Independent Art Spaces
Thursday, April 5, 2012 at 1:27PM What keeps the art scene vital, and this is doubly true here in the bay area, is that in addition to traditional art galleries and museums an array of independent art spaces pop up all the time. Though sometimes short lived, the sheer variety of options these create for artists and art-patrons are exciting. Southern Exposure (http://soex.org/) is a big supporter of these spaces. Their Alternative Exposure program offers grants to art spaces and projects outside of the non-profit world (for whom most grants are targeted). Though Southern Exposure is in SF, many of the grants make it across the bay, including one to an art space near and dear to me, MacArthur B Arthur. I’ll describe three new alternative venues, Martina}{Johnston, Aggregate Space, both of whom received an Alternative Exposure grant this year, and S.H.E.D Projects.
Martina}{Johnston is an ‘artist-run house gallery’ in Berkeley. There are three artists’ studios, a gallery, and a space to live for the couple, Farley Johnston Gwazda and Indira Martina Morre, both of whom are artists themselves. It speaks to a certain dedication to the arts that they’d commit so much of their lives and their home to art. Their exhibitions cover a range of media, including painting, photography, and video, their aesthetic is best described as authentic and personal.
Aggregate Space is in a warehouse just off of West Grand in Oakland. They have a nice gallery space, but they augment this by having a fully equipped studio for fabricating work, and a small dedicated screening room complete with movie theatre seats. They have frequent art shows, and they have embarked upon a weekly double feature of sci-fi films hosted by one of the spaces two directors, Conrad Meyers (the other co-director is S. D. Willis)
S.H.E.D. Projects, also in Oakland, is a peculiar thing, run by artist Jonah Susskind and pickle-entrepreneur Emmy Moore. Behind their home, in an interesting, very Oakland complex of unrelated wood shops and studios are a series open-air shed/garages. They have converted one of these has been converted into a gallery of sorts, its walls covered with plywood. In it they are hosting interesting art events including installations, performances, and talks often as single night events.
Each of these spaces are specific and the owners put their money (time, home…) where their mouth is, focusing not only their own art and career but on supporting the practice of other artists. Its nice to see art in a surprising context.
Posted by Aaron Harbour
