As rentals and real estate in the Bay Area have become unbearably expensive, artists and culture workers have continued to disperse. Yes, some have left the Bay for other cities, but many have found homes and/or studios away from the center, in the greater Bay Area. Those who can stay often do, but to sustain a career and an economy is most often means showing beyond the Bay — building a career as much or more elsewhere than here. By the same logic, that means those who live here don’t often present their work here. The implication being they aren’t seen as much, and this is especially true with more than a few venues closing in recent years. This is paired with the disappearance of points of convergence like bars (too expensive) and art schools (closing or closed). So how do we know who is still here? Even if most of the artists included here remain in the Bay Area, they all wrestle with the same limited visibility in a significantly international but geographically bounded area. At least when it comes to the arts, we’d suggest it’s time we stop saying ‘San Francisco Bay Area,’ and just refer to the Bay Area.
This wiki was created as a reference, to not only help identify artists, across the nine counties of the Bay Area (from San Jose to Santa Rosa) but also to track some of the activity by these artists beyond the region. While this may be a useful tool — especially for visitors to the region — it’s also an argument, for anyone who thinks “all the artists have left.” This wiki might also tell help identify regional trends in artistic practice, and eventually establish the grounds for a yet-to-be-written history. Artists are tagged with city and medium, and entries cover a brief bio, summary of pratice, links to a few artworks, list of exhibitions, and with each artist’s website at the top. The goal is 1000 artists.
One of the questions in mind when this project was first started: do artists still have websites? The answer is yes, the majority do. Whether as basic as a business card (providing means to reach them), or as elaborate as a catalogue raisonné, managing the record and reference for one’s work appears to be the preference.
This is a non-commercial endeavor created by an informal group of arts supporters. The initial drafts about each artists are sourced from publicly available information.
Thanks to Kim FB, Megan P, Emma R, Renny P, Lisa RC, and Stephanie H for suggesting artists.