Art Fair collection aims to celebrate San Francisco, rebuff "doom loop"
SAN FRANCISCO – The San Francisco Art Fair takes over the Fort Mason Festival Pavillion this weekend showcasing pieces from 85 galleries that represent countries around the world. Among the collections, a curated section focused on celebrating the positive aspects of San Francisco.
"San Francisco's really been thriving and anyone who takes a look at all of the great artworks, a lot of new businesses and galleries which have opened in San Francisco since the pandemic, is really a story of resilience and recovery," said Cheryl Derricotte, a gallery artist with re.riddle Gallery San Francisco.
Nine San Francisco artists are part of the collection called "We Didn't Get The Memo" and feature a variety of art forms and colors with a focus on landscape, which Derricotte says is a selling point of the Bay Area.
The title reacts to the "doom loop" narrative some have placed over San Francisco hoping to provide another perspective, she explained.
In addition to curating the pieces, she has included some of her own work that are mixed media art. Her photos of redwoods in the East Bay feature hand embroidered text from her journals.
"We are all part of the same system and we need to treat it as such," she said of the subject. The art is meant to be an appreciation for nature and have a message about protecting the climate.
The team overseeing the fair have brought the experience to the city for more than a decade now. Those leaders asked Derricotte to put together the section featuring all San Francisco artists. Previously known as Art Market San Francisco, the event is now called the San Francisco Art Fair to focus on the arts scene that organizers say is thriving in the center of the Bay Area.
"Art has always been a leader and a unifying force whenever there have been challenging times," Derricotte said.
She hopes that people take advantage of the chance to see so much art all in one place. The fair runs through Sunday, April 28th.
"The opportunity to gather this way at the San Francisco Art Fair is you know absolutely a privilege and also I think just a really important collective moment for people to be together in the spirit of community and art," she said.