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Dope Art Parties, Outdoor Festivals, & Underwater Experiences in the Bay

The Bay's best newsletter for underground events & news

By Kirsten Chen, w/ aluminum siding and grout work by alex mak

Art installation at The SF Midway. IllUM fest this Saturday, USE promo code ‘brokeass‘ to get $10 off tickets!

It’s October in San Francisco, which means everybody wants to throw a party. This weekend you’ve got Hardly Strictly in GG Park, Blue Angels buzzing rooftops and piers, and all kinds of great art parties involving music, sorceresses, activism, eats, witches, drinks, bluegrass, films, photos, prints, performance and even an ‘underwater, multimedia experience’.  So dive in, the waters just right…and it ain’t even Halloween week yet.

WE ARE BAYVIEW

Remember the initial confusion and controversy of the “I Am Bayview” photo series that was installed in Bayview and the Dogpatch?  Revisit the portrait series in its entirety and hear a panel discussion from the creators and select members from the community. The discussion will address the problems with creating community in the face of gentrification.  Interested community members will also have the opportunity to have their photograph taken.

WE ARE BAYVIEW HUNTERS POINT – PANEL DISCUSSION

THURSDAY, OCT 4, 6:30 – 9PM

BAYVIEW OPERA HOUSE, 4705 3RD ST

TICKETS & INFO


ART, MUSIC, & DESIGN

Lawrence Azerrad, a Grammy Award-winning graphic designer and creative director, will be talking about his new book, Supersonic, The Design and Lifestyle of Concorde.  The book unpacks two of his music-related passion projects and explores how design connects to music.  There will also be drinks and a DJ (who’s a faculty member of CCA) playing at the reception.

LAWRENCE AZERRAD – ASPIRATION BY DESIGN

THURSDAY, OCT 4, 6 – 9PM

CALIFORNIA COLLEGE OF THE ARTS

TICKETS & INFO

 

25 YEARS AT 111 MINNA

As the 111 Minna Gallery enters its 25th year, artists, friends, and other supports in San Francisco are invited to celebrate its milestone anniversary.  The party will be an all day affair that continues into the night and includes a closing commencement ceremony at 9PM. Details and DJ’s will be announced over the coming weeks, but you can expect a large reunion of the best guests from the gallery’s past programming.

25 YEARS

FRIDAY, OCT 5, 5PM – 1AM

111 MINNA GALLERY

INFO

Giving Trump The Cinematic Middle Finger 

Thirteen filmmakers come out against Donald Trump and the hateful and oppressive America he embodies.  Helming this project are San Francisco Bay Area independent filmmakers Ellen Bruno and Jay Rosenblatt. They asked 200 filmmakers from diverse backgrounds to make a cheap and quick short running ten minutes or less expressing their feelings about what was happening to an America that saw Trump as a viable president.

This short film anthology runs October 5-11

Roxie Theater, SF

Tickets & Info

WEAR YOUR ART ON YOUR SLEEVE

Keep San Francisco’s denim jackets from getting gentrified by supporting its D.I.Y. rock and roll roots at the Jacket and Patch Art show.  Over 50 jackets have been customized for the exhibition using methods like painting, stitching, and quilting; some of the artists will be sharing about their creative process.  You’ll also have the option to customize your jacket at the event’s button and patch station.

JACKET AND PATCH ART SHOW

FRIDAY, OCT 5, 7 – 11PM

WORKSHOP, 1798 MCALLISTER ST

INFO

LIGHT, ART, MUSIC FESTIVAL: IllUM

The Midway will be transformed into a festival of art installations, musical performances, and world-class dancers.  If you read or heard about the Fury Show last month, you know it was fucking incredible, SF Ballet & King Lines Dancers recreated Mad Max Fury Road with an intense live musical score from Yassou, and it blew the doors off the place.  It was so dope that the Midway invited the Fury performers to IllUM fest to do pop-up performances throughout the night, along with Hammerstep NYC, & music from The Field, Lusine, & VRIL.  If you like futuristic light installations, electronic music, and dope pop up performances, this is the party to hit.

IllUM Art. Tech. Music

October 6 2018 

USE promo code brokeass to get $10 OFF tickets!

GA & VIP ticket on sale here

 


HARDLY STRICTLY

Enjoy the last of San Francisco’s warmer weather by spending it at one of largest free music festivals in Golden Gate Park.  Although the lineup includes many well-known names, get your friends to check out the stages with emerging acts. Some of the must-see acts include Hurray for Riff Raff (an up-and-coming indie rock band), and a number of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees including Lindsey Buckingham (of Fleetwood Mac), Booker T., and Graham Nash.  

HARDLY STRICTLY BLUEGRASS FESTIVAL

OCT 5 -7, 12 – 7 PM

GOLDEN GATE PARK

INFO


SOME CALIFORNIA FIBER

The Richmond Art Center is hosting this one-day symposium on the history of California textile art and its current trends and innovations.  Topics will include weaving, indigo dye, and a selection of guest lectures from experts in this craft. The center will also be hosting a series of workshops on different textile weaving techniques through the week to commemorate this event.        

SPUN, DYED, WOVEN & TIED

SATURDAY, OCT 6, 9:30AM – 4PM

RICHMOND ART CENTER, 2540 BARRETT AVE

TICKETS & INFO

UNDERWATER ART EXPERIENCE

The Asian Improv aRts and API Cultural Center will be taking over the YMCA to bring a new underwater, multimedia experience by Lenora Lee Dance.  This performance meditates on forgiveness, redemption, and the power of individual to transcend. By giving audiences an underwater perspective, a new form of epic storytelling has been created by LLD.    

BENEATH THE SURFACE

SATURDAY, OCT 6, 8:30 – 9:30PM

YMCA OF SAN FRANCISCO CHINATOWN BRANCH

855 SACRAMENTO ST

TICKETS & INFO

WHEN DANCE, ART, AND FILM INTERSECT

Catharine Clark Gallery and the San Francisco Dance Film Festival will be hosting screenings for an international lineup of five dance films.  The program examines the concept of gender in this context, and the ever-shifting nature of identity. After the screenings, there will be a live dance performance by Alex Jenkins and Nicholas Korkos of AnA Collaborations.

ART/EXPERIMENTAL FILMS

SUNDAY, OCT 7, 6:30 – 9PM

CATHARINE CLARK GALLERY, 248 UTAH ST

TICKETS & INFO

ART AND ACTIVISM

The Resist/Release art show features work from over 25 Bay Area artists who are responding to the aftermath of our most recent Presidential election.  Artists in the show use photography, video, paintings, installations, and other mediums to explore the current injustices and threats that the United States is facing.  The show’s opening night is also a kick-off party for Resist-a-Thon, a week of action partnered with different community organizations.

RESIST/RELEASE ART SHOW OPENING

MONDAY, OCT 8, 6:30 – 9:30PM

CODE AND CANVAS, 151 POTRERO AVE

TICKETS & INFO

KITCHEN LULLABIES

Artist-owned Nook Gallery will be hosting an intimate performance by Lykanthea, an ambient pop project from Lakshmi Ramgopal.  Her site-specific performances use both traditional and new sounds that are inspired by birds and sleep songs. The event will also have sweet drinks and drinks, but space is limited to 20 people.  Don’t miss out on this opportunity to visit one of Oakland’s best D.I.Y. galleries for emerging artists.

LULLABIES BY LYKANTHEA

TUESDAY, OCT 9, 6 – 8PM

NOOK GALLERY, 310 51ST ST

RSVP & INFO


INCUBATOR ARTIST SALON

Gray Area Art + Technology has invited members of its 2018.2 Incubator cohort to share their work in progress through a TED talk format.  Guests will be able to contribute their feedback or ask the artists questions about their interdisciplinary projects. The projects are on the cutting edge of interactive art– there’s a piece that explores Synonyms for Nostalgia and a new component of The Anti-Eviction Mapping Project.

2018.2 GRAY AREA INCUBATOR ARTIST SALON

WEDNESDAY, OCT 10, 6 – 9PM

GRAY AREA ART + TECHNOLOGY, 2665 MISSION ST

TICKETS & INFO


Wayne Thiebaud, Part of Artist Talks

To commemorate the opening of two side-by-side exhibitions by Wayne Thiebaud, Janet Bishop, the SFMOMA’s curator of Painting and Sculpture, will be having an intimate conversation with the artist.  The exhibition includes a selection of paintings from Thiebaud over the last five decades and paintings from other artists that he has selected from the SFMOMA’s collection.

ARTIST TALK: WAYNE THIEBAUD

THURSDAY, OCT 11, 7 – 9PM

SAN FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF MODERN ART  

RSVP & INFO


MEDIATING SOUND  

The MEDIATE Art Group has installed In Between, a collaborative video and sound installation by two artists, Iranian-Japanese-American Cyrus Yoshi Tabar and Iranian-American Sholeh Asgary.  Their project will explore the desire for answers about immigrant identity through sound experiments. In Between is part of the two-year Soundwave Biennial that MEDIATE has been presenting at other venues around the Bay Area.   

IN BETWEEN

FRIDAY, OCT 12, 7 – 9PM

THE GROWLERY, 235 BRODERICK ST

TICKETS & INFO

Sorceress Sabbath Witchcraft Film Festival

The Sorceress Sabbath Witchcraft Film Festival is a full day of 1960’s-70s cult classics and 2 newer films, documentaries and a special guest speaker about Witches at the haunted and historic Balboa Theater in San Francisco.  Special guest speaker, Maja D’Aoust, is a Scholar of Alchemy and Occult lore whose interest in Alchemy and the Esoteric Occult sciences spans her entire lifetime.  This one day film festival will include 9 films, such as Incubus (1966), starring William Shatner speaking in Esperanto and filmed in Big Sur, to Anna Biller’s The Love Witch (2016).

Sorceress Sabbath Witchcraft Film Festival

Sat Oct 13th, 10am-1130pm

Balboa Theatre, 3630 Balboa St, SF

INFO

ArtLaunch 2018: SF Open Studios Exhibition Opening

Kick off FIVE WEEKENDS of SF Open Studios at ArtLaunch, the SF Open Studios Exhibition opening reception featuring over 400 original artworks.  SF Open Studios, the oldest and largest open studios program in the country, is an annual, month-long art event in October and November that showcases over 800 emerging and established San Francisco artists in their studios.  Creative cocktail attire encouraged. ArtLaunch 2018 is a 21+ event.

Saturday, October 13

SOMArts Cultural Center

INFO

 

PRINTS ON PRINTS

Find local and national prints, zines, and other printed media at this free, outdoor multi-day event.  There will also be artist-run booths and more specialized prints like lithographs, etchings, risographs and more.  If you missed the Oakland Print exhibition at Classic Cars West, this is another great opportunity to get new paper art for your apartment.

OAKLAND PRINT FAIR 2018

OCT 13 – 14, 11AM – 5PM

FLAX ART AND DESIGN, 1501 MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. WAY

INFO


RE:PLACE PERFORMANCE

Celebrate emerging Asian and Pacific American artists of the Bay Area at the 17th edition of APAture, Kearny Street Workshop’s annual multidisciplinary arts festival.  The festival kicks off with a performing arts showcase at the Asian Art Museum where artists will be exploring “place” and its various dimensions. RE:place will showcase over 60 artists during multiple dates and venues to create dialogue about issues affecting the APA community.  

PERFORMING ARTS SHOWCASE | APATURE 2018

SATURDAY, OCT 13, 1 – 4PM

ASIAN ART MUSEUM

TICKETS & INFO


APPLE IN FASHION

Join founder Jessie Liu as she shares her journey from being an accountant to launching a full-fledged womenswear brand.  She will be using the iPad Pro and Apple Pencil to teach guests how to play with fabric, sketches, patterns, and fittings to create your own designer collection.  This event is presented with Fashion Incubator San Francisco and is part of the Big Draw Festival.

LIVE ART JESSIE LIU COLLECTION

SATURDAY, OCT 13, 2:30PM

APPLE UNION SQUARE, 300 POST ST

TICKETS & INFO


LIVE MUSIC AT THE LAB

Join acclaimed musicians Joelle Leandre and Phillip Greenlief; Fred Frith, Gabby Fluke-Mogul, and Nava Dunkelman at the Lab for a special, improvisational performance.  The jazz and post-jazz musicians come from a variety of backgrounds, in both musical training and multicultural environments. Unlike the other events at the Lab, this show will only be happening for one night.  

AN EVENING OF IMPROVISATION

SUNDAY, OCT 14, 7:30 – 10PM

THE LAB, 2948 16TH ST

TICKETS & INFO

 

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Kirsten Chen

Kirsten Chen

@kirstensly bay area art enthusiast and writer

i'm trying to be as famous as the spice girls