SOMArts Cultural Center
934 Brannan Street (map) 4155521770
MISSION & VISION
The mission of SOMArts is to promote and nurture art on the community level, and to foster an appreciation of and respect for all cultures. Founded in 1979, SOMArts embraces the entire spectrum of arts practice and cultural identity, and it is beloved in San Francisco as a truly multicultural, community-built space where cutting-edge events and counterculture commingle with traditional art forms.
FACILITIES
South of Market Cultural Center, 934 Brannan Street (3 administrative offices, 99-seat expandable black box theater, darkroom, printmaking, ceramics and dance studios, 3 classrooms, Bay Gallery, Main Gallery).
AUDIENCES/CONSTITUENTS ANNUALLY SERVED
Audiences: 40,000 on-site, 450,000+ through technical support of city fairs and festivals
Arts and Cultural Organizations: 80+ Bay Area nonprofits
Artists: over 1000 visual and performing artists
Schools: 25–40 schools in the Bay Area
Students and teachers: over 1,000 students (grades K–12) and 40 teachers, local universities and college students
SELECTED INSTITUTIONAL HIGHLIGHTS
In 2008-09, SOMArts partnered with Philanthropy by Design, Rebuilding Together and more than 150 volunteers to repair and renovate the lobby, theater and garden at SOMArts. This support allowed SOMArts to invest in new ADA-compliant risers for the theater as well as lighting and sound equipment, and to install the new RAMP Gallery space in the reception area.
In 2010, funded by the Western States Arts Federation, SOMArts produced “It’s All A Blur,” a major touring exhibition featuring the work of San Francisco Masters who blur the lines between identity, politics and sexuality in their reimagining of the American Dream. The exhibition will tour to Reno and Las Vegas and will be part of the Time-Based Art Festival in Portland in 2011.
In 2010, SOMArts collaborated with the San Francisco Art Institute’s City Studios program to renovate its ceramics studio and begin offering free classes to students age 12-18.
In 2010-11, with support from the Creative Work Fund, SOMArts partnered with artists Peter Foucault and Chris Treggiari to develop the Mobile Arts Platform, a mobile sculpture that serves the community through a series of curated exhibitions by local artists at neighborhood fairs and festivals.
In 2011, SOMArts is collaborating with the Bay Area Video Coalition to launch the Neighborhood News Network and offer a three-month class in video journalism.
SOMArts is supported by the San Francisco Arts Commission’s Community Arts and Education Program with funding from Grants for the Arts/The Hotel Tax Fund.
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- Upcoming Events
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Life Cycles and Cosmic Death by Meryl Pataky
Wed. 04/24 | 7:00PM - Sun. 05/26 @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
Meryl Pataky creates a discussion of beginnings and endings by introducing cyclical imagery and concepts of existence. Pataky blends psychological and biological themes to bring attention to a…more»
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underCurrents & the Quest for Space exhibition by APICC & AAWAA
Thu. 05/02 | 12:00PM - Sat. 05/25 | 7:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
underCurrents & the Quest for Space is a multidisciplinary arts exhibition and discussion investigating the space occupied by Asian America, socially, artistically and physically. Asian Americ…more»
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Opening Reception for underCurrents & the Quest for Space
Thu. 05/02 | 5:00PM - Sat. 05/25 | 8:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
Celebrate the opening reception of underCurrents & the Quest for Space, a multidisciplinary arts exhibition and discussion investigating the space occupied by Asian America, socially, artistic…more»
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Special Edition: Selected Works by Moholy Ground Photographers
Mon. 05/27 | 7:00PM - Mon. 06/24 @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
This body of work, curated by Editor-In-Chief Rachel Kennedy, showcases three photographers who exemplify the scope of style and mastery of form fostered at Moholy Ground. Margo Moritz is a Sa…more»
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Emerging Artists 101: From The Coffee Shop to the Solo Show
Tue. 05/28 | 6:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
Come to this ArtSpan professional development workshop to learn tips and tricks that can further your career as a visual artist from Joshua Coffy, an visual artist working primarily in acrylic…more»
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KSW Runway: Celebrate Your Body
Fri. 05/31 | 7:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
Kearny Street Workshop (KSW) is showcasing emerging Asian Pacific American designers and stylists from the Bay Area in another chapter of KSW Runway: Celebrate Your Body. This fashion show emb…more»
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Zeitgeist exhibition opening reception
Sat. 06/01 | 3:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
Celebrate the spirit of our time with spirits and snacks and an artist market featuring exhibiting artists & allies at Zeitgeist, the visual arts centerpiece of the National Queer Arts Festiva…more»
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Prime group exhibition
Sat. 06/01 | 6:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
Join the artists of Prime for the opening reception of their first group exhibition! Their work ranges from abstract to classical figurative, landscape to contemporary, and everything in betwe…more»
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The News: Fresh, Queer Performance, special edition This Is What I Hate
Tue. 06/04 | 7:30PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
The News is the new place to see fresh, queer performance by Bay Area artists. On the first Tuesday of each month The News will spotlight performance pieces, experiments, and works in progress…more»
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Free Curatorial Walk-through of Zeitgeist exhibition
Sat. 06/15 | 1:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
Join curators Pamela Peniston, Matt McKinley, Rudy Lemcke, Tina Takemoto and Jackie Francis for an informal, guided tour and to discuss the work in this year’s National Queer Arts Festival vis…more»
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Hyphen Magazine’s 25th Issue and 10 Year Anniversary Kick-Off
Sun. 06/30 | 7:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
About Hyphen: Founded in 2002, Hyphen is a nonprofit media organization illuminating Asian America through hard-hitting investigative features on the cultural and political trends shaping the…more»
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Susan Greene & Laurie Amat live painting & music
Sun. 07/07 | 1:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
If you visit the exhibition Performing Community on a Saturday you’re in for a special treat! Muralist Susan Greene will be completing a mural from her “Bending Over Backwards” series live in …more»
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Electronic Pacific Opening Reception & Film Screening
Fri. 07/12 | 6:00PM - Sat. 08/17 | 9:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
SOMArts Cultural Center presents Electronic Pacific, a group exhibition that investigates the impact of electronic and digital communication on intercultural exchange. Local and international …more»
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Community Archive Workshop with NODE
Sun. 07/14 | 1:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
Join NODE (Network of Daily Experience) researchers in the gallery during the Performing Community exhibition for an archiving workshop that will delve deeper into the history, present issues …more»
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Julianne Quimby in the Ramp Gallery
Wed. 07/17 | 7:00PM - Tue. 07/30 @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
As an attempt to capture the unique visual and social landscapes of Portugal, Spain, and Israel, the series The Preservation of Summer by artist Julianne Quimby, utilizes the visual language i…more»
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Dunes, Trains and Beer: The Buried History of SOMA is at capacity!
Sun. 07/21 | 1:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
Please note: The walking tour is now at capacity. As with many free events, some people who RSVP’d in advance will not show up. Please feel free to arrive as early as noon to be placed on the …more»
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Closing Reception for Performing Community
Fri. 07/26 | 7:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
Join us for the closing reception for Performing Community, one of four 2011-2012 Commons Curatorial Residencies. In Performing Community curators Laura Poppiti and Kara Q. Smith connect artis…more»
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The Ramp Gallery exhibits black & white portraiture by Claudia Marquez
Thu. 08/01 | 7:00PM - Tue. 08/20 @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
Nicolas Gonzalez, Jonathan Perez, Minhaz Khan, Isaac Barrera, and Luis Serrano came to America when they were young boys and have grown up to be inspiring activists that hope and fight for equ…more»
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La Cocina’s Food and Entrepreneurship Conference
Mon. 08/19 | 10:00AM - Tue. 08/20 | 4:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
Join La Cocina for our third annual Food & Entrepreneurship Conference, providing 200+ attendees a chance to celebrate how faces, spaces, policies and technologies come together to create an e…more»
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Seamus Harte Re-imagines Use of Public Space Outside of SOMArts
Sat. 09/21 | 12:00PM - Sun. 09/22 | 7:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
This creative film This Eight Feet looks into the burgeoning Park(ing) Day movement, an annual worldwide event where artists, designers and citizens transform metered parking spots into tempor…more»
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Makers, Mimosas & Matinees: An Afternoon of Creative Workshops + Film Screenings
Sun. 09/22 | 12:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
Whether you fancy yourself a maker, artist or craftsperson, or have two left thumbs when it comes to creative production, you can try something new alongside some of the Bay Area’s most talent…more»
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Closing Reception for Calling on the Spirits to Face the Future: Día de los Muerto...
Sun. 11/10 | 6:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
Join the artists & curators behind Calling on the Spirits to Face the Future: Dia de los Muertos 2012 for the final opportunity to view and interact with more than 40 elaborate, traditional al…more»
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Chrysalis Print Studio Open House & Group Show
Fri. 11/15 | 7:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to visit Chrysalis Print Studio at SOMArts, enjoy fresh-off-the-press fine art prints including linocuts, monotype, and monoprints and see demonstrations …more»
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Audible Observatories
Sat. 11/16 | 5:00PM - Mon. 11/18 | 10:00PM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
Ethnographic Terminalia is a curatorial collective that hosts an annual exhibition of international artists and researchers working at the intersection of art and anthropology. In November 201…more»
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Discussion & Performance to Accompany Audible Observatories
Sun. 11/17 | 10:45AM @ SOMArts Cultural Center (map)
Karen Barad coined the term “intra-action” to get beyond the metaphysics of individualism underpinning conventional understandings of “interactions.” Intra-actions involve the mutual constitut…more»
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- Past Events
