The San Francisco Art Fair returned last week amid a cataclysm of news ranging from dastardly to jubilant concerning the state of the arts in the Bay Area (institutional closures, new nonprofits, and charter reform). Walking among so many for whom these changes are top of mind, it took time to get a sense of how it all landed. Panels, stalls, and interactive projects accumulated into a singular experience, and I discerned that things are better than the consensus may realize. The high volume of red dot stickers, the liveliness of the conversation, both casual and organized, and the obvious curatorial care indicated a system running as it should. The range of entry points for visitors was thoughtfully designed, painting a picture of a community that still has much to show for itself. This fair was about more than just selling work.
Out of about 90 stalls in the Fort Mason building, 32 were Bay Area-based, 24 were from elsewhere in California, 14 were from out of state, and 18 were international — a mix that signals continued confidence in San Francisco as a cultural hub, despite a prevailing online narrative of “doom loops” and artist flight.
Extra-commercial programming was impressive. Anida Yoeu Ali offered a creative approach to undermining Islamophobia with The Red Chador: Becoming Rogue, an interactive exhibit inviting viewers to “try on a uniquely crafted Islamic garment seldom accessible to nonreligious viewers,” according to the fair’s website. Families lined up outside the stall to step into a bright red photo booth framed by a yellow Islamic arch. Visitors could later retrieve printed portraits styled like magazine covers, bearing headlines such as “Not Your Orientalism” and “Bold, Iconic, and Hypervisible.”
A standout exhibition came via Good Mother Gallery out of Oakland. Chad Hasegawa presented Hawaiian Love Song (featured above), a multipaneled painting wrapping the inside of a 15-foot-wide, 6-foot-tall stall, recalling vintage abstraction. Large red circles hovered across a butter-yellow field of stretched canvas. The viewer was fully enveloped by the installation, a rest for both the eyes and the mind. “We wanted to bring ART to the fair,” Hasegawa said.
Two large stalls stood like pavilions, akin to those at prestigious fairs: the BAIA (Black Art In America) Fine Art Print Fair, and Da Da Daam, presented by the Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco. Both drew constant foot traffic, offering works that captured a local verve at attainable price points.
I attended several talks and found it notable that audience members walked directly onto the stage afterward to introduce themselves and talk shop. In a city this large, it’s striking that critics, curators, and program directors remain approachable enough to engage directly with attendees.
Ted Barrow, a local art history Ph.D. and skateboarding/architecture fanatic, moderated a tense discussion on public space and the art that occupies it. Panelists included Building 180’s Shannon Riley (whose projects have drawn criticism from Barrow), artist Mildred Howard, KQED’s Sarah Hotchkiss, and Angela Carrier of the San Francisco Arts Commission.
The discussion was weighed down by prior contentions, making it difficult to identify a clear ethos about where the city is headed. What did emerge was a shared experience of hostility, and the reality that providing public art is, in Riley’s words, “really, really hard.” That sentiment seemed lost on the audience. During the Q. & A., several attendees voiced frustrations about artworks in their neighborhoods rather than asking questions. Even the ever-composed Howard noted that a glass piece she installed in downtown San Francisco had a bullet hole in it, remarking, “Americans don’t respect public art.” When asked what keeps her going, Carrier initially said, “I don’t know.…” before adding, “The artists!”
While it wasn’t explicitly articulated during the panel, everyone on stage circled the same idea: Artists make the city livable and need support. At the end of the day, it’s people like those present who help artists make rent, and they have to take a lot of heat for doing so.
“The Future of Art Spaces in San Francisco” panel offered a different tone. Moderated by Dan Gentile of SFGate, it featured art-world powerhouse JD Beltran, Martin Strickland of Saint Joseph’s Arts Foundation, and PJ Gubatina Policarpio of Root Division. Policarpio and Strickland highlighted creative approaches to engagement strategies, from clothing swaps to mahjong nights. Beltran noted that San Francisco provides stronger institutional support than many realize, pointing to one dollar rent deals for organizations like ArtSpan and roughly $500,000 in annual Arts Commission funding.
On the role of fairs, Strickland observed that FOG Art Fair has effectively grown into “S.F. Art Week,” with satellite fairs expanding opportunities for artists and audiences alike. Policarpio added that Root Division designed the exhibition in the theater, down to the chairs, offering meaningful exhibition opportunities for their cohort.
Overall, the fair retained an approachable air with elegant programming and a casual, if not optimistic, tone. In a moment of high tension and rapid change for the city’s creative economy, something remains intact beneath the shifting ground.