New Immersive Art-Tech Space ‘TIAT’ Opens Downtown as Part of Mayor’s Revitalization Initiative
A new immersive art and technology venue called ‘TIAT’ has recently opened its doors in Union Square, marking a significant addition to Mayor Daniel Lurie’s ambitious ‘Heart of the City’ revitalization plan, which aims to establish at least five new storefronts in area within the initiative’s first 100 days.
The establishment represents one of several new businesses launched under the ‘Vacant to Vibrant’ program, a cultural and economic development initiative led day-to-day by local nonprofit SF New Deal that has activated more than 25 storefronts in the past two years, including pop-ups in Union Square, the Financial District, and the Market Street corridor.
“Union Square has long been a place where people come together, and TIAT is honored to contribute to its next chapter,” said Ash Herr, founder of TIAT. “This space will allow us to keep experimenting and building community at the intersection of art and technology.”
Visit the TIAT website and event calendar.
In an exclusive interview with TIAT’s founder, we explored the venue’s mission and the diverse programming it offers to the community.
What is the origin story of TIAT starting in 2023?
It’s pronounced tee-yat – it’s the intersection of art and technology. We’re a 501(c)(3) organization creating space for creative technologists to connect with each other and grow their practice. With the intersection of art and technology, we are the place for creative technologists in San Francisco.
Back [in 2023] I was kind of craving community around new media and creative technology. I started hosting these salon series where I got my friends to share what they were working on. When it started it was just an open forum inviting folks to share art projects that use technology as a medium. Since then, we’ve hosted it in a myriad of places. The Internet Archive has been our most consistent home for the past year or so. In addition to these salon styles, we’ve been hosting other programming. Earlier this year we tried our first exhibitions at Gray Area. We did an event called Playgrounds where people could interact with art installations. Thanks to Vacant to Vibrant, we’ve been able to turn the intersection of art and technology into an actual place. With this physical space, we’ve been able to ramp up our programming and host more exhibitions, meetups, and workshops all at the intersection of art and technology.
How did you decide to open your own space in 2025?
When I got the domain for tiat, tiat.place just felt right. I concluded every event we hosted by saying how the intersection of art and technology is a place in San Francisco. And now, it feels like we’ve manifested it. We applied to Vacant to Vibrant with our proposal to create a place for creative technology, and we’re so grateful for the opportunity to make this place actually real. It feels like a place that San Francisco needs.
What makes this Union Square event space unique and interesting?
Oh my god, it’s so special. The cable cars are right outside. So many people walk down this street. I love SF tourism. It feels like a constant reminder that we live in such a special city. People travel from all around the world to visit a place we get to live. It feels like such a privilege to showcase this part of San Francisco, the art and technology side of it, to people that don’t already know.
The artists that are in our gallery are so amazing, I’m excited for new people to experience new media art. Traditionally it hasn’t gotten much representation, especially in the art scene currently here in San Francisco. I’m really excited for the opportunity to show people what it is.
There are so many incredible things happening in this space. Right now, in about an hour, there’s a performance art piece on poetry and machines. He’s here in the space now setting up. Tomorrow is a watch party for a classic cybernetic anime from the 90’s. We also run an artist residency supported by the Mozilla Foundation, and run a workshop for it on Thursdays. On Friday, we have a live quartet violin performance. On Saturday we have a workshop on small websites encouraging folks to be cognizant of how much space you take up online. On Sunday, there’s a kinetic type workshop. On Sunday we’re hosting another salon at the Internet Archive. It’s one of our favorite events to host and people seem to really enjoy it.
What is TIAT’s maximum capacity for the space?
It depends on the format of the event. We can rearrange the space. If standing, we can host 150. If it’s sitting down, it’s a bit less. If a table is involved, it’s been around 35. Right now it’s been around that.
How did you build your community of participants and presenters?
It’s a combo of two things. One, I’m just obsessed with new media art. I don’t really talk about anything else. I quite literally seek it out in every interaction that I have with the outside world. I’m either in my bedroom or doing something adjacent to creative technology and new media art. Two, I also post about it online too, sharing what I discover about creative technology, other people’s practices, interesting things I find in the space. Some of the community is online built and cultivated through the videos I’ve been posting.
I’m also incredibly honored by the curation that we have in the gallery. It’s a combination of emergent creative practices, but also legacy ones. We have pioneering artists that founded new media art as it is today. It’s a true intersection. There’s a generational bridge and also a practice bridge. There are so many ways you can be an artist at the intersection of art and technology.
tiat is located at 151 Powell Street @ O’Farrell. Visit them from Wednesday – Friday, 12noon – 6pm and on Saturday from 11am – 5pm.
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