Institute of Contemporary Art Works to Interpret Cultural Moments

BY VIVIEN WANG

According to The Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco’s (ICA SF) founding director, Ali Gass, the always-free, non-collecting museum was conceived amidst the depths of the pandemic and racial reckonings of 2020.

“The vision was to offer extraordinary arts and culture that helps audiences navigate the cultural, social, and political cultural issues around us, in a way that is free to everyone,” said Gass. ICA embraced the Bay Area’s startup ethos to be “a nimble center that responds to the moment.”

In July and August, the museum will be occupied by Meantime, an initiative that focuses on artists’ lack of access to space through residencies, educational workshops, performances, and popups.

ICA complements the nearby Minnesota Street Project, which offers accessible spaces for galleries, artists and related nonprofits. Minnesota Street Project founders, Andy and Deborah Rappaport, were lead funders of ICA SF, investing $1 million in 2021. The Rappaports also helped secure the lease for the museum’s building, on Minnesota Street between 20th and 22nd streets, which’d previously housed MySpace. Venture capitalist Andy Rappaport is a partner emerita at August Capital.

In 2022, Pamela and Dave Hornick donated $1 million. Dave Hornick is a general partner at Lobby Capital; wife Pamela serves on the Director’s Advisory Board of Cantor Arts Center. After an additional $2.5 million was raised ICA opened in the fall.

“There are ICAs in Boston, LA, and Miami. Most great contemporary art cities have different kinds of museums and art spaces: university art museums; local, nonprofit museums; or ambitious non-collecting museums, known in Europe as kunsthalles, that allow contemporary artists from all over the country and world to push their practice,” Gass said.

A Potrero Hill resident, Gass moved to the Bay Area in 2005. She previously served as assistant curator of painting and sculpture at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and chief curator at Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center. In 2017 she became director of the University of Chicago’s Smart Museum of Art. She returned to San Francisco during the pandemic.

The ICA’s board is composed of collectors, tech founders, and venture capitalists, who help raise $2.7 million a year for the institution.

“Between the Minnesota Street Project, contemporary art galleries, and the proximity to the Wattis Institute, the Dogpatch is becoming a significant arts and culture destination,” Gass said. “It’s a place where you can come and spend an entire day seeing contemporary art; being able to add to that feels really important.”

The museum hosts food and coffee popups, family day programs like Children’s Studio, and educational curriculum in collaboration with Bayview, Dogpatch, and Potrero Hill schools.

ICA is participating in efforts to refurbish the Dogpatch Community Court, located on the same block as the museum. The basketball court is one of more than 90 the Warriors Foundation has renovated to support youth development. Originally reconditioned in 2016 in partnership with Alive & Free – a San Francisco violence prevention program – the court will soon feature public artwork by artist Patrick Martinez.

The museum space can be rented for events.

“We’ve done everything from 50-person dinners to 150-person graduation parties, and smaller corporate meetings,” noted Gass.

This summer, food popups will be offered on Thursday evenings, with Calaca Coffee open Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. On June 15, SUP!, an ode to Southeast Asian street food, will be available from 5 to 8 p.m.

6/3 Saturday

Books: Book Sale Block Party

Join Friends of the San Francisco Public Library for a day of literary fun! Featuringmore than 10,000 books, comics, media and vinyl on sale, the San Francisco Public Library Bookmobile, Kids Zone, and live DJ. K-Fai Steele, the 2023 Summer Stride artist, appears at 2 p.m. for Storytime and guided button-making in the Kids Zone. Thee Parkside, 1600 17th Street, will host author readings from 2022 and 2023 Brown-Handler Residents. Lol Tolhurst, musician from The Cure, will read his book, Cured: The Tale of Two Imaginary Boys. Friends of SFPL members save 10 percent on their purchases AND get access to the sale from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. Noon to 5 p.m. Free admission. 1630 17th Street. For more information: https://bit.ly/booksale23.

6/3 Saturday

Food: Gumbo Social Grand Opening

A celebration of community as Gumbo Social officially opens. The noon ceremony will feature community leaders, municipal officials and a ribbon-cutting, with a jazz band, and DJ. Chef Dontaye Ball, aka Mr. Gumbo, will cook up his signature gumbo, alongside an array of such items as po’boys, ho cakes, and other favorites. 12 to 4 p.m. Gumbo Social, 5176 Third Street. For more information and to reserve your tickets: https://bit.ly/

Gumbo-Social

6/8 Thursday through 6/11 Sunday Theater: “Spring Awakening”

Based on Frank Wedekind’s play, winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, what Entertainment Weekly called, “the most gorgeous Broadway score this decade,” “Spring Awakening” explores the journey from adolescence to adulthood through a fusion of death, sex, and rock and roll.

Tickets: $20 to $70. Victoria Theater, 2961 16th Street. For more information: https://bit.ly/spring-awakening-SF

6/7 Wednesday

Crafts: Museum of Craft and Design

“Pay What You Can” Pay What You Can

Wednesday strives to keep art accessible by giving visitors the opportunity to experience the latest exhibitions disbursing whatever amount they wish. On view:

“Fight and Flight: Crafting a Bay Area Life.” Purchase tickets in-person. Museum of Craft and Design, 2569 Third Street. For more information: https://bit. ly/mcd-wed

6/8 Thursday

Manufacturing: SF Made Here/Now

Join the San Francisco manufacturing community to celebrate locally made products. Enjoy local food and drinks; a keynote by Neal Foard, award-winning Advertising and Marketing Creative at Within Inc.; and SFMade’s diverse network of manufacturers. 5 to 8 p.m. Tickets: $40 to $100. Southeast Community Center, 1550 Evans Avenue. For more information: https://bit.ly/sfhere-now

6/8 Thursday through 6/18 Monday

Performance: San Francisco International Art Festival

The San Francisco International Art Festival’s first two-week event since the COVID pandemic, and its 20th anniversary, featuring Bay Area artists. “In Diaspora: I.D. for the New Majority” asked creatives to contemplate America’s changing demographics and apply social justice concepts to reflect on the conditions of minority, migrant, disenfranchised and/or displaced peoples in other countries. Regional/ cultural focus areas include Juneteenth, Asian, Filipino American andLatinx work. The program returns to the Mission District for the first time in nearly 15 years, with performances at BRAVA Theater Center as well as Joe Goode Annex and Theatre of Yugen, located at Project Artaud.Tickets: $20 to $30. For more information: https:// www.sfiaf.org/ or 415.399.9554.

6/10 Saturday

History: “Unveiling Secrets: A Journey through Hunters Point Shipyard’s Hidden History”

Join Stacey Carter for a one-hour visual presentation of Hunters Point. Starting as the West Coast’s earliest and largest dry-dock repair facility, it’s now America’s biggest artist studio complex. Through buildings visible at the Shipyard overlook, Carter will take participants on a chronological verbal journey, highlighting military development from 1867 to the Cold War and present-day significance. For the past 20 years, Carter, an artist with a studio at Hunters Point, has been passionately working on a multi-faceted documentary art project centered around the Shipyard. 12 to 1 p.m. $25. Note: This event takes place at the overlook from which much of the Shipyard can be viewed. It’s not a walking or driving tour through the Shipyard. However, the U.S. Navy is offering free bus tours the same day that can be signed up for separately. For more information: https://bit.ly/ shipyard-history

6/10 Saturday

Music: SF Uke Jam’s “Summer Uke-Splosion”

Join an afternoon “uke-apalooza” in the summer sun with a program showcasing the region’s foremost ukulele talent, a community strumand-sing-along – bring your uke! – and special performances. Headlined by U3, a musical collaboration that features popular Honolulu YouTuber Cynthia

Lin, multi-instrumentalist and Na Hoku award-winning Abe Lagrimas, Jr., and the Bay Area’s ebullient Ukulenny. Playing jazz, bossa nova, Hawaiian classics and reggae remixes, U3 creates an island-inspired cross-cultural sound that’ll turn the celebration into an isle of aloha. 1 to 3 p.m. Free. Yerba Buena Gardens Esplanade, Mission Street, between Third and Fourth streets. For more information: https://bit.ly/uke2023

6/14 Wednesday through 6/24

Saturday

Film: Frameline 47

Frameline presents a robust lineup of pictures, parties and talks in its 47th annual festival, taking place in-person in Bay Area cinemas, with a national streaming encore June 24 to July 2, 2023. Shining a spotlight on the culturally diverse Bay Area filmmaking scene, Frameline47 includes new movies from LGBTQ+ filmmakers and emerging talent, including several flicks set in San Francisco’s queer communities, past and present. This year’s festival expands its offerings into neighborhood theaters such as Oakland’s Parkway Theater, and San Francisco’s 4 Star, Vogue, and Balboa theaters. Tickets: $15.50 to $17.50. For more information: https://www. frameline.org/

6/15 Thursday

Art: Chef Pop-ups

Featuring local food and beverage popups, as well as a free tour of current exhibitions at 6 p.m. Open to all with special perks for 901 Club members including a complimentary menu item and drinks. 5 to 8 p.m. Free admission. ICA San Francisco, 901 Minnesota Street. For more information: https:// bit.ly/chef-popup shortage of vets. In 2021, the national annual average cost of housing a dog was $1,391, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). It’s safe to assume that costs in San Francisco are considerably higher.

“The good news is it’s now easier to foster or adopt,” said Ariana Luchsinger, SFACC operations manager. “We have put much of the training and application process online. SFACC has four foster programs, the kitten foster program, which involves care from birth to eight weeks, the puppy foster program, also from birth to eight weeks, the small mammal foster program, and Caregivers Helping Animals Make Progress, for animals that could benefit from behavior changes and training.”

San Francisco renters who want to foster or adopt an animal may face restrictions on the presence, number, and type of pets allowed. Under the U.S. Fair Housing and California Fair Employment and Housing acts, individuals who require an emotional support animal (ESA) can forgo no- or restricted-pet lease terms, if they have a letter from a licensed health professional that states that the tenant needs the ESA due to a disability. In these circumstances the property owner cannot charge an additional fee or security deposit, nor require insurance for the ESA.

SFACC needs foster homes for cats during kitten season, which typically runs from April until September, when the weather is mild.

“We usually take in between 800 and 1,000 kittens per season, which begins as soon as the weather warms up. There’s no season for puppies. If you’re interested in fostering kittens, we could use you up to 10 times in several months,” said Luchsinger.

According to Anne Moellering, SF SPCA chief of rescue and welfare, SF SPCA’s adoption trends echo SFACC’s.

“The total number of adoptions in 2019 was 4,141. Our count went to 3,235 in 2021 and 3,237 in 2022. During 2020, we had to shut down temporarily. There was a lot of uncertainty about COVID. We’re aiming for 4,400 adoptions in 2023,” said Moellering.

SFACC had more surrenders of large dog breeds, including huskies and German Shepherds, during the pandemic. According to Moellering, there’s a perception that big dogs need a great deal of exercise and room to roam.