Shipyard Open Studios 2021

Contact Name:
Barbara Ockel
Phone:
415-640-6626
E-mail:
barbara@shipyardtrust.org
Filed in:
Things to do near San Francisco, CA » Art » Visual-Arts

San Francisco's historic Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is the unique home of the country's largest artist community, with studios for over 300 artists. For more than 30 years, generations of art makers have painted, welded, and worked within the impressive industrial buildings of the old Shipyard, where colossal, decommissioned cranes rise dramatically along the shore of the San Francisco Bay. Threatened multiple times with eviction through the decades, the Hunters Point Shipyard Artists have managed, through vigorous protest and organizing, to gain recognition as a centerpiece of the Shipyard's current redevelopment and to ensure their community survives and thrives. Today, through the equity efforts of the nonprofit Shipyard Trust for the Arts (STAR), this artist collective represents an increasingly diverse array of BIPOC artists, including a growing number who were born and raised in neighboring Bayview Hunters Point.

Now, the Hunters Point Shipyard Artists offer the public an opportunity to explore this singular creative community in one fell swoop this fall during its Shipyard Open Studios, connecting with over one hundred art makers in their spaces and supporting them directly with purchases of their work. Open Saturday, October 23 and Sunday, October 24 from 11am-6pm, this is a rare chance for visitors to visit the Shipyard, which is only open to the public twice a year for artist events. The public is invited to drop in anytime over the weekend free of charge to enjoy this lively gathering of artists in their studios, located within six adjacent Shipyard buildings. Local food vendors and musical entertainment are planned as well. Parking is plentiful.

Shipyard Open Studios is also accompanied by a special Shipyard Artists Exhibition that will be celebrated with a festive artists reception October 7 from 6-9pm at the newly renovated Bayview Opera House. The free evening reception offers the public a chance to see examples of work by a majority of the artists participating in the Shipyard Open Studios all in one place, to meet and mingle with many of the makers, and enjoy refreshments at the outdoor bar and live entertainment. Free reservations for the reception can be made at shipyardartists.com. The exhibition will be on view at the Bayview Opera House September 30-October 31, 2021.

For those who prefer to browse and purchase art work virtually, the Hunters Point Shipyard Artists' website shipyardartists.com will host virtual stores in October.

"We are so thrilled to welcome the public to the Shipyard in person this fall," says Barbara Ockel, President/CEO of STAR. "The pandemic has been a blow to artists everywhere as opportunities to show work and engage with the public were all curtailed. Open Studios is a wonderful chance for art lovers to support and connect with local artists directly during these challenging times and to discover something new in the process, from our unique location to the creative voices of the many BIPOC and neighborhood artists who are now part of our collective."

Since 1995, STAR has actively worked to create connections to the neighboring Bayview Hunters Point community through Shipyard artist-led programs for children, youth and adults, as well as a robust artist-in-residence program that provides 18 months of studio space to artists from the community. Many of these artists have subsequently secured permanent studios at the Shipyard and will be participating in Open Studios this fall.

These include award-winning painter, draughtsman, muralist, sculptor, and illustrator Malik Seneferu, who was STAR's very first artist-in-residence and whose work has now shown globally, from New York to South Africa. "The Shipyard has been a great addition to my career from its early stages," says Seneferu. "I was 19 when I became the first artist to receive the residency, and I am extremely proud to be able to say that I now have a studio in my native community, where I share my creative experience with my neighbors and society at large."

Other participating residency artists include self-taught painter and muralist Ira Watkins and current artists-in-residence, artist/animator Ahmad Walker and wood carver/sculptor Hasseem Abdallah. Noted Nigeria-born painter Nina Fabunmi and mixed-media conceptual artist Afatasi the Artist also plan to participate in Open Studios, among many others.

Shipyard Open Studios is open for free, drop-in visits October 23 &24, 2021 from 11am-6pm at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, 451 Galvez, San Francisco, CA. The Shipyard Artists Exhibition viewing party and artists reception takes place October 7, 2021 from 6-9pm at the Bayview Opera House, 4705 3rd St., San Francisco, CA and is free with advance registration. Reservations and more information at shipyardartists.com. Masks are required, and other COVID-19 protocols will be in place for visitor safety.


For media information or images, contact:
Nina Sazevich
415.752.2483
nina@sazevichpr.com

URL:
Website: https://go.evvnt.com/868599-0?pid=176 

Date and Time:
Starts: Sat, Oct 23, 21 (11:00 AM)
Ends: Sun, Oct 24, 21 ( 6:00 PM)

Venue details: 451 Galvez Ave

 

http://www.eventsnearhere.com/find-events/CA/SAN-FRANCISCO/Art/Visual-Arts/addetail/176651/Shipyard-Open-Studios-2021

Street Address

451 Galvez Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94124

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