THIS EVENT HAS ENDED
Thu August 7, 2025 - Sun January 25, 2026

Bay Area Then

SEE EVENT DETAILS
What does it mean to live with possibility? To live in a moment when artists and citizens reject fear and find power in discovery? For those who came of age in the Bay Area with the apocalyptic uncertainty of nuclear proliferation and the AIDS crisis; the devastation of the Loma Prieta earthquake and the Oakland firestorm; the audacious acquittal of LAPD officers Koon, Wind, and Briseno and the disembodied destruction of the first Gulf War; the road was bleak. And yet the energy in the cultural sector at the time was electrified.

Today we again find ourselves at a moment of consequence in need of radical thought, civic action, and relentless imagination. From Arnold Kemp's bold letter forms to Alicia McCarthy's rapturous woven lines; from Margaret Kilgallen's intricate 2001 installation, Main Drag, to Rigo 23's insurgent mural after Goya, Terra Nullius, Bay Area Then brings together historic and new works by artists who shunned despair to instead assert their unique vitality, resourcefulness, and camaraderie.

Central to 1990s Bay Area was a complex web of artist-run and alternative spaces that served as essential outlets for gathering, listening, performing, and learning from each other. Photographs, ephemera, and artworks on view here were shared by many individuals and serve to document these spaces, their activities and the formative role of these initiatives in the art ecosystem.

Bay Area Then presents works by Nao Bustamante, Carolyn Castaño, Bill Daniel, Sergio De La Torre and Chris Treggiari, Beatrix Fowler, Mike "Dream" Francisco, Johanna Jackson, Chris Johanson and Ajax Oakford, Arnold Kemp, Margaret Kilgallen, Josh Lazcano, Alicia McCarthy, Barry McGee, Ruby Neri, Manuel Ocampo, Eamon Ore-Giron, Gina Osterloh, Rigo 23, Spie One, and others. Bay Area Then is organized by guest curator Eungie Joo.



Image Credit: Carolyn Castaño, Chondua (Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta), 2003
What does it mean to live with possibility? To live in a moment when artists and citizens reject fear and find power in discovery? For those who came of age in the Bay Area with the apocalyptic uncertainty of nuclear proliferation and the AIDS crisis; the devastation of the Loma Prieta earthquake and the Oakland firestorm; the audacious acquittal of LAPD officers Koon, Wind, and Briseno and the disembodied destruction of the first Gulf War; the road was bleak. And yet the energy in the cultural sector at the time was electrified.

Today we again find ourselves at a moment of consequence in need of radical thought, civic action, and relentless imagination. From Arnold Kemp's bold letter forms to Alicia McCarthy's rapturous woven lines; from Margaret Kilgallen's intricate 2001 installation, Main Drag, to Rigo 23's insurgent mural after Goya, Terra Nullius, Bay Area Then brings together historic and new works by artists who shunned despair to instead assert their unique vitality, resourcefulness, and camaraderie.

Central to 1990s Bay Area was a complex web of artist-run and alternative spaces that served as essential outlets for gathering, listening, performing, and learning from each other. Photographs, ephemera, and artworks on view here were shared by many individuals and serve to document these spaces, their activities and the formative role of these initiatives in the art ecosystem.

Bay Area Then presents works by Nao Bustamante, Carolyn Castaño, Bill Daniel, Sergio De La Torre and Chris Treggiari, Beatrix Fowler, Mike "Dream" Francisco, Johanna Jackson, Chris Johanson and Ajax Oakford, Arnold Kemp, Margaret Kilgallen, Josh Lazcano, Alicia McCarthy, Barry McGee, Ruby Neri, Manuel Ocampo, Eamon Ore-Giron, Gina Osterloh, Rigo 23, Spie One, and others. Bay Area Then is organized by guest curator Eungie Joo.



Image Credit: Carolyn Castaño, Chondua (Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta), 2003
read more
show less
   
EDIT OWNER
Owned by
{{eventOwner.email_address || eventOwner.displayName}}
New Owner

Update

EDIT EDIT
Links:
Event Details

Category:
Art, Museums

Date/Times:
701 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94103

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA EVENTS CALENDAR

TODAY
27
SATURDAY
28
SUNDAY
29
MONDAY
1
The Best Events
Every Week in Your Inbox

Thank you for subscribing!

Edit Event Details

I am the event organizer



Your suggestion is required.



Your email is required.
Not valid email!

    Cancel
Great suggestion! We'll be in touch.
Event reviewed successfully.

Success!

Your event is now LIVE on SF STATION

COPY LINK TO SHARE Copied

or share on


See my event listing


Looking for more visibility? Reach more people with our marketing services