Wonderland Exhibit: Life in the Tenderloin
On my first visit to San Francisco, my friend drove me around on a tour of the city. While riding through the Tenderloin, I was looking at a woman vomiting and hiking up her skirt to pee on a trash can, when suddenly we crossed one street only to be surrounded by corporate professionals and bits of recycled glass cemented into the side walks to give them a glitter effect in the sunlight.
Not every neighborhood can capture the true charming essence of San Francisco quite like the Tenderloin. It’s one of the few places in the urbs that hasn’t been fully gentrified, the kind of place you can still pick up a lady of the night without getting dirty looks. It’s the city at its rawest. Although the drug trade and crime rates are through the roof, I’d still consider it less scary than the Marina occupied by sweatsuits and soccer moms.
The NOM/TL Benefit District is featuring the exhibition Wonderland to represent the culture of the Tenderloin. The exhibit offers everything from paintings to depictions of life in an underground sex trade. The 53 artists have been working with non-profits, schools and the public for a year to capture the diversity and give a tribute to the community. Their goal is to bring contemporary art to all walks of life, which if you ask me sounds pretty awesome. The exhibition is FREE today through November 15th, check it out!
Wonderland
134 Golden Gate Ave., Suite A
(415) 292'4812
10/17-11/15
