We know things are weird right now, and you might not even be working with everything going on, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't have a chance to enjoy the weekend! Life goes on, and having a little fun and/or some relaxation is still necessary for your mental health. So check out these (safely social distanced) events you can participate in this weekend!
Click on any of the event titles for a link to the event.
Friday, September 11th
North Beach, San Francisco
9PM, All Ages
Free
The San Francisco Art Institute is excited to present From the Tower: Transmission is a series of video screenings curated by SFAI's MFA Director, alumni, and dedicated faculty member Tony Labat to explore the institution's history of experimental art making with a specific look into SFAI alumni whose practices developed under the ethos of the New Genres Department with a combined presentation of historical content drawn from the archives and contemporary work. Audiences will be invited to park outside of the historic 800 Chestnut Street Campus, watch from the windows of neighboring buildings, take socially distanced seats throughout the streets of North Beach, or virtually experience the live streamed projections of video, performance and experimental time based works projected on all four sides of the school's landmark tower.
Screenings will start on Friday September 4th and air every Friday evening until October 23, 2020 with each screening starting at 9pm PST.
SFAI will release a mobile friendly map that will provide locations for optimal viewing of the work as well as links to audio tracks for each viewer to tune into the sound based elements through their individual phones. The screenings will also be live streamed on SFAI's website at https://www.sfai.edu for viewers to tune in all over the world.
Since the early 1970s, the New Genres Department at SFAI has been a pioneer in teaching and creating a breeding ground of performance, moving image, and installation, and the intersection of the three mediums. As one of the first graduates of the Performance Video program (now New Genres), curator and artist Tony Labat, has been an integral part of the development of New Genres since its inception. He continues to explore cross-disciplinary art production through teaching, curating, and his own practice. With ironic wit and incisive social critique, Tony Labat's provocative, nonlinear narrative collages confront cultural identity, loss and displacement. Adopting an irreverent, often subversive stance, Labat represents the experience of difference and marginalization from the mediated position of the "outsider," and deconstructs the codes by which the mass media reinforces cultural mythologies. In his idiosyncratic pastiches of performance, appropriated imagery and unexpected visual metaphors, Labat uses disguise, theatricality, storytelling and role-playing as narrative devices.
This program is a part of a year-long series of events marking SFAI's 150th anniversary that will include programs and exhibitions presented in partnership with leading artists and arts organizations around the world.
Marrow Gallery, San Francisco
By Appointment, All Ages
Free
Marrow Gallery presents "August 2020", an exhibition of new works from San Francisco based painter Hiroshi Sato. Sato explores the sudden shift in San Francisco during the pandemic. He explores how the city has grown quiet, while the anxiety of the moment creates an internal noise that cannot be suppressed. Continuing his us of solitary figures, Sato captures the shift from a bustling metropolis to a quiet dissonance as the city clears and invites introspection.
Greatly influenced by Edward Hopper, Sato too uses solitary figures in barren environments. In a recent Guardian article, Jonathan Jones notes that these lonely images are so perfectly representative of this fraught time.
Hiroshi Sato was born in Japan and spent his childhood in Tanzania. The colors of Africa are hugely influential in his work. He came to the US to study at the Atlanta College of Art. He has a BFA and an MFA from the Academy of Art in San Francisco and has shown extensively across the US. In January 2020, Sato was the Artist in Residence at the Cheekwood Center in Nashville, TN.
Saturday, September 12th
Tenderloin Museum, San Francisco
10 AM, All Ages
Free
Since 2015, the Tenderloin Museum has championed the resilient and inspiring history of the Tenderloin through its exhibitions, while engaging our unique community through cultural and educational programs.
The Tenderloin embodies the quintessential spirit of San Francisco--the outsider, the pioneer, the advocate. As we commemorate our fifth anniversary, we honor those same qualities in our neighbors today--and despite current hardships, it remains our mission to empower and unite our neighborhood through civic-centered programs and exhibitions.
On Saturday, September 12th, from 10am-4pm, the Tenderloin Museum will celebrate our fifth anniversary with an outdoor Community Day, where we'll invite mask-wearing locals to safely experience an outdoor Shelter in Place gallery show, a family-centric giveaway with the Asian Art Museum, and to view eclectic performances from CounterPulse, Skywatchers, Larkin Street Youth Services, and Aunt Charlie's.
These Saturdays, which are part of a new series called Play Streets, will offer car-free city blocks, encouraging residents with cabin fever to enjoy the outdoors in a safe, joyful setting. Each Saturday, a city street in the Tenderloin will be closed to traffic from 10 am to 4 pm. After months of remaining isolated indoors, streets will close to cars and open to Tenderloin residents--with diverse programs, surprise performances, and family activities that emphasize COVID-19-safety and community support.
The wellbeing of guests is our greatest concern. We will limit the number of attendees on the block, require mask-wearing and social distancing, provide multiple hand sanitizer stations, and sanitize all shared equipment and seating after each use. We invite our community to celebrate and to be well!
**Covid-19 safety information**
All public health guidelines must be adhered to while we continue to navigate Covid-19. On the block, everyone is required to wear a covering (either a bandana, mask, or scarf) over the nose and mouth. We will ask each of you to maintain physical distance of six feet from those you do not live with, and suggest you have hand sanitizer on-hand. Public restrooms are also likely not going to be an option.
Online
6 PM, All Ages
Free
Root Division presents Introductions 2020, the 14th iteration of our annual juried exhibition. This exhibition has become one of the keystones of Root Division's exhibition programming offering exposure to 12 emerging artists and a chance for the public to view cutting edge local art production in the Bay Area.
The Introductions exhibition responds to the need to highlight artists without gallery representation in the Bay Area. Artists are selected through a highly competitive juror review process of typically over 200 submissions based on the conceptual and formal strength of the work. The resulting exhibition includes diverse range of media and subject matter featuring video, installation, sculpture, photography and painting.
Join our Zoom session for a tour of the gallery on Sept. 12 from 6-8PM, at the forthcoming link: https://rootdivision.org/exhibition-rd-gallery/introductions-2020
Introductions 2020 will share artworks both online here:https://rootdivisiontalk.wpcomstaging.com/ and in the gallery by appointment.
Sunday, September 13th
Japantown Peace Plaza, San Francisco
11:30 AM, All Ages
Free
Come and join us every weekend from July 18-September 27 2020 to experience a newly created environment to enjoy your meals from Japantown dine-in restaurants.
Open from 11:30-8pm every Saturday and Sunday, Picnic at the Plaza located in the Peace Plaza provides spatially appropriate seating for everyone to leisurely have a meal in a venue where all health and safety restrictions will be followed. A canopy and space heaters will be provided to add further comfort for your visit!
Customers may also enjoy alcoholic and other beverages purchased at the participating restaurants at the Plaza. Proof of purchase will be requested at the time of seating.
For more information, please contact the Center at https://www.jcccnc.org or follow us on Facebook or Instagram
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Picnic at the Plaza has been possible with funding from the Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation and in partnership with SF Department of Rec and Park and the Japantown Merchants Association. JCCCNC serves as the administrative agency for this activity.
Online
9 AM, All Ages
Free
Come eat, drink, shop, play, connect and be local at the Outer Sunset Farmers Market & Mercantile, a festive open-air, year-round weekly market featuring local farmers, ranchers, food artisans, merchants, makers, artists and organizations on a closed-to-traffic 37th Avenue between Ortega and Pacheco.
Outer Sunset Farmers Market & Mercantile Every Sunday at 9 am – 3 pm 37th Avenue at Ortega, SF
The Outer Sunset Farmers Market & Mercantile is a weekly market featuring farmers, ranchers, food artisans and vendors, makers, merchants, artists, and local organizations. OSFMM is proudly presented by Sunset Mercantile in collaboration with District 4 Supervisor Gordon Mar, Office of Economic and Workforce Development, and People of Parkside Sunset.
Our open-air market will launch with a thoughtful and comprehensive COVID-19 safety plan. The plan will include guidelines, protocols, and a modified program of activities that will evolve along with this situation but will reflect at all times the goal of helping to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of the community, vendors, and staff.