San Francisco - Alison Bing [80]
SAN FRANCISCO CENTER FOR THE BOOK Map
415-565-0545; www.sfcb.org; 300 De Haro St; admission free; 10am-5pm Mon-Fri; 19, 22, 33
Anyone who can’t get enough of the sound and smell of a freshly cracked book will achieve a whole new level of obsession with these displays of elaborate Coptic binding and wooden typesetting machines. One recent exhibit showcased the creative process of acclaimed book illustrators, from David Macaulay (The Way Things Work) to Caldecott Medal winner Chris Raschka (Hello, Goodbye Window). The center offers classes, so you can learn to make your own books that fit into matchboxes, pop up into cityscapes and unfold into prison guard towers.
WOMEN’S BUILDING Map
415-431-1180; www.womensbuilding.org; 3543 18th St; 14, 26, 33, 49, J; 16th St Mission
The nation’s first female-owned-and-operated community center has been quietly doing good work with 170 women’s organizations since 1979, but the 1994 addition of the Maestrapeace mural showed this building for the landmark that it truly is. An all-star team of muralistas covered the building with the icons of female strength, from Mayan and Chinese goddesses to modern trailblazers, including Rigoberta Menchu, Hanaan Ashrawi and former US surgeon general Dr Jocelyn Elders.
ELEANOR HARWOOD GALLERY Map
415-867-7770; www.eleanorharwood.com; 1295 Alabama St; admission free; 1-5pm Thu-Sat; 9, 27, 33, 48; 24th St Mission
Hidden on a residential Mission side street is this treasure-box showcase for Bay Area talents, from emerging sensations like James Chronister’s oil portraits painted dot by dot, tattoo-style with a tiny brush, to breakthrough stars like US Venice Biennale artist Emily Prince, whose daily drawings form poignantly personal catalogs: all the hats in her house, say, or all the US soldiers killed in Iraq.
POTRERO DEL SOL/LA RAZA SKATEPARK Map
www.sfgov.org; 25th & Utah Sts; 9, 27, 33, 48; 24th St Mission
An isolated, scrubby park that had been abandoned to gangs became NorCal’s hottest urban skatepark in 2008 with support from the city’s Park and Rec department. Day and night under strategically placed lights, newbies and pros blast ollies off the hip of these concrete bowls. The downsides: the bathroom is often off-limits due to misuse or stench, and graffiti on the concrete can make for a slippery ride. Go before you hit your flow, and wait for a clean area of the bowl to bust big moves. For gear, hit up Mission Skateboards.
RATIO 3 Map
415-821-3371; www.ratio3.org; 1447 Stevenson St; admission free; 11am-6pm Wed-Sat; 14, 22, 33, 49; 16th St Mission
Art-fair buzz begins in San Francisco exactly where it should, down a back alley with a dog barking bloody murder as you wait anxiously to be buzzed into an unfinished loft space with raw wood floors and pristine white walls. Artists here are regularly covered in Artforum and wind up at Miami Basel, and a recent show featured graduates of the Mission School moving into abstraction: a geometric panel assemblage by graffiti auteur Barry McGee looked like a super-flat Frank Stella, and Jose Alvarez’ square of blue feathers mounted on black mica was a dazzling Aztec Rothko.
JACK HANLEY GALLERY Map
415-522-1623; www.jackhanley.com; 395 Valencia St; admission free; 11am-6pm Tue-Sat; 14, 22, 33, 49; 16th St Mission
Furious scribblers and meticulous daydreamers will relate to Chris Johansen’s crowds of shy hipsters, Michele Blade’s metaphysical meteor showers and Keegan McHargue’s hyper-doodled dudes sprouting antlers. Collectors often snap up works before shows open, so see them now before they disappear into Manhattan penthouses.
GALERíA DE LA RAZA Map
415-826-8009; www.galeriadelaraza.org; 2857 24th St; admission free; noon-6pm Wed-Sat, to 7pm Tue; 9, 27, 33,