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[Radio] Silence
Fault Radio and Night of Shorts throw fundraisers, an art market block party, and how to fall in love in a time of unnameable disaster
There was something ritualistic about crafting a mixtape from the radio: the turning of the knob to hit the frequency just right; the satisfying click of your blank tape sliding into the deck; the pressing down on ‘record’ when the DJ finally played your song. I reminisce on those nostalgic moments when I stare at our David Bowie tape drawing and think that while I enjoy the ease of Spotify, I appreciate the moments of serendipity and discovery that come with radio.
Support the Bay Area DJ community, an uncommon art market, a Fort Mason classic, and the fight for local journalism.
Fault Radio 2.0 Fundraiser Pop-Up
Category: Music
Date: Saturday, November 23rd @ 4pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Et al. (SF)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Fault Radio has been a vibe maker at some of my favorite SF Has [No] Culture events, like Opening Night for the San Francisco Art Book Fair and the Waverly Block Party. Founded in 2018 to provide resources and community to local artists, the online streaming service gained further momentum during the pandemic when DJs needed a way to keep their beats and spirits alive. More than simply providing a space, station co-founder Dor Wand looks to “change [the] narrative from ‘the artist is the victim of the Bay’ to ‘the heroic artists of the Bay.’”
Attending this fundraiser will support that mission, all without needing to feign interest in a DJ set way past your bed time.
SF Camerawork’s Monthly Critique: Victoria Mara Heilweil
Category: Art
Date: Tuesday, November 19th @ 6pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: SF Camerawork (SF)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: I am lucky that my partner, an exceptional writer, edits this newsletter. His pointed notes have also taught me the true meaning of ‘critique.’ While we’ve now agreed feedback should no longer include “LOL”, the experience has given me a deeper appreciation for artists whose work faces constant scrutiny. SF Camerawork creates a safe environment for creatives seeking guidance and allows anyone in the community to witness art in process.
I attended artist Victoria Mara Heilweil’s exhibition opening at Jonathan Carver Moore, making this month particularly special and highlighting just interconnected the Bay Area arts scene can be.
Night of Shorts Fundraiser
Category: Film
Date: Friday, November 22nd @ 6pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Ciel Creative Space (East Bay)
Price Range: Free to enter
Why I Care: The Night of Shorts is a recently founded festival that celebrates the art of short film and the Bay Area creators championing it. Filmmakers Marian McColm and Rachel Groat started the festival after wanting a playful space to share their own short, Working It Out: A Jazzercise Fantasy, and realized they weren’t alone in needing a filmmaker community. This fundraiser (along with decorative disco balls) will help the newly minted non-profit get its footing.
Curious to learn move about short film beyond the Bay? I recommend
, including this recent post on Akira director Katsuhiro Otomo’s foray into the medium.
Uncommon Evening Art Market
Category: Art & Fashion
Date: Thursday, November 21st @ 5pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Uncommon (SF)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Block parties are such a wonderful concept: they bring the party to your doorstep and turn strangers into neighbors. This Uncommon Evening Art Market features block party classics like pizza while showcasing artistic flair with an art and clothing market. Local shop Shouk will also jump in the mix with their Cafe Morocco pop-up, so when the party is a bit too bumping, you can unwind with sweets and a warming cup of tea.
Book Talk: How to Fall in Love in a Time of Unnameable Disaster
Category: Literary
Date: Friday, November 22nd @ 7pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Green Apple Books on the Park (SF or Online)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: After so many stories casting San Francisco as AI dystopia-in-waiting, a New York climate disaster feels oddly refreshing? How to Fall in Love in a Time of Unnameable Disaster tells the story of Manhattan resident Mira as acid rainstorms trap her in a building with family, regret, and questions of what it means to love and die as the world dissolves around her.
Spoiler alert: cockroaches don’t survive the apocalypse, but they do manage to return in the form of a friendly neighborhood ghost.
Screening + Q&A | Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink
Category: Film
Date: Tuesday, November 19th @ 6:45pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: The New Parkway Theater (East Bay)
Price Range: $16
Why I Care: Local news is more than cat birthdays and Joan Callamezzo-style gotcha journalism. It’s also the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team unearthing systematic coverups at the Catholic church and the Palm Beach Post reporting on OxyContin pill mills and the victims of the opioid crisis. Inspired by the 2021 Atlantic article "A Secretive Hedge Fund is Gutting Newsrooms", Stripped for Parts follows Alden Global Capital’s consolidation of local newsrooms in the name of financial maneuvering and the risk to democracy in the process.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmaker and two-time Academy Award nominee Rick Goldsmith.
West Coast Craft
Category: Art & Fashion
Date: Sunday, November 24th @ 10am (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture (SF)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: With 5 siblings, parents, in laws, nieces, nephews, and a partner, holiday shopping is a marathon not a sprint. Gift ideas are in motion by end of Q3, and West Coast Craft is the boost I need to stay on pace. With almost 300 vendors, the fair brings in artisans that share their jewelry, prints, and pockets of the unexpected to find something for the (sometimes intimidating number of) special someones in your life.
I also highly encourage getting a treat for that especially special someone: you!
Next Drop: Thursday, November 28th 🦃