Celebrating Lower Nob Hill's Arts Community
One of the things I love most about Lower Nob Hill is that there is always something fun and creative happening just around the corner. A gallery opening tucked inside a beautiful historic building. Live jazz or a local DJ spinning vinyls in a cool bar. An artist sharing their work with someone who wandered in off the street.
This month marks the beginning of a new series from the Lower Nob Hill Neighborhood Alliance celebrating the artists, galleries, exhibitions, pop-ups, and creatives that give Lower Nob Hill its unique cultural identity.
Rather than simply listing upcoming events, I want to tell the stories behind the artists, galleries, and creative spaces shaping our neighborhood.
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What is SF First Thursdays?
If you've never been, this is the month to check it out.
SF First Thursdays is an Art Walk that takes place on the first Thursday of every month from 6:00 to 10:00 PM. Admission is free.
SF First Thursdays brings together galleries, artist-run spaces, and local businesses throughout Lower Nob Hill, the Tenderloin, and Lower Polk for a shared evening of art, culture, and community. You'll discover new exhibitions, meet artists, and wander into places you may have walked past a hundred times without ever stepping inside.
It's a great way to meet local artists, curators, and neighbors. The exhibitions change every month, so there's always something new to discover.
The Art Walk Continues to Evolve
SF First Thursdays exists to create an accessible platform where artists and creative spaces can present work, connect with new audiences, and strengthen San Francisco's independent arts scene.
This year marks a new chapter for the Art Walk.
First Thursday has existed in various forms for decades. Its most recent iteration was shaped by organizers including Nico Schwieterman at Fleetwood and John Vochatzer at Moth Belly Gallery, who helped sustain and expand the event over the past decade. Today, SF First Thursdays is organized collectively by the participating galleries themselves, reflecting a community-driven and shared commitment to the future of the downtown SF art scene.
Earlier this year, Hotel Emblem on Sutter Street joined the monthly Art Walk. This month, the Academy of Art University joins with two exhibition spaces on Sutter, including The Art That Writes Itself (AI for the Visual Artist) at 625 Sutter Street.
The exhibition explores how artists are using artificial intelligence as a creative medium and invites visitors to think about the changing relationship between technology and artistic expression.
Another recent addition is Art Space at Lower Polk at 1170 Sutter Street.
The space will feature work by more than fifteen local artists during the Art Walk. It's another great stop and a welcome addition to the growing creative corridor along Sutter Street.
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Gallery Spotlights
If you haven't had a chance to see Aina Clotas: The Backwards Race, this Thursday is the last opportunity before the exhibition closes. Barcelona-born painter Aina Clotas creates figurative paintings that move between realism and abstraction, using the human body to explore memory, emotion, identity, and uncertainty.
Opening this Saturday, Ryan Graff Contemporary presents Dialogues, featuring paintings by David M. Ball and Ilya Shkipin.
Although their painting styles are very different, both artists explore how images are transformed through photography, digital media, memory, and finally into paint. Their work asks what remains of the human figure after those layers of interpretation.
Artist reception Saturday, August 8, from 5 to 9 PM.
One opening I'm especially looking forward to this First Thursday is Gentle Marks in Loud Places.
The exhibition brings together three artists whose work has quietly become part of San Francisco's visual landscape: Jeremy Novy, Velvet Bandit, and Ian the Meow.
If you've spent much time walking around San Francisco, you've probably seen their work. Jeremy Novy's fish, Ian the Meow's cats, and Velvet Bandit's distinctive pieces have become part of the city's visual language.
Seeing all three artists together in one gallery should make this one of the standout exhibitions of the month.
Jeremy Novy will also be leading stencil workshops on August 8 and 9 for anyone interested in learning directly from one of the Bay Area's best-known street artists.
Another stop you won't want to miss is Low Key Skate Shop, where Max Marttila has once again teamed up with the crew at Low Key to present The Second Annual Western Tenderloin Science Fair: Part 2 – The Redux.
Expect an eclectic group exhibition featuring some of San Francisco's most experimental and boundary-pushing artists.
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Don't Miss
While you're walking, pop into Propagation on Post and Hyde for a delicious libation. Part cocktail bar, part indoor jungle, part gallery, featuring artwork tucked amongst the plants. This month features the Listening Project with MP3.
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Plan Your Evening
There are 15+ galleries and art spaces participating in the Art Walk, plus a number of rotating venues and neighborhood spaces that are waiting to be discovered.
I've included the official SF First Thursdays Art Walk map with this newsletter, and printed maps will also be available at participating galleries throughout the evening.
For the latest gallery list, exhibitions, and updates, visit:
Website
@sffirstthursdays
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Hope to see you out there.
Nick Neumann
Board Member, Lower Nob Hill Neighborhood Alliance
