Photos | AAACC emerges with SOBA: Celebrate Black Music
Event: AAACC presents SOBA: Celebrate Black Music
Date: November 18, 2023
Location: African American Arts & Culture Complex, SF
Organizer: African American Arts & Culture Complex
Photos (46): Donald Bowden Photography
The African American Arts and Cultural Complex (AAACC), co-directed by sisters Melorra Green and Melonie Green is the home from which over 200 emerging and unsung artists launched a new arts series, “Season of Black Art” (SOBA), on October 29 which continues with monthly events through February 2024. Second in the series, the November 18 event was a talented display of Black music.
SOBA is directed by San Francisco native, Rodney Earl Jackson Jr., founder of the award-winning production company, SFBATCO (San Francisco Bay Area Theater Company), known for creating new art and cultural collaborations like “The New Roots Theater Festival, founded by Jackson.
The SOBA series also serves as a “house warming party” or in a sense, a “homecoming celebration” spanning five months as it gives the community of the Fillmore and wider San Francisco, and visiting tourists an opportunity to see how the three-story building has been transformed via the input of local artists. SOBA is affirmation of the continuum of service AAACC has meant to the arts world and signifies its emergence from the impact of COVID-19 that nearly decimated the arts world-wide.
The series continues at AAACC on December 9 with “Celebrate Black Theatre + Film.”
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Photos & Video | Over 250 APEC Attendees and Local Art Lovers Turn Out for BLKxSF / APEC Art Evening
Event: BLKxSF / APEC Art Evening featuring Adrian L. Burrell: Venus Blues
Date: November 17, 2023
Location: Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco
Photography: Adam Turner
Despite the rainy weather, Bay Bridge lane closures and the hugely popular Tony! Toni! Tone! (The Masonic) and Lauryn Hill/Fugees (Chase Center) concerts this past Friday evening, over 250 guests including APEC attendees and local art lovers found their way to San Francisco’s Dogpatch neighborhood. The occasion – a private reception featuring the work of artist, Oakland native and Kehinde Wiley resident alum, Adrian L. Burrell, organized by BLKxSF with the generous support of the Minnesota Project. BLKxSF is a recently formed collective of Black event producers who have come together to create moments where people can connect, network and thrive. This reception was the first in a series of upcoming collaborations.
In his exhibition, Venus Blues, Burrell explores the idea of history as a living phenomenon in the face of duress and erasure. The exhibition highlights Burrell’s large-scale sculptures and life-sized photographs created specifically for the exhibition, as well as the debut of a new iteration of the artist’s ongoing film project, The Saints Step in Kongo Time. [Read more below the photos…]
“I was thinking about these ideas of the blues as a modality of storytelling, but also a form of agency,” Burrell explained. “We all come into this world with a song, and sometimes people get to sing it and sometimes people don’t.” – Adrian Burrell via SF Chronicle Datebook
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The evening included remarks by Dr. Aleesa Pitchamarn Alexander, Co-Director, Asian American Art Initiative, Cantor Arts Center, Stanford; artists Reniel Del Rosario and Adrian Burrell, and co-host Jonathan Carver Moore, moderated by Rachel Sample, MSP Foundation Director.
In addition to Moore, the event host committee, lead by Tyra Fennell (Director of Community Relations, Office of Mayor London Breed and a BLKxSF founder), included Lisa Blackwell (real estate professional, avid art collector and advocate), Michael D (Managing Editor, Bay Area Registry), Paul Henderson (Executive Director, SF Department of Police Accountability) and Vas Kinris (Executive director, Fillmore Merchants Association and the Director of Business Development at the San Francisco Council Of District Merchants Associations).
The exhibition, curated by Dr. Tiffany E. Barber and presented with the generous support of the Paul L. Wattis Foundation, is on display through December 3 at the cavernous if not daunting Minnesota Street Project space at 1201 Minnesota Street. It is the first exhibition to utilize the entire MSP Foundation since its May 2023 debut, including both its 17,000 sq. ft. interior and 3,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art screening gallery.
Also on display Friday evening at the adjacent Rena Bransten Gallery (1275 Minnesota Street) was Hung Liu: Capp Street Project, 1988. This collection of paintings and artifacts re-imagines the 1988 exhibition Hung Liu: Resident Alien, the culmination of Liu’s two-month artist residency at the Capp Street Project in San Francisco.
In addition Jenkins Johnson Gallery (1275 Minnesota Street) presented Kevin Cole’s solo exhibition, Same Song Different Beat Circles with Ladders. Cole utilizes abstraction to explore themes of social oppression, conveyed through a rich tapestry of symbolism, and expressed across various mediums including painting, drawing, and sculpture, on display through through December 22.
Ungrafted, a nearby Dogpatch restaurant owned by Christopher Gaither, one of only four Black master sommeliers in the world, along with Piccino and Besharam, made for the perfect “after” venues for event attendees lucky enough to find an open table.
Located in San Francisco’s historic Dogpatch district, the Minnesota Street Project offers economically sustainable spaces for art galleries, artists and related nonprofits. Inhabiting three warehouses, the Project seeks to retain and strengthen San Francisco’s contemporary art community in the short term, while developing an internationally recognized arts destination in the long term.
Related…
• Nov 19, 2023 | Adrian L. Burrell’s ‘Venus Blues’ bridges Senegal to Oakland through family journey – SF Chronicle Datebook
• July 20, 2023 | Oakland artist to create new multimedia installation in S.F.’s Dogpatch – SF Chronicle Datebook
Photos | Reverend Cecil Williams’ 60th Anniversary celebrated at GLIDE Holiday Jam
Event: GLIDE’s Annual Holiday Jam
Date: November 9, 2023
Location: The Masonic, San Francisco
Photos (34): Ando Caulfield for Drew Altizer Photography
GLIDE Annual Holiday Jam: Keep On, a live benefit concert took place on Thursday, November 9, at The Masonic in San Francisco. The GLIDE Holiday Jam celebrated the 60th Anniversary of Reverend Cecil Williams’ arrival to GLIDE with an all-star gathering. The evening also celebrated GLIDE’s brand-new CEO, Dr. Gina Fromer. In attendance were supporters of GLIDES and changemakers like SF Mayor London Breed, activist Honey Mahogany, and many more.
Illustrious songwriter and performer Valerie Simpson led the celebration. Alongside the nationally renowned GLIDE Ensemble and the Change Band lead by Vernon Bush and Zoe Ellis, Simpson, and special guests blues guitarist, producer, composer, and philanthropist D’Wayne Wiggins (from Tony! Toni! Toné!); prolific R&B and soulful visionary Goapele; and captivating soul singer Martin Luther McCoy shared meaningful tributes to Cecil featuring the legendary music of Ashford & Simpson. KQED’s Priya David Clemens was the evening’s Mistress of Ceremonies.
Related
• San Francisco’s GLIDE Foundation ushers in a new era – San Francisco Examiner
• The Glide Holiday Jam Raises $2.4 Million! – Nob Hill Gazette
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Photos | 20th Annual OAACC Business Awards Luncheon
Event: 20th Annual Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce (OAACC) Business Awards Luncheon (2023)
Date: October 26, 2023
Location: Scott’s Seafood Grill & Bar Pavilion, Oakland
Photos: Courtesy of Photographers at Large
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Video | New artistic director ushers in new era at SF JAZZ
SFJAZZ, the largest non-profit jazz presenter in the world, is celebrating its 40th anniversary. The organization explores jazz from its origin to new expressions around the world, but moving forward, they faced the major challenge of finding new artistic leadership.
“We had 40 years under an extraordinary founder and you can’t ever replace a founder”, Chair of the Board of Trustees Denise Young explains, “we had to think much bigger”.
SF JAZZ had a clear vision of what they were looking for in a new artistic director.
“We really wanted someone who had the creative and artistic vision that could match the energy of what we felt was the importance of jazz and this music, in this moment, in this time”, Young reveals. More…
Photos | SFHRC Pathways to Parity Reception
Event: SFHRC Pathway to Parity Reception
Date: October 6, 2023
Location: San Francisco City Hall
Photos (45): Ando Caulfield and David Zahrobsky for Drew Altizer Photography
The energy was high in City Hall – North Light Court as the third annual Pathways to Parity economic rights summit came to a close with a fun and festive reception on Friday, October 6, 2023. Civic and community leaders, economic scholars, and friends gathered to celebrate the closing of the innovative, multi-site, two-day convening to create transformational economic impacts for all. Dr. Sheryl Davis, Executive Director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission gave remarks, and a special performance by Bay Area hip hop’s own Suga-T kept things going as attendees danced into the evening.
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Photos | NBA Hall of Fame Award Recipient Marc J. Spears and Renowned Chef David Lawrence Team Up on Hulu’s New Series
Event: Exclusive Preview of “The Conversation Project”
Date: August 27, 2023
Location: Karibu Wine Lounge, Alameda
Photos (19): Desmond Rodgers
Influencers and industry were treated to an exclusive & private sneak preview of Hulu’s New Series “The Conversation Project,” originated by veteran sportswriter Marc J. Spears, currently of ESPN’s Andscape, and renowned chef David Lawrence at Karibu Wine Lounge in Alameda.
Background
America has been hampered by racism for centuries, with even incremental progress meeting with varying degrees of resistance. Here we are in the 21st century and even in sports, a supposed meritocracy, this social illness remains stubborn.
Those on the vanguard continue to experiment with creative ideas to nudge us closer to the yet undelivered promise of true equality.
Veteran sportswriter Marc J. Spears, currently of ESPN’s Andscape, and renowned chef David Lawrence are breaking new ground in this regard. They want to expose everyone – even those who are reluctant – to take a few minutes eavesdropping into the Black experience.
Their bait? Food and wine, two elements that invite dialogue. Read More @ NBC Sports Bay area
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[Marc Spears] So we created a TV show concept. I wrote a treatment; the treatment became a pilot in which had Terrence Mann from the (Los Angeles) Clippers. We brought him to a vineyard in Napa called Charles Krug. I interviewed him in the winery. And in amongst the vineyards, Chef made a Caribbean meal because he has Caribbean ties. We brought it to a roundtable and had a dinner with (Clippers assistant coach) Brian Shaw and his wife, Chef Nikki Shaw, (comedian) W. Kamau Bell, and a lady named Brenae Royal, who is a Black woman in the wine industry… Read More @ Awful Announcing
Related News
• The Conversations Project – Hulu
• Video | How ‘The Conversations Project’ highlights the Black experience – NBC Sports Bay Area
• Marc J. Spears shares how The Conversations Project began with a glass of wine watching soccer – Awful Announcing
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More…
• Writer Marc Spears Honored in Oakland – Post News Group
• New Healdsburg Restaurant Serves Up Cowboy-Chic Steaks – Sonoma Magazine
• ESPN’s Marc J. Spears traces San Jose roots that launched Hall of Fame career – SF Chronicle
• Texas-Sized Tomahawk Steaks Rule Over This New Healdsburg Steakhouse – Eater SF
• Newly Minted Hall-of-Fame Sports Writer Marc J. Spears Continues To Innovate Behind Black Stories With Hulu Series – The Sacramento Observer• The Latest From David Lawrence Leads SF’s Best New Restaurants – Inside Hook
• San Jose State honors former student, current ESPN reporter Marc Spears – KTVU
• New on the Menu: Dry-aged duck and Midori Negroni – Restaurant Hospitality
• Video | Class of 2023: Marc Spears speech on combining love of writing and sports at Hall of Fame gala – NBA
• ESPN’s Holly Rowe, Marc J. Spears receive Curt Gowdy Media Award – ESPN
