We need urgent attention from our local officials and business leaders about the future of the cultural community here in the Bay Area! As if we need confirmation of a systemic failure, the announcement of the @dirosaart sale should send us into overdrive. We have a duty to protect this vital Art ecosystem for future generations!.
The state of the Bay Area art community seems to a topic right now, so I thought it might be a good time to reconsider our friend Renny Pritikin’s infamous “Prescription For A Healthy Art Scene” as a guide for a conversation about what is needed to make this a healthier arts community. The “prescription” is simply a list of elements Pritikin suggested were central to any “healthy” Arts community. Renny is considered a legend of the Bay Area art scene dating back to his development of New Langton Arts, one of the country’s first alternative art spaces in 1975. He wrote this in the 1990’s.
In 2019, @cecimoss thought it time to rewrite this text for @contemporaryartreview.la , thinking that Renny’s original limited its focus to the enduring stability of traditional support systems for art production. Ceci’s Ingredients “For A Braver Art Scene” proposes something more anti-capitalist, feminist, and utopian. It poses the challenge to take risks in order to create a more ethical and compassionate world.
Let’s use this opportunity to discuss what kind of community we want and how it can function more equitably for more of us.
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#bayareaartist #sanfranciscoart #cca #bayarea #artcommunity @danielluriesf
Today, the Ruth Asawa Estate @ruthasawaofficial opens a new exhibition space @minnesotastreetproject . We all can learn so much from Ruth’s legacy. She was forcibly removed from her home and incarcerated in an internment camp at 16, she was a mother of six, a renowned sculptor and community activist. “My need to be an artist..does not exceed my desire to be a parent, and part of a community”
We are so lucky to be able to learn from Ruth’s life and work for the betterment of us all. Thanks to the Asawa Estate for publicly sharing her work with all of us!
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#ruthasawa #ruthasawaschoolofthearts @scrapsf
I’m excited to announce that I’m included in the current issue of THE QUARTERLY REPORT!
For a decade @jonnherschend and Will Rogan created the most inspiring series of artist made objects with @thethingquarterly . Now, THE QUARTERLY REPORT magazine asks artists what they are thinking about when they are not working. I’m honored to be apart of ISSUE NO. 5 with some of my art heroes!
The magazine is launching this weekend at the LAABF (@printedmatter_artbookfairs ) in Pasadena this weekend May 7-10! Go say hi!
Or, you can get it on line at TheQuarterlyReport.com
Here are some insta links for the Art heroes included in issue 5
@thethingquarterly@katesweeneywrites Kate Sweeney
@milaodlt Mila De La Torre
@williamsgriff Griff Williams
@mathesonmuir Matt Muir
@tau_au Tauba Auerbach
@sahotchkiss Sarah Hotchkiss
@mikesimpsondop Mike Simpson
@ritabullwinkel Rita Bullwinkel
Last week I recorded an interview in front of a live audience. You can now listen to it @roborantreview . (Link in bio) The program was the first in a series of live conversations organized by Sarah Stangle @3rdst_sfscreativeartery ! She’s leaning in to help energize the creative community around issues important to us all. Keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming events.
Friends join your pals @somarts for an gathering to help mobilize the artist community. It will bring artists, organizers, funders, board members, and decision-makers into the same room—while there is still something left to save.
AND, on Tuesday, April 21, Arts for a Better Bay Area is organizing an Arts Advocacy Day rally on the steps of City Hall. This is your chance to help shape the collective action plan and prepare to make your voice heard.
@artsabetterbayarea@somarts@3rdst_sfscreativeartery@roborantreview
3RD ST CREATIVE ARTERY is thrilled to welcome painter, filmmaker, author, gallerist GRIFF WILLIAMS as the featured speaker for the first installment of our ON-SITE INSIGHTS series. For 32 years Griff’s gallery, Gallery 16, was a vibrant hub of the San Francisco art community, with 20 of those years right on 3RD ST.
Join us to hear more, live—in-person insights, on-site. Griff will be in conversation with HUGH LEEMAN from Roborant Review.
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ON-SITE INSIGHTS // Griff Williams from Gallery 16 in conversation with Hugh Leeman from Roborant Review
Thursday, 04/09/26 6-9pm
On “the viewing deck” in Bldg 12 at Pier 70
Maryland St @ 22nd St (just 2 blocks off 3RD)
Presented by 3RD ST CREATIVE ARTERY @3rdst_sfscreativeartery
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Hugh Leeman is managing editor of Roborant Review @roborantreview and oversees all aspects of the publication. The Roborant Review was started by Hugh and Matt Gonzalez in mid-June of 2025 to offer a diversity of sources in contemporary long-form art writing.
RSVP link in bio
These billboards got me thinking. Why do the Art and Tech worlds rub each other so wrong? They also have a lot in common…It’s an interesting conversation. ( which should be had face to face, not here). The Arts want the tech world to be a ATM machine and the politely F* off. The techies see the Arts as self serious freeloaders. What gives?
Venting in the aftermath of the LA art fairs. Congrats to Barry McGee and the artists involved in the 99 cent exhibition!! What a feat! Love the SF artist bringing the anti commercial energy!
And yes, I know in the face of wars, deportations and atrocities talking about art is a luxury. But, art and artists saved my life so…here I go.
I’m terribly sad to hear of the passing of Rena Bransten at 92. When I first considered starting G16, I had the good fortune of learning from women. San Francisco’s art galleries were almost exclusively run by strong thoughtful females, Rena, Paule Anglim, Ruth Braunstein, Diana Fuller, Dorothy Goldeen and Wanda Hansen. They all had strong personalities, but all were welcoming. There weren’t the territorial struggles that take place in New York. This female dominated scene felt different, more open and encouraging to younger folks like myself who had an interest in the arts.
Rena presented a diverse roster of BIPOC and female artists since 1975. She said my name is on the door, but It is not about me, it’s about the artists,” “We have been a welcoming place for all: Visitors could walk in without cost, encounter serious art, and speak with people deeply committed to the work”.
My heart goes out to the Bransten family. Take comfort in knowing how much Rena meant to the existence of our art community. Thank you Rena, I’m honored to have known and learned from you.
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. @renabranstengallery@trishbransten@dianafuller114
