue that both celebrates the work of talented artists who are blind or visually impaired and raises the general public’s awareness of visual impairment. The exhibition also sets an example for all exhibitions to follow by making the art accessible to individuals with visual impairments who attend the show” - Anita Shafer Aaron, Executive Di rector of the LightHouse

The LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired and the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery are proud to present the 19th annual Insights 2008 juried art exhibition, with works from 45 artists who are blind or visually impaired. This year’s show is the largest to date, featuring over 100 works of photography, painting, touchable sculpture, mixed media and more. The show emphasizes the diverse range of artistic expression and invites sighted, blind and visually impaired viewers alike to experience the artwork. This presentation includes braille signage as well as full audio descriptions of the work including artist interviews.

The audio tours are provided by Acoustiguide, Inc. and Guide by Cell, which allows visitors to use their cell phone or donated cell phones from AT&T.

For information on purchasing, audio tours, sponsorship and other questions, contact the LightHouse at 415-431-1481 or email insights@lighthouse-sf.org.

IMMEDIATE FUTURE: The 2009 Murphy and Cadogan Fellowships in the Fine Arts
Dates extended! October 9 – January 9, 2010
Location: Main Gallery, 401 Van Ness Avenue (at McAllister) and 155 Grove Street

Artists: Miguel Arzabe, Mara Baldwin, Micheal Barrett, Bonnie Begusch, Oscar Bucher, Carlos Castro, Emily Dippo, Llewelynn Fletcher, Matt Kennedy, Ace Lehner, Bobby Lukas, Eric Martin, Susan Martin, armando miguelez, Kusum Nairi, Ruth Robbins, Eirini Steirou, rebecca wallace, Doug Williams, Sune Woods, Wafaa Yasin, Daniel Yovino

About Immediate Future: The 2009 Murphy and Cadogan Fellowships in the Fine Arts

The San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery is proud to present Immediate Future, featuring works by the recipients of the 2009 Murphy and Cadogan Fellowships in the Fine Arts. This exhibition provides a focused glimpse at what is being produced by promising artists within regional graduate programs. This exhibition presents an opportunity for these artists to share what they have been developing in their studios with a wider audience.

The Murphy and Cadogan Fellowships in the Fine Arts are annual awards sponsored by The San Francisco Foundation to assist art students in funding their final year of graduate studies. In partnership with the Foundation, the Arts Commission Gallery is committed to supporting works by outstanding Bay Area art students through the annual fellowship exhibition. The jurors for this year’s awards were Betti-Sue Hertz, Ellen Oh, Isis Rodriguez and Meg Shiffler.

Bay Area colleges and universities represented by the twenty-two 2009 recipients are the Academy of Art University, California College of the Arts, Mills College, The San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco State University and Stanford University. Media represented in the exhibition include: drawing, film & video, installation, mixed media, painting, fiber art, performance art and photography.

Exhibition Events:

Michael Barrett, Punch Line, 2009
Performance Dates: Thursday, November 5, 7:30 pm
and Saturday, November 21, 1:00 pm, Free
Location: 155 Grove Street, SFAC Window Installation Site
Check out a video of Punch Line by Michael Barrett here and then join us for the performance!

Punch Line is performed in an environment that simulates the ups and downs of the battles we wage upon ourselves while struggling to achieve a goal. In this work, the environment is a boxing ring, in which the right-handed performer wages a fight with his alter ego, a left-handed boxing glove. Each performance follows the time frame of a boxing match; three, three-minute rounds, with a one-minute intermission in between each round. The goal of the performer is to control the balance of the platform while attempting to paint a straight line. Each time the performer attempts to paint a line, he is subjected to the pain of being punched in the face. As the fight continues, the artist struggles to maintain control mot only of his painting, but of his physical body as well.

Emily Dippo, Water Walk, 2009
Event dates: November 14 & December 5, 11:30 am – 3:00 pm, Free
Water Walk starting location: SFAC Gallery (401 Van Ness @ McAllister)
Join us for a walk beginning at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, heading north and concluding at Aquatic Park, using handmade viewfinders developed by Emily Dippo and assembled by participants. The viewfinders are embedded with water stories relating to sites along the way, creating a portrait of the San Francisco water system from multiple perspectives. Participants will assemble viewfinders at the Gallery before the walk and are encouraged to use the viewfinders to reframe the sites they encounter on this spirited guided walk.

Brown Bag Lunch Lecture: A Year of Getting Things Done by Daniel Yovino
Date: Wednesday, November 18, Noon-1 pm, Free
Location: SFAC Gallery (401 Van Ness @ McAllister)
Please join us for a lunchtime presentation of A Year of Getting Things Done by San Francisco Art Institute MFA student and Immediate Future exhibiting artist, Daniel Yovino. Yovino will teach a crash course on productivity methods, speculate on the possibility of increasingly productive artists, and reflect on my foray into art without a final product.

Michael Barrett

Immediate Future exhibiting artist, Michael Barrett has produced a documentary about his experiences leading up to his performance piece, Punch Line. The short film chronicles the impressions and sendiments of Barrett's co-conspiritors in Punch Line including the artist's mother! Feel free to walk by the 155 Grove Street Window installation space to see further documentation of the performances as well as the paintings created during the boxing matches between the 'Alter Ego' and the 'Artist'.

Dates: July 23 – September 19, 2009
Opening Reception: Thursday, July 23, 7 – 9 p.m.
Location: SFAC Gallery, 401 Van Ness Avenue (at McAllister), San Francisco, CA

Conversations is an ongoing series of exhibitions at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery featuring a local artist alongside an artist from another point on the globe. The intent of this series is two-fold: on an intimate level it allows for a closer look at the production of two individual artists, and it also informs an expansive perspective of how artists from our region participate in an international contemporary art dialogue. Conversation 5 features San Francisco-based artist Jamie Vasta and the Toronto-based artist team Nicholas Pye & Sheila Pye.

Sirens

Jamie Vasta is renowned for her exuberant paintings depicting dark and dramatic narratives. Vasta “paints” with glitter, and the result is a surface that is entirely beautiful and enticing – drawing the view closer, in spite of the often violent subject matter. For this new body of work, Vasta has created three large-scale works that will reside both on the floor and on the walls of the SFAC Gallery. Her subject matter revolves around the mythical stories of Sirens luring sailors to their death. Charged with potent sexual and psychological content, Sirens pushes the viewer to reflect on gender-based power dynamics, as well as the very human tendency to be seduced by what is desirable yet dangerous.

Loudly, Death Unties

Nicholas Pye & Sheila Pye have been making films and photographs together, in addition to their individual practices, since 2001. In 2004 the Pyes created the short film, The Paper Wall, which became the first in what was to be a trilogy of works about relationships. The Paper Wall is about a brother and sister expressing their desires silently to each other through a wall. The second film, A Life of Errors, produced in 2006, is about a battle of wills and the testing of various relationship breaking points. Loudly, Death Unties, produced in 2007, is the final film in the trilogy. The film, ultimately, is about the death of a lover. In Irish folklore, the wail of a Banshee announces the inevitable death of someone. In Loudly, Death Unties a Banshee, in the form of a little girl, arrives and through a series of uncanny circumstances, she forces one lover to say goodbye to the other. This film is making its Bay Area premiere and has received rave reviews in Artfoum, Art in America and Art News.

Birds of a Feather, Bobbie Gray

Dates: October 5 - December 11, 2009
Location: San Francisco City Hall, Ground Floor
Hours: Open Monday - Friday, 8am - 8pm, Free
Public Reception: October 15, 5:30 - 7:30pm, Free

Insights is an annual juried exhibition of works by artists who are blind or visually impaired, presented by the LightHouse for the Blind and the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery's Art at City Hall program.

Watch the, Insights video, featuring an audio interview with artist Charles Blackwell. Recorded by Robynn Takayama at Insights 2008 Artist Day, Blackwell talks about his process as a visually impaired artist and the Insights Art Exhibition. This video also features images of artwork by other blind or visually impaired Insights artists, and viewers interacting with the art.

Insights 2009 Artists

Mari Cardenas
George A. Covington
Martha B. Cowden
Anabella Denisoff
Virginia Knepper Doyle
Rachel Dora Ann Fisher
Alison Fortney
Christy Graham
Chaz A. Griffin
Charles Grover
Susan Joy Gustafson
Bruce P. Hall
Kathy Hazard
Maarit Hedman
Passle Helminski
Bobby Hightower
Tara Arlene Innmon
Lynn Kelleher
Lacee King
Susan Kitazawa
Laura Landry
Michael LeVell
Richard Mickley
Amy L. Monthei
Kay Pratt
Nicole Rubio
Romaine Samworth
Matthew Schreiber
Juanita Slater
Tamar Solomon
Marilee Talkington
Ahmet Ustunel
Kurt Weston
Dmitry Yanushkevich
Esther Zabin

Featured Artists:

Charles Curtis Blackwell
Quin Graddy
Bobbie Gray

For more information about LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired please visit their website, www.lighthouse-sf.org.

Audio guides by Acousticguide, Inc. For more information call the LightHouse at 415-431-1481, ext. 335.