883 artworks hung salon style at the De Young museum in San Francisco is a celebration of creative practice and recognition of artists across 10 counties. I celebrate the practice of opening formal exhibition spaces to honor local, regional voices and identities and I can’t wait to visit the show and to participate in some of the scheduled art making events facilitated by some of the artists whose work was selected.
I imagine that the the decision to honor locals with white walls was a difficult one for the museum administrators and was a stretch for staff to curate over 3,000 submissions, receive and then install the diversity of work. I am very happy to see that there is an intention to repeat the salon exhibition every 3 years. And, I will continue to submit a piece of work, feeling optimistic and then a bit bruised and discouraged for years into the future.
There are over 2,000 Bay Area Artists who, like me, submitted work and are faced with the disappointment. a group of artists in SF whose work was refused by the curators responded by hosting a pop up exhibition Salon des Refusés at the Four Chicken Gallery in SF. It made me think about all of the beauty and potential being kept a secret. I can’t help but dream and wonder about the potential of alternative venues and, I can’t help but dream of a much larger network of local exhibition spaces participating in this celebration of creative practices.
Proposal:
The DeYoung shared its archive of submissions with other institutions. Exhibition spaces make connections to the artists living in and working in their geographic zones continuing to select artworks following in the footsteps of the De Young, with artworks hung salon style, community events attached and robust percentage of sales going to the artist.
#deyoungopen www.famsf.org
Call to Action:
Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma Counties
Berkeley Art Museum (BAMPFA), Richmond Art Center, Sonoma Valley Museum of Art, Marin MOCA, Oakland Museum of California, Blackhawk Museum, Bedford Gallery at Lesher Center, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art (and many others)
I should have selected a larger scale piece. I should have submitted something with text on the surface. I should have….