North Beach First Fridays

It’s called North Beach First Fridays, an initiative that makes it possible to involve small and large businesses with hundreds of people who attend and experience this vibrant neighborhood every weekend.

 

First Friday’s mission is to activate, promote and support the visual artists, art galleries and merchants of San Francisco’s North Beach community, by connecting and cultivating a wider audience to the quaint histories, unmatched character, and cutting-edge visions of the artists and venues that span the neighborhood.

 

With regards to the community this is a unique chance to marvel in the vibrant art scene that awaits them right outside their doorstep. Participating galleries stay open until 9pm and offer drinks, live music, poetry, meetings with local artists, and entertainment for the guests.

This event is for the neighborhood, by the neighborhood, an opportunity that is not to be missed to join your fellow North Beach residents and support the local arts community.

 

This is the complete list of galleries and art spaces participating in the event:

•Arata Fine Art Gallery – 450 Columbus Avenue www. ArataFineArtGallery.com

•Canessa Gallery – 708 Montgomery Street www.canessa.org

•Focus Gallery – 1534 Grant Avenue www.FocusGallerySF. org

•Craig Fonarow Photography – 527 Columbus Avenue www. fonarow.com

•Gallery 454 – 454 Columbus Ave. www.gallery454.com

•Live Worms – 1345 Grant Avenue 

•Macchiarini Creative Designs – 1544 Grant Avenue www. macreativedesign.com

•Make Hang Gallery – 450 Green Street www.akehang.com

•Modern Eden –  403 Francisco Street www.ModernEden.com

Other venues:

•Stella’s Pastries Artwork on loan from Arata Gallery

•Sweeties – 475 Francisco Street

•The Beat Museum – 540 Broadway www.thebeatmuseum.org

•Cykel – 548 Union Street–www.cykelsf.com –

•The Emerald Tablet – 80 Fresno Street- www.emtab.org

•Poetry Reading – The Poet’s Gallery, 526 Columbus Ave@ Caffé Roma Every Friday 7-9PM

 

Last Friday, May 4th, participating venues were even more with three show openings at  1314 Collective boutique and gallery, Make Hang Art Gallery and The Emerald Tablet (with a Botanica Magica night), two other opening receptions at Craig Fonarow’s Gallery (Photographs of Cuba by Micheal Johnson) and Macchiarini’s Creative Designs (Homage to Ancestors), finally with an informal reception and exhibit at Tattoo Bagaloo “Babe Show: Pinups by Jen Oaks”.

All shows and expositions will be on display for the whole or part of the month, and will be replaced with new works of First Friday night events.

 

For the month of May, Arata Fine Art Gallery will feature recent works by Linda Ryan. Also on exhibit: “Cityscapes” — a Group show featuring the works of Donna Covey, Amy Lung, Leo Bugel, Jaime Longa, Heidi Mann, Robert Evans, Arata, and Jason Lukus.

 

Focus Gallery’s exhibit was on RC, a reclusive North Beach artist. His paintings are a conspicuous collection of colors and lines done with oil on canvas. His works come in two distinct types; large linear depictions of various vintage vignettes, or small cartoons with musing meanings.

 

Macchiarini Creative Design and The Metal Arts Guild proudly present: “Homage to Ancestors” — A juried/invitational exhibition of contemporary wearable metal art pieces and sculpture, where artists have re-imagined the work of artists who have passed, in homage and dedication to the practices which inform their own. The show runs through June 8, 2012.

 

“Botanica Magica” by The Emerald Tablet is a celebration of nature’s sensuous creativity and eccentricity, as seen by San Francisco artist Della Heywood in her multi-layered pastel, ink, watercolor and oil paintings. Large canvases entice us to visit secret paradises painted at ant’s eye views. Sweeping strokes of black sumi-e ink transform into living botanical gestures, enhanced by touches of rich color. The show runs through May 27th 2012.

 

Live Worms Gallery will show a retrospective of Italian artist Lucia Gonnella, running May 21 – May 27. Live Worms Gallery was created in early 2003 by Kevin Brown, an abstract painter and a former airline pilot. This raw and historical space was immediately embraced by all art worms from North Beach and beyond. It is being recognized as the artists’ paradise where artistic expressions can be transformed into conceptual, realism, modern or traditional walk-in canvas. Live Worms Gallery is one of the signature galleries to put North Beach First Fridays as the Art First Friday.

 

North Beach Business District association claims: “We are committed to the cross-pollination of art, audience, entertainment and community. We encourage our neighboring merchants of all kinds to invest in the development of our district by also opening doors, and participating in this monthly event — a collaborative community effort to awaken locals and visitors alike to the art and energy that is the heart and soul of North Beach”.

 

Don’t forget, each month the North Beach Business District will collectively open its doors, encouraging residents, visitors and tourists to explore and appreciate the ever-growing collections of art and entertainment that diversify and energize this neighborhood.