A Lot Can Happen In Four Weeks
I’ve committed the cardinal sin of blogging by disappearing for weeks with no warning, but for good reason. Since October 20, I’ve been hard at work as the new Executive Director of SomArts Cultural Center. SomArts had a lot going on this month—a Day of the Dead exhibition with more than 40 altars, followed by an exhibition of avatars and virtual realities in the main gallery and on Second Life.
SomArts staff member and artist Katie Gilmartin hosted the Chrysalis Printmaking Studio Show (see video here), and Rene Yanez—who oversees special projects at SomArts and curated our Day of the Dead show with his son Rio—was honored at the annual Day of the Dead procession in the Mission. Carlos Loarca and Betsie Miller-Kusz, two other artists on our staff, joined Katie, Rene and Rio to participate in ArtSpan’s Open Studios.
SomArts’s own exhibitions only made up a part of the center’s activity this month—because we have some of the most affordable “big space” in town, we are home to many benefits and fundraisers. This month is no exception … Visual Aid’s Big Deal was here last week, and tonight was NaNoWriMo’s Write-a-Thon.
All the SomArts activity hasn’t prevented me from exploring some of San Francisco’s many galleries and performance spaces, including the African American Cultural Complex, Intersection for the Arts, Galeria de la Raza, the Red Poppy Art House, the SFAC Gallery, Yerba Buena, SFMoMA, 826 Valencia, the Garage, 111 Minna and Chronicle Books. I am trying to carry a video or still camera around to catch some of the action as I discover SomArts and also the community it serves. The photo above was taken during Open Studios at SomArts and is posted on the SomArts Flickr group. We are also on Facebook.
Since this is my personal blog, I’ll probably continue reporting on SomArts discoveries through the organization’s website, perhaps even set up a blog there. For now, the best way to get in touch with me about SomArts is by calling or stopping by (rather than posting here on this blog).
And … now that I’m settling in, I’ll try to get back to updating this with interesting articles, arts policy news and short posts about the people, organizations and ideas that inspire me. Thanks for checking in!
Tags: Facebook, Flickr, San Francisco, SomArts