Muses: Art + Community

We went to an ArtSpan panel discussion last Thursday on “Hyperlocal Art & Community: Collecting Art in the Bay Area.” Important and profound issues were raised: our housing crisis—making it difficult for artists to work in the area, reaching collectors who support emerging artists, and encouraging collectors to explore the full Bay Area ecosystem from Sonoma to San Jose. The panel was part of a preview night for their Benefit Auction this past Saturday. We were moved by what we heard and saw and wanted to pass on some of the inspirations and a few on-topic new ones. Stay tuned for a sequel when we explore some South Bay discoveries in May.

SUPPORT
The programs of Creative Sonoma for artists and students impacted by the recent wildfires

VISIT
Black and White Projects, a welcoming space in the Mission District for humans to connect and experience interdisciplinary work of artists from the Bay Area and beyond

SEE
Public art in Sonoma

LISTEN
Known for mixing musical genres and guest artists, and connecting with an international community of like-minded souls, we're loving Thievery Corporation's new release: Voyage Libre (feat. blissful French vocals of LouLou Ghelichkhani and a surreal visualization of her emotional space) on the upcoming album, Treasures from the Temple (mark your calendar, it launches April 20)

EAT
Swiss chard enchiladas at the community patio tables outside at El Molino Central, Boyes Hot Springs, where they make art out of nixtamalized corn

WATCH
If Cities Could Dance, the personal stories about artists and their deep-rooted relationships to their community (mark your calendar, the new online video series premieres April 10)

QUOTE
“The only true voyage would be not to travel through a hundred different lands with the same pair of eyes, but to see the same lands through a hundred different pairs of eyes.”
~ Marcel Proust

APRIL 2 JUST ADDED
VISIT
Past and Future Connections to Pond Farm Pottery. April 7 opening reception, Sebastopol. The show explores how the lives of the Pond Farmers (Bauhaus-trained master potter Marguerite Wildenhain and her students), an intentional community-building colony, were transformed by their experiences.

If So What? Art Fair is a new immersive event celebrating art, design, music, and innovation inspired by the creative communities in the Bay Area and internationally. April 26-29 at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco