Southern Exposure (SoEx) is a

not-for-profit arts organization A not-for-profit arts organization, also known as a nonprofit arts organization, usually takes the form of a not-for-profit organization, association, or foundation. Such organizations are formed for the purpose of developing and promoting the wor ...

and alternative art space founded in 1974 in the

Mission District The Mission District (Spanish: ''Distrito de la Misión''), commonly known as The Mission (Spanish: ''La Misión''), is a neighborhood in San Francisco, California. One of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco, the Mission District's name is ...

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. It was originally founded as a grassroots, cooperative art gallery in conjunction with Project Artaud which was a live/work artist community. By the 1980s, they converted the gallery to a community space for supporting emerging artists.

Programs

Exhibitions and projects

Southern Exposure's exhibition program is curated by a committee of artists from the community. Each year, SoEx has a juried exhibition with an open call. The show is curated by a respected international curator. Past curators of the annual exhibition have included Magali Arriola, Tom Finkelpearl, and Kristan Kennedy.

Grant Program: ''Alternative Exposure''

One of SoEx's main goals is to support the professional development of artists so they are able to live and work in the San Francisco Bay Area. The ''Alternative Exposure'' Grant program “supports the work of unincorporated groups, burgeoning art and gathering spaces, publications, Web sites, collectives, events and artists making work in a variety of ways.” ''Alternative Exposure'', was founded in partnership with the

Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

, provides more than $65,000 of grants each year to individuals who work to promote other artists through exhibition spaces, publications, websites, critical writing and other activities. The ''Alternative Exposure'' program was initiated by former SoEx Executive Director

Courtney Fink Courtney Fink is an American organizer, arts advocate, curator and writer. She is the co-Founder and Director of Common Field, a national network of art spaces and projects. Courtney Fink currently serves as a board member for the Andy Warhol Found ...

who first came to Southern Exposure in 2003 and departed in 2015.

Public programs

Since moving away from

Project Artaud A project is any undertaking, carried out individually or collaboratively and possibly involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular goal. An alternative view sees a project managerially as a sequence of even ...

in 2006, Southern Exposure has supported "offsite" public art projects which happen in the city of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. SoEx's Artists in Education (AIE) program provides intensive art education programs to hundreds of underserved youth each year. SoEx provides access to affordable art through its annual Monster Drawing Rally event, auctions and sale of limited editions art works. In 2020, the gallery served as an official polling location during the Consolidated General Election, aimed at improving civic discourse and justice.

References

External links

Southern Exposure Website
{{Coord, 37.768040, -122.422740, display=title Arts organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area Non-profit organizations based in California Organizations based in San Francisco Art museums and galleries in San Francisco Mission District, San Francisco Art galleries established in 1974 1974 establishments in California