Celebrate Black History Month at the African American Arts and Culture Complex (AACCC) and Bayview Opera House Cultural Odyssey will celebrate its 30th Anniversary at AAACC with a six-week theater run featuring two World Premieres including The Breach (featuring Joanna Haigood), and The Medea Project’s Dancing with the Clown of Love (a collaboration with the Women’s HIV Program at the University of San Francisco Medical Center), and the San Francisco Premiere of The Love Project (written in collaboration with the noted writers Pearl Cleage and her husband Zaron Burnett). For more information visit www.culturalodyssey.org.
Also at AAACC, is the exhibition The Art of Living Black, the 14th Annual Bay Area Black Artists’ Exhibition, will be on view through March 13. The exhibition features emerging and established artists, three of which are selected to receive the Jan Hart-Schuyers Artistic Achievement Award. Don’t miss the Artist Talks on Saturday, February 20, 1 - 2:30 p.m. and Saturday, February 27, 1 - 3 p.m.
The Bayview Opera House will present Sparkle, the story of three sisters from Harlem who try to make it in the music business. Performed by the Black Repertory, the story chronicles their struggles with fame, drugs, violence and crime.
SFAC Gallery turns 40 and celebrates with a series of artist-driven projects. Join us for an Opening Reception on Friday, February 12, 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. 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 unrepresented artists, to today. The exhibition will be on view in the lower level of City Hall from February 12 through May 14, 2010.
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 through May 16, 2010 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.
Opening Reception: Friday, February 12, 2010
5:30 – 7:30 p.m., San Francisco City Hall, Ground Floor
6:00 – 9:00 p.m., Main Gallery and Grove Street
Check out the latest episode of Culture Wire The latest episode of Culture Wire is now on view. Tune into SFGTV Cable Channel 26 or watch online. This episode features a behind-the-scenes look at SFMOMA’s 75th anniversary, a look at some local treasures at George Washington High School and a glimpse at Southern Exposure’s current exhibition, Gray Area.
StreetSmARTS program launches The San Francisco Arts Commission is happy to announce that the StreetSmARTS program is underway! StreetSmARTS connects established urban artists with private property owners to transform lackluster facades into vibrant works of art and to make the property less likely to be vandalized in the process.
Two local artists were selected to kick off the program. Chef/Camer1 is in the process of creating a mural at 65 Oak Grove, and Estria will begin crafting his mural at 23rd and Capp in the coming weeks. We encourage you to visit and see these artists at work.
If you are a private property owner whose is interested in participating in StreetSmARTS, contact, Alyssa Stone at 415/252-3298 or e-mail artsedassistant@sfgov.org .
WritersCorps joins forces with four museums to present Claim the Block, readings by young writers who are connecting to their city and its art. Each Claim the Block reading features WritersCorps students from public schools, paired with local writers who serve as WritersCorps teachers. Through poetry and prose, the students will relate to the art in the museums, tackle issues of adolescence, and claim their place in their neighborhoods and communities in San Francisco. The events also feature artwork and performance by youth groups from the museums. All events are free or low-cost and open to the public.
February 13, 4:30 - 5:30 p.m.
Museum of African Diaspora
685 Mission Street / $2
Featuring Myron Michael Hardy and Neela Banerjee
With students from Downtown High School and Ida B. Wells High School
March 11, 7 - 8 p.m.
Contemporary Jewish Museum
736 Mission Street / Free
Featuring Carrie Leilam Love and Cindy Je
With students from Mission High School, Hilltop High School and the San Francisco Main Public Library
April 10, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Zeum
221 4th St / Free
Featuring Aracely Gonzalez and Rick D’Elia
With students from International Studies Academy and Aptos Middle School
April 23, 7:30 - 8:30 p.m.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
701 Mission Street / Free (RSVP required, email writerscorps [at] gmail [dot] com)
Featuring Milta Ortiz
With students from the WritersCorps Apprentice Program
Last Chance to see Patrick Dougherty's The Upper Crust in Civic Center Plaza On February 23, 2010, San Francisco residents will say goodbye to Patrick Dougherty’s The Upper Crust, which has graced the tops of the sycamore trees located on (in?) Civic Center Plaza since last year. Created with over 4,500 lbs. of willow saplings and standing over 15 feet tall, the sculpture was the renowned environmental artist’s first project in San Francisco. His masterfully-woven cocoon-like forms were inspired by City Hall’s rotunda and were made without an internal structure, hardware or any outside means of attachment. Locals and tourists alike have flocked to the Civic Center to marvel at the sculpture, which has dramatically changed in appearance with the arrival of each new season.
The San Francisco Arts Commission Salutes Diane di Prima, San Francisco’s new Poet Laureate. Neighborhood Arts supporter and gifted poet, Diane di Prima, has been named the San Francisco Poet Laureate. The Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts (MCCLA) will host a FREE celebration in her honor on Friday, February 19. Doors open at 6 p.m. and the ceremony and poetry reading will begin at 7 p.m. MCCLA Theater is located at 2868 Mission Street.
Buy art and support CAE Many of you know about our relationship with mural artist, Chor Boogie. He has graciously requested that 20 percent of sales from his LTL PRINTS wall graphics go towards the Community Arts and Education Program at the San Francisco Arts Commission! Isn't it time for you to do a little home decorating? See more...
For more information please visit sfartscommission.org. San Francisco Arts Commission: We bring the arts to you, and you to the arts.
