Free things to do in San FranciscoWatch some unintentional theater at a Board of Supes meeting or public hearing.

When looking for some relief from the city's high prices, check out these free events, activities, and outings to soothe your budget. List compiled by the SFGate.com staff with some help from our readers.

Head to the De Young for the view from the tower and Friday night art events.

Visit the 'fog bridge' at the Exploratorium at Pier 15.

Watch some unintentional theater at a Board of Supes meeting or public hearing.

Try to climb every S.F. staircase -- like the challenging Filbert Steps.

Center yourself at one of many free yoga classes throughout the city. One is offered by San Francisco Recreation and Parks at Golden Gate Park on Saturday mornings.

View the 54 other Free Things To Do in San Francisco

Tenderloin upstart Book & Job aims to level the art-gallery playing field

 

Carson Lancaster is tired of the bullshit. He’s tired of watching the same handful of mainstream galleries hang the same artists and shun a majority of San Francisco’s young, talented artists. “It’s like that scene in Scanners. You know, the one where the guy’s head explodes? That’s what it feels like every time I walk into one of those places,” he said.

Lancaster is the owner of Book & Job, an art gallery that seeks to do exactly the opposite: make San Francisco’s art market accessible to both artists and consumers. Located on Geary and Hyde Streets, Book & Job blends into the grit of the Tenderloin and in no way resembles the blue-chip megaliths huddled toward Union Square. The space is tiny. There’s no team of attractive sales people standing at the entrance, no bubbly event photographers milling around, no tuxedos, and no free champagne.
However, it isn’t uncommon to see a small throng of young people spilling from the entrance on a given Saturday night, or passers-by (likely coming from galleries down the street) stopping in their tracks to gander at the commotion — looking for something, anything, that slightly resembles uncharted territory: candid photographs from inside of a ramshackle San Francisco mosque, say, or a couple of naked male performers feeding each other wedding cake while dancing to Celine Dion. That, Lancaster feels, is an art scene.

Which is why Lancaster is all ears if an artist wants to show work at Book & Job. Though it began mainly for photographers, in the past couple of years the small gallery has broadened its horizons to include just about anything — paintings, zines, and performances. “People come in all the time and say, ‘I like this place because it’s pure, because it’s real, because it’s no bullshit,” he continued. “It’s known in the community as the no bullshit gallery.”

Sat/13, Lancaster's walls will feature work from an analog photography club called Find Rangers, which sent out an open call to artists around the world. Lancaster and a group of colleagues started the club for many of the same reasons he opened his gallery. “It’s a grassroots affair,” he said. 
As a former photography student at Academy of Art University, Lancaster wondered why many of the best students would flee San Francisco after graduating, but he eventually came to a realization: “The San Francisco art scene sucks. It is very close-minded, unfriendly, not open to interpretation, set in the same ways. And for young artists at CCA [California College of the Arts], SFAI [San Francisco Art Institute], and Academy of Art, to go to an art gallery in the city [and inquire about showing their work], they’re going to be told to go fuck themselves in so many words.”

Lancaster spoke of a disconnect between San Francisco's relatively insular gallery scene and the high number of art students in the area. From 2002 to 2012, San Francisco received more art funding per capita than any another city in the nation, according to a 2014 study released by the Cultural Policy Center at the University of Chicago. And yet, the city's abundance of talented artists cannot break in and are thus forced to seek greener pastures, usually in New York or Los Angeles.

Lancaster believes that this is largely because art galleries in San Francisco have tight business models, and that giving artists a chance just doesn’t allow them to stay afloat. These galleries, he said, would rather show artists they know can sell. “They have their roster of artists,” he explained. “December is Ferris Plock, or September is Jay Howell or Mike Giant, and it's the same names over and over again. It’s more like a meat factory. It’s the meat aisle.”

This is especially prevalent nowadays, Lancaster explained, as many of the higher-end galleries are struggling themselves with out-of-control rents and the city’s shifting cultural values. In the past year, particularly downtown, a rash of galleries have either relocated or completely shuttered.

But Lancaster isn’t worried about Book & Job. His lease is written such that his rent stays fixed — and relatively low — until 2022. For next eight years, Book & Job cannot be priced out, even as the neighborhood continues to transform around it. “This is place is blowing up,” he said, pointing out the new cafés and restaurants that are now sprouting up around the Tenderloin. All the same, in the coming years Book & Job will serve as a small preservation of what remains of city’s DIY ethos, a channel through which local artists can be discovered without having to flee the city. 

“It’s a really nervy thing to do," Sarah Barsness, one of Lancaster’s former Academy of Art teachers, says of the gallery. She explained that it’s extremely difficult to open a successful art gallery in the city, let alone one as “subversive” as Book & Job. “He's doing the thing that you’re never supposed to do, which is having a lot of work that he sells for nothing, and spreading it out to a different, broader population — younger people and fellow students,” she explained. 

She even compared Lancaster to Andy Warhol and other pioneers of the pop art movement, who sought to strip art of its “preciousness” and “elitism” by selling prints for pennies on the dollar. Ultimately, Barsness explained, this made art more democratic. “It’s really important right now because we’re at a high point of elitists,” she said. “It’s over the top.”

By making art more democratic, she explained, galleries like Book & Job “bring artists back into the conversation,” making art more about art and less about business. But Barsness believes many San Francisco galleries have always operated this way. “San Francisco collectors are notorious for not buying San Francisco art,” she said, explaining that galleries have had to survive by bringing in work from other cities. 

While Barsness feels that the economic cards are not stacked in Lancaster’s favor, she feels that Book & Job embodies much of what art stands for. “Art is not supposed to preach. It's supposed to show you an alternative way of thinking, so that questions emerge," she said. “[Book & Job] is a little work of art, in that sense, making you ask: Do galleries have to operate this way? Is it wrong to have galleries operate this way? And why is it wrong?”

For Lancaster, however, Book & Job’s place in the art world isn't so much subversive as it is deeply personal. In March, Lancaster found his close friend, renowned San Francisco artist Shawn Whisenant, dead from a health issue in the back room of the gallery, where he had been sleeping. Whisenant was a San Francisco street artist and photographer and one of the last “true” San Francisco artists, according to KQED’s Kristin Farr, who remembered him fondly after his passing.
And for Lancaster, Whisenant’s artistic ethos of "no B.S." will always shape how Book & Job is run. A day doesn't go by in which Lancaster doesn’t think about what Whisenant would have done. “He’s the angel and devil on my shoulder,” he said.

The room in which Whisenant died has been converted into a dark room, and for now Lancaster plans to share it with other like-minded photographers and use it to hone his own skills. “If someone is checking their phone and they see my open call [for a Find Rangers Camera Club exhibit], and they dust off their camera and buy a roll of film, I’m doing something right,” he said. “That’s not just me selling a booklet to help pay rent, that’s helping someone’s creativity … and that’s really cool.”

Find Rangers Camera Club exhibit
Sat/13, 7-11pm
Book & Job Gallery
838 Geary, SF
www.book-job.com


For Original Article:  http://www.sfbg.com/pixel_vision/2014/09/09/tenderloin-upstart-book-job-aims-level-art-gallery-playing-field 

Restoration of Second Floor Murals at Coit Tower Complete

SAN FRANCISCO, August 25, 2014 – The San Francisco Arts Commission and Recreation & Park Department announce the completion of the restoration of Coit Tower’s seven second floor murals. The second floor restoration work, which was led by Architectural Resources Group (ARG) Conservation Services and Anne Rosenthal Fine Art Conservation, is the final piece in what has been the most extensive restoration effort in the Tower’s 80-year history. Accessible only to guided tour groups due to limited space capacity, the second floor murals include renowned W.P.A artist Lucien Labaudt’s sweeping panorama of Powell Street and the Tower’s only fresco-secco mural by Jane Berlandina, which has been restored for the first time. The professionally run docent tours run every day of the week and provide an accurate historic account of the murals and the artists responsible for the unique pieces of art. To schedule a tour, please visit coittowertours.com.

“Since the reopening in May, Coit Tower has experienced a renaissance,” said Director of Cultural Affairs Tom DeCaigny. “We are excited for the public to experience the second floor murals fully restored, especially Jane Berlandina’s Home Life mural, which is unlike any other at the Tower in terms of style and medium. I want to thank the Recreation & Park Department for being such great partners throughout this project and ARG Conservation Services and Anne Rosenthal and her team for their incredible work.”

“Coit Tower is an international landmark and one of the City’s top destinations with incredible views of the City as well as unique and priceless WPA-era mural,” said Phil Ginsburg, SF Rec and Park General Manager.  “We are proud that in partnership with the SF Arts Commission, we are able to making continuing improvements to the iconic structure.”

During the restoration, the second floor murals were dry-cleaned to remove surface dirt and dust. Areas of gouged plaster and cracks were filled and inpainted, returning the mural surface to near pristine condition. Conservators focused intently on the Jane Berlandina’s Home Life mural which is the most materially sensitive artwork in the building and has never undergone previous conservation.  The historic ceiling of the second floor and the stucco surrounds were treated and restored as well.

The second floor best exemplifies how Coit Tower was never conceived as a space to showcase murals when it was built in 1933. The 27 murals that decorate the interior were added in 1934 by artists who were employed by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), a precursor to the Works Progress Administration (WPA). To access the second floor, visitors must climb a narrow, curved staircase located off the elevator lobby.

According to David Wessel, principal of Architectural Resources Group, “The second floor mural conservation work required accessing tight, confined spaces and temporarily blocking access to some rooms.  Everyone including the new concessionaire, Arts Commission and Rec and Park worked together wonderfully to assure that conservators were able to work with minimal interruptions.  It was truly a seamless collaboration with all groups working together toward the goal of preserving this fragile cultural resource on the second floor of Coit Tower.”

The staircase to the second floor is flanked by one of Coit Tower’s largest and most magnificent murals, a masterpiece by French-born Lucien Labaudt depicting the hustle and bustle of crowds charging up and down 1930s Powell Street. The mural is highly detailed with many recognizable architectural landmarks, some of which still exist, and with the rich textures and patterns of the clothes worn by Labaudt’s figures (he was also a couturier of high fashion at the time). Powell Street also contains a vignette featuring First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt examining a map of the United States emblazoned with PWAP alongside the architects of the groundbreaking program.

At the top of the stairs are three small vestibules featuring a series of murals depicting outdoor recreation by artists Parker Hall, Edward Terada, Ralph Chesse, Edith Hamlin and Ben F. Cunningham. Covering all four walls of the last room on the second floor is Jane Berlandina’s Home Life. The mural deviates from the other Coit Tower murals in that rather than traditional fresco where pigment is applied to wet plaster, it was painted with egg tempera onto a dry surface. Additionally, unlike her fellow muralists, Berlandina was not a disciple of Diego Rivera, which accounts for her distinct style and choice of subject matter. With its limited color palate of brown, red, white and green, Home Life depicts a family surrounded by the trappings of a comfortable bourgeois life. From the grand piano, to the art on the walls, to the finely dressed dancing couples, this family does not seem to be suffering from the effects of the Great Depression. Because it was not included in the last major restoration in 1989-90, this is the first time Home Life has been treated in 80 years.


article and photos sourced from:  http://www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection/pubart-press-releases/2014/08/25/restoration-of-second-floor-murals-at-coit-tower-complete/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=restoration-of-second-floor-murals-at-coit-tower-complete

SAN FRANCISCO, August 25, 2014 – The San Francisco Arts Commission and Recreation & Park Department announce the completion of the restoration of Coit Tower’s seven second floor murals. The second floor restoration work, which was led by Architectural Resources Group (ARG) Conservation Services and Anne Rosenthal Fine Art Conservation, is the final piece in what has been the most extensive restoration effort in the Tower’s 80-year history. Accessible only to guided tour groups due to limited space capacity, the second floor murals include renowned W.P.A artist Lucien Labaudt’s sweeping panorama of Powell Street and the Tower’s only fresco-secco mural by Jane Berlandina, which has been restored for the first time. The professionally run docent tours run every day of the week and provide an accurate historic account of the murals and the artists responsible for the unique pieces of art. To schedule a tour, please visit coittowertours.com.
“Since the reopening in May, Coit Tower has experienced a renaissance,” said Director of Cultural Affairs Tom DeCaigny. “We are excited for the public to experience the second floor murals fully restored, especially Jane Berlandina’s Home Life mural, which is unlike any other at the Tower in terms of style and medium. I want to thank the Recreation & Park Department for being such great partners throughout this project and ARG Conservation Services and Anne Rosenthal and her team for their incredible work.”
“Coit Tower is an international landmark and one of the City’s top destinations with incredible views of the City as well as unique and priceless WPA-era mural,” said Phil Ginsburg, SF Rec and Park General Manager.  “We are proud that in partnership with the SF Arts Commission, we are able to making continuing improvements to the iconic structure.”
During the restoration, the second floor murals were dry-cleaned to remove surface dirt and dust. Areas of gouged plaster and cracks were filled and inpainted, returning the mural surface to near pristine condition. Conservators focused intently on the Jane Berlandina’s Home Life mural which is the most materially sensitive artwork in the building and has never undergone previous conservation.  The historic ceiling of the second floor and the stucco surrounds were treated and restored as well.
The second floor best exemplifies how Coit Tower was never conceived as a space to showcase murals when it was built in 1933. The 27 murals that decorate the interior were added in 1934 by artists who were employed by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), a precursor to the Works Progress Administration (WPA). To access the second floor, visitors must climb a narrow, curved staircase located off the elevator lobby.
According to David Wessel, principal of Architectural Resources Group, “The second floor mural conservation work required accessing tight, confined spaces and temporarily blocking access to some rooms.  Everyone including the new concessionaire, Arts Commission and Rec and Park worked together wonderfully to assure that conservators were able to work with minimal interruptions.  It was truly a seamless collaboration with all groups working together toward the goal of preserving this fragile cultural resource on the second floor of Coit Tower.”
The staircase to the second floor is flanked by one of Coit Tower’s largest and most magnificent murals, a masterpiece by French-born Lucien Labaudt depicting the hustle and bustle of crowds charging up and down 1930s Powell Street. The mural is highly detailed with many recognizable architectural landmarks, some of which still exist, and with the rich textures and patterns of the clothes worn by Labaudt’s figures (he was also a couturier of high fashion at the time). Powell Street also contains a vignette featuring First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt examining a map of the United States emblazoned with PWAP alongside the architects of the groundbreaking program.
At the top of the stairs are three small vestibules featuring a series of murals depicting outdoor recreation by artists Parker Hall, Edward Terada, Ralph Chesse, Edith Hamlin and Ben F. Cunningham. Covering all four walls of the last room on the second floor is Jane Berlandina’s Home Life. The mural deviates from the other Coit Tower murals in that rather than traditional fresco where pigment is applied to wet plaster, it was painted with egg tempera onto a dry surface. Additionally, unlike her fellow muralists, Berlandina was not a disciple of Diego Rivera, which accounts for her distinct style and choice of subject matter. With its limited color palate of brown, red, white and green, Home Life depicts a family surrounded by the trappings of a comfortable bourgeois life. From the grand piano, to the art on the walls, to the finely dressed dancing couples, this family does not seem to be suffering from the effects of the Great Depression. Because it was not included in the last major restoration in 1989-90, this is the first time Home Life has been treated in 80 years.
- See more at: http://www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection/pubart-press-releases/2014/08/25/restoration-of-second-floor-murals-at-coit-tower-complete/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=restoration-of-second-floor-murals-at-coit-tower-complete#sthash.qtNkE2nV.dpuf

SAN FRANCISCO, August 25, 2014 – The San Francisco Arts Commission and Recreation & Park Department announce the completion of the restoration of Coit Tower’s seven second floor murals. The second floor restoration work, which was led by Architectural Resources Group (ARG) Conservation Services and Anne Rosenthal Fine Art Conservation, is the final piece in what has been the most extensive restoration effort in the Tower’s 80-year history. Accessible only to guided tour groups due to limited space capacity, the second floor murals include renowned W.P.A artist Lucien Labaudt’s sweeping panorama of Powell Street and the Tower’s only fresco-secco mural by Jane Berlandina, which has been restored for the first time. The professionally run docent tours run every day of the week and provide an accurate historic account of the murals and the artists responsible for the unique pieces of art. To schedule a tour, please visit coittowertours.com.
“Since the reopening in May, Coit Tower has experienced a renaissance,” said Director of Cultural Affairs Tom DeCaigny. “We are excited for the public to experience the second floor murals fully restored, especially Jane Berlandina’s Home Life mural, which is unlike any other at the Tower in terms of style and medium. I want to thank the Recreation & Park Department for being such great partners throughout this project and ARG Conservation Services and Anne Rosenthal and her team for their incredible work.”
“Coit Tower is an international landmark and one of the City’s top destinations with incredible views of the City as well as unique and priceless WPA-era mural,” said Phil Ginsburg, SF Rec and Park General Manager.  “We are proud that in partnership with the SF Arts Commission, we are able to making continuing improvements to the iconic structure.”
During the restoration, the second floor murals were dry-cleaned to remove surface dirt and dust. Areas of gouged plaster and cracks were filled and inpainted, returning the mural surface to near pristine condition. Conservators focused intently on the Jane Berlandina’s Home Life mural which is the most materially sensitive artwork in the building and has never undergone previous conservation.  The historic ceiling of the second floor and the stucco surrounds were treated and restored as well.
The second floor best exemplifies how Coit Tower was never conceived as a space to showcase murals when it was built in 1933. The 27 murals that decorate the interior were added in 1934 by artists who were employed by the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP), a precursor to the Works Progress Administration (WPA). To access the second floor, visitors must climb a narrow, curved staircase located off the elevator lobby.
According to David Wessel, principal of Architectural Resources Group, “The second floor mural conservation work required accessing tight, confined spaces and temporarily blocking access to some rooms.  Everyone including the new concessionaire, Arts Commission and Rec and Park worked together wonderfully to assure that conservators were able to work with minimal interruptions.  It was truly a seamless collaboration with all groups working together toward the goal of preserving this fragile cultural resource on the second floor of Coit Tower.”
The staircase to the second floor is flanked by one of Coit Tower’s largest and most magnificent murals, a masterpiece by French-born Lucien Labaudt depicting the hustle and bustle of crowds charging up and down 1930s Powell Street. The mural is highly detailed with many recognizable architectural landmarks, some of which still exist, and with the rich textures and patterns of the clothes worn by Labaudt’s figures (he was also a couturier of high fashion at the time). Powell Street also contains a vignette featuring First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt examining a map of the United States emblazoned with PWAP alongside the architects of the groundbreaking program.
At the top of the stairs are three small vestibules featuring a series of murals depicting outdoor recreation by artists Parker Hall, Edward Terada, Ralph Chesse, Edith Hamlin and Ben F. Cunningham. Covering all four walls of the last room on the second floor is Jane Berlandina’s Home Life. The mural deviates from the other Coit Tower murals in that rather than traditional fresco where pigment is applied to wet plaster, it was painted with egg tempera onto a dry surface. Additionally, unlike her fellow muralists, Berlandina was not a disciple of Diego Rivera, which accounts for her distinct style and choice of subject matter. With its limited color palate of brown, red, white and green, Home Life depicts a family surrounded by the trappings of a comfortable bourgeois life. From the grand piano, to the art on the walls, to the finely dressed dancing couples, this family does not seem to be suffering from the effects of the Great Depression. Because it was not included in the last major restoration in 1989-90, this is the first time Home Life has been treated in 80 years.
- See more at: http://www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection/pubart-press-releases/2014/08/25/restoration-of-second-floor-murals-at-coit-tower-complete/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=restoration-of-second-floor-murals-at-coit-tower-complete#sthash.qtNkE2nV.dpuf

Docent tour presents second floor murals for public view - See more at: http://www.sfartscommission.org/pubartcollection/pubart-press-releases/2014/08/25/restoration-of-second-floor-murals-at-coit-tower-complete/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=restoration-of-second-floor-murals-at-coit-tower-complete#sthash.qtNkE2nV.dpuf

San Francisco Ballet's 2015 Repertory

2015 Season

Welcome to San Francisco Ballet's 2015 Repertory Season!

January 27 – May 10, 2015

This season, SF Ballet celebrates Helgi Tomasson’s 30th anniversary as artistic director with three of his greatest story ballets, the return of Shostakovich Trilogy, iconic works by Balanchine and Robbins, two world premieres, and more! Scroll down to learn about our new season.

Currently only SF Ballet subscribers can access tickets to our new season, including Nutcracker. Subscribers save up to 25% on tickets and enjoy a host of exclusive benefits. Join the SF Ballet family by subscribing today!

Single tickets to Nutcracker go on sale August 27. Single tickets for our Repertory Season go on sale in November.

 

Program 1     Learn More

Serenade

RAkU

Lambarena

Jan 27 -Feb 7

Program 2

Giselle     Learn More 

Giselle

Jan 29 -Feb 10

Program 3     Learn More

The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude

Variations for Two Couples

Myles Thatcher World Premiere

The Kingdom of the Shades from La Bayadère, Act II

Feb 24 -Mar 7

Program 4     Learn More

Dances at a Gathering

Hummingbird

Feb 26 -Mar 8

Don Quixote     Learn More

Don Quixote

Mar 20 -Mar 29

Program 6     Learn More

Shostakovich Trilogy

Apr 8 -Apr 19

Program 7     Learn More

Caprice

Yuri Possokhov World Premiere

The Four Temperaments

Apr 10 -Apr 21

Romeo & Juliet     Learn More

Romeo & Juliet

May 1 -May 10

For more photos, info and tickets visit the website:  http://www.sfballet.org/tickets/2015_season