Past Events

APICC presents Grow Our Souls opening reception

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

On Friday, April 29, 6–9 PM PST, Grow Our Souls will be hosting a free opening reception followed by an in-person and virtual panel featuring Dr. Susette Min, Grow Our Souls curator Melissa Wang, and exhibiting artists. The panel will be live-streamed and recorded to APICC's YouTube channel and ASL interpretation will be available for both the in-person panel and stream. Capacity for this event is limited and guests are encouraged to RSVP in advance. [...]

QCC presents Vaz A Ver / You Will See Opening Reception

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

A prediction, a prophecy, a promise, a threat. Move through this portal and bathe in divine visions for our collective queer, trans, and two-spirit post future now. Vaz A Ver/ You Will See’s opening night with a series of performances, dance, music and ceremony. Exhibiting Artists Val Campean Irina Contreras Alex De La Mareas Demian DinéYazhi´ Gaudmother Edgar Fabian Frias Tge. Galéon Avé-Ameenah Long Naima Lowe Frances Mead Astrid Mejia Victoria Montaña MXCT: Monical Canilao [...]

Free – $25

HORIZON/you hold my shape Opening Reception and Performance

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

HORIZON/you hold my shape is the first iteration of a large-scale video installation, performance, and sculpture series, as conceived by yétúndé ọlágbajú. This exhibition includes family photographs and written words by the artist’s parents. ọlágbajú’s father is from Ilé-Ifẹ̀ where, according to Yoruba tradition, a Golden Chain was said to have dropped, leading to the creation of humans. Join us for a free, all ages reception on Saturday, July 30, 7–9 PM PST as we [...]

Free

2022 Murphy & Cadogan Opening Reception and Awards Ceremony

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

SOMArts is proud to partner with the San Francisco Foundation to present the 2022 Murphy and Cadogan Contemporary Art Awards Exhibition, a focused look at the future of the Bay Area visual arts. Join us for a free, all-ages opening reception and awards ceremony on Friday, September 9, 6–9 PM PST! Murphy Award Gericault De La Rose, University of California Berkeley Cadogan Award Irma Yuliana Barbosa, University of California Berkeley Carolina Cuevas, California College of [...]

Free

To Love and Be Loved in Return: Exhibition Unveiling and Opening Reception

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

Curated by Rio Yañez and Anaís Azul, To Love and Be Loved in Return: Día de Los Muertos 2022 exemplifies how the love between us and our dead continue to help us to navigate the world. This year, artists to reflect on how those we have lost have taught us to love and be loved in return. As we navigate a world troubled with war and injustice, we are more connected to each other than [...]

Free

Amorcito Corazón: Día de Los Muertos Drag Show

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

SOMArts' Día de Los Muertos drag show is back on Friday, October 21, 8–9:30 PM, $10 suggested donation! Join new and returning drag artists as they embody their experiences of queer resilience, love, and individuality through a night of tender, powerful performance. Amorcito Corazón features performances by Kochina Rude La Chucha Dulce de Leche Bonita Amoura Teesse Lulu Ramirez Per Sia   Health & Safety: We require all guests to present proof of full [...]

To Love and Be Loved in Return: Día de Los Muertos 2022 Closing Reception

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

Join us for the closing reception of this year’s Día de Los Muertos exhibition on Friday, November 4, 6–9 PM PST, $10 suggested donation! This can’t-miss event features musical performances by Anaís Azul and Joyous, and Day of the Dead vendor market. Curated by Rio Yañez and Anaís Azul, To Love and Be Loved in Return: Día de Los Muertos 2022 exemplifies how the love between us and our dead continue to help us to navigate [...]

$10

The Indigo Project Opening Reception

As part of SOMArts' 12th Curatorial Residency season, The Indigo Project opens with a free, all-ages exhibition unveiling on December 9, 6–9 PM PST. Curated by Bushmama Africa and Isha Rosemond, this landmark multidisciplinary exhibition centers Black artists and their stories as means to combat the erasure of African American history, culture, and creativity. Informed by academic research, decades of traditional African spiritual initiation, and the ethics of communal collaboration, The Indigo Project unravel narratives [...]

The Indigo Project: Denim Camp

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

Led by Lucumi Priestess and Independent Curator Bushmama Africa, the Denim Camp invites participants to create unique denim pieces that will be placed in “The Indigo Project” archive.Participants are walked through contextual research and ancestral memory practices before learning and practicing the technical skills necessary to upcycle their textiles into new adornments. Isha Rosemond will be using the materials made from this workshop to create an online archive that serves as a public point of reference.This [...]

Free

SOMArts presents Hey Chica!! Comedy Variety Show

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

Hey Chica!! is a comedy variety show that aims to capture the feeling of the unlikely, beautiful friendship between you, an exceptional freak, and that girl in school who would greet everyone with a "HEY CHICA!!" every single day — weird, but fun. Hosted by the two first ever bipolar lesbians with IBS in history, Amanda-Faye Jimenez and Lauren White. Accessibility Reach out to [email protected] to inquire about specific accessibility needs Performances by Ta'vi, [...]

The Indigo Project: Ancestral Reverence Revival Virtual Artist Panel

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

On Thursday, February 2, 6–7 PM PST, join The Indigo Project Co-Curator & Lucumi Priestess Bushmama Africa and Co-Curator & Founder of the Black Freedom Fellowship Isha Rosemond for a free, all-ages virtual event! Alongside exhibiting artists Stephen Hamilton, Sasha Kelly, Bryan Keith Thomas, and Rachel Parrish, this virtual artist talk and communal conversation explores the role of ancestral reverence within Black & Indigenous arts practices. In the Lucumi tradition, February 2 is the [...]

Free

Muni Raised Me Opening Reception

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

Join curators Meymey Lee, Sasha Vu, and Celi Tamayo-Lee for the opening of Muni Raised Me on Thursday, February 23, 6–9 PM PST! Featuring San Francisco-born and raised artists and community organizers, this free, all-ages celebration also showcases a customized Muni bus. Attendees are welcome to bring offerings, stories, and prayers to the bus altar installation. RSVP today! AccessibilityReach out to [email protected] to inquire about specific accessibility needsHealth & SafetyMasks are recommended when guests are [...]

Free

Muni Raised Me presents Pop Culture was Black Culture First

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

As part of the Muni Raised Me exhibition programs, join us on Friday, March 17, 7–10 PM PST for Pop Culture was Black Culture First! This free, all ages event features SF-rooted rappers like Qing Qi, The Jealous Guys, and A-1, and an artist market. Pop Culture was Black Culture First is a practical and spiritual act of honoring Black people as the nucleus of so much of Frisco’s culture. About Muni Raised Me [...]

Free

Muni Raised Me Closing Reception: Hyphy Ever After

SOMArts’ Muni Raised Me closes with Hyphy Ever After on Friday, April 7, 6PM PST! Hyphy Ever After features a Vogue and Tone dance workshop with SirJoQ, musical performance by Maya Songbird, local vendors, and dance party with FNG DJs. This celebration embodies the queer, trans, and artistic legacies that have shaped this home and continue to combat capitalism with joy and love. About the Exhibition Curated by Meymey Lee, Sasha Vu, and Celi [...]

Water.Bodies.Land

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

Water.Bodies.Land is a fiscally sponsored program with music by Amie Cota and choreography by Sarah Crowell with Nicole Klaymoon. This two-day performance event weaves together poetry, music, and dance in celebration of the Black female body and our place in the natural world. Performance dates Thursday, July 14, 7:30 PM Friday, July 15, 3:00 PM & 7:30 PM Get your ticket today! Featuring Amie Cota Sarah Crowell Clarissa Dyas Ny’Aja Roberson Makhissa Sano Nakachi [...]

Node Mulch

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

Node Mulch is a free, public exhibition of new work from London-based artist John Walter created during his tenure as inaugural QBI artist-in-residence. For this work, Walter partnered with QBI scientist Antoine Forget, and the exhibition is curated by Glen Helfand, critic and chair of Graduate Curatorial Practice at California College of the Arts. Node Mulch will be open from July 26-30 at the SOMArts Cultural Center. The exhibition consists of multiple events, so make [...]

In This House We Are All Buried Alive Opening Reception

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

Celebrate the opening reception of Paola de la Calle's In This House We Are All Buried Alive on Friday, July 28, 7:30–10:00 PM PST. Drawing inspiration from Colombian poet María Mercedes Carranza’s piece “La Patria” (“The Motherland”), De la Calle threads together personal and collective memory to repair the ruptures of historical amnesia. Through her multidisciplinary practice, her debut solo exhibition examines the relationship between power and memory. What becomes the memory of a culture? Of [...]

In This House We Are All Buried Alive Closing Reception

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

Join us for the closing reception of Paola de la Calle's In This House We Are All Buried Alive on Thursday, August 24, 6:30–9:00 PM at SOMArts Cultural Center. This gathering features an artist talk between Paola de la Calle and poet, installation and adornment artist Dr. Alan Pelaez Lopez and free community portraits by photographer Lara Kaur. RSVP today!   Paola de la Calle is a Colombian-American multidisciplinary [...]

Calaveritas de Amor: Día de Los Muertos Drag Show

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

Get your tickets to Calaveritas de Amor: Día de Los Muertos Drag Show, Friday, October 20, 8–9:30 PM, a special evening of remembrance. Curated and hosted by beloved queen Per Sia, join new and returning drag artists as they embody their experiences of queer resilience, love, and individuality through a night of tender, powerful performance. Get your tickets! Tickets $10 general admission RSVP today, this event may sell out! Calaveritas de Amor: Día [...]

$10

The Hummingbird’s Visit Closing Reception

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

Join us for the closing reception of this year’s Día de Los Muertos exhibition on Friday, November 3, 6–9 PM PST! Curated by Rio Yañez and Bridgétt Rex, The Hummingbird's Visit: Día de Los Muertos 2023 honors, celebrates, and mourns those whose work, vision, and brilliance have helped to shape our lives. Tickets $10 general admission, youth 16 years old and under free NOTAFLOF at the door Dedication This year's exhibition is dedicated to [...]

$10

Reclaiming Our Image through Muralism and Photograpahy

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

On Friday, February 9, 6–9 PM, join Palestinian artists Lara Aburamadan, Chris Gazaleh, and Roula Seikaly for a free, all ages film screening, conversation, and artwork presentation. Reclaiming Our Image through Muralism and Photography is presented by SOMArts in collaboration with Bay Area Palestinian artists. This program is intended to affirm the role of the arts in collective liberation. Reel Bad Arabs: How Hollywood Vilifies a People (Sut Jhally, 2006) serves as a starting point [...]

Free

Dancing the Afrofuture Book Launch

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

Dancing the Afrofuture: Hula, Hip-Hop, and the Duhman Legacy. Published with the University Press of Florida, the book is forthcoming in February 2024 and will be available for purchase at the event. The launch features a book reading by Dr. Osumare and performances by PUSH dance company. Dancing the Afrofuture: Hula, Hip-Hop, and the Dunham Legacy is the sequel to Dancing in Blackness, A Memoir (2018). It chronicles the next stage in Halifu Osumare’s life [...]

$10

The Black Woman is God: Assembly of Gods Opening Reception

SOMArts is proud to present The Black Woman is God: Assembly of Gods, a multidisciplinary exhibition with free admission from August 30–October 2, 2018, celebrating the Black female presence as the highest spiritual form. More than 50 intergenerational artists working in sculpture, painting, new media, and photography create new myths to challenge Eurocentric notions of God. Now in its third year at SOMArts, the exhibition’s theme represents the various spiritual traditions of the African diaspora that encourage members of the Black [...]

HOMIES & HOMOS: SOMArts Dance Party Fundraiser

SOMArts Cultural Center 934 Brannan Street, San Francisco, CA, United States

Kick off 415 Day weekend with HOMIES & HOMOS: SOMArts Dance Party Fundraiser on Friday, April 12, 7–11 PM PST! This all-ages, intergenerational celebration raises crucial funds for SOMArts’ René Yañez Legacy Fund, which supports artist fees for emerging and mid-career artists as well as the renovation of the garden that René so lovingly tended. Yes, I'll be there! Hosted by Per Sia and curated by Muni Raised Me’s Meymey Lee, Sasha Vu, and [...]

$20
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