![San Francisco Has [No] Culture](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hMuY!,w_80,h_80,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F134d0298-cfa2-4012-b9cf-70fa3e39d4bb_590x590.png)
![San Francisco Has [No] Culture](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!hMuY!,w_36,h_36,c_fill,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep,g_auto/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F134d0298-cfa2-4012-b9cf-70fa3e39d4bb_590x590.png)
It's the [Picture]s That Got Small
A 1970s classic at the Fraenkel Film Festival, art books galore, vintage vendors, and an outdoor aerial dance performance
I first saw The Last Picture Show (1971) in Bologna when a trip fortuitously overlapped with Il Cinema Ritrovato, a free outdoor film festival. I’d planned our itinerary around pizza and gelato but adapted upon learning that Wes Anderson would give a pre-screening talk. I did not, however, account for rain. Hiding under colonnades and a pizza box, I scurried to and fro with other cinema goers as Jupiter released his wrath in the lead-up to the film. The clouds eventually cleared and we piled back into the square. The evening ended with two cinematic highlights: Hearing Anderson discuss the film’s impact on his own filmmaking, and experiencing the movie ourselves.
Discover The Last Picture Show for yourself, dive into art books, and watch in awe as aerial dancers take over Oakland City Hall.
And a happy 50th publication to SFH[N]C! Thank you for being a part of the ride.
Fraenkel Film Festival | The Last Picture Show
Category: Film
Date: Wednesday, July 9th @ 6:30pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Roxie Theater (SF)
Price Range: $22
Why I Care: The annual Fraenkel Film Festival returns with a selection of films curated by artists from the Fraenkel Gallery roster. Artist Richard Misrach has chosen The Last Picture Show, which tells the story of lost hope and muddied love in small-town Texas. The film stars young Cybill Shepherd and Jeff Bridges, who earned his first Academy Award nomination for the role. Bridges and Misrach are longtime friends, and so while the two are unable to attend, they’ve prerecorded a discussion of the film and its cinematic significance to be shared during the screening.
SFDanceworks: Season 8
Category: Dance
Date: Saturday, July 12th @ 7:30pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Z Space (SF)
Price Range: $17+
Why I Care: SFDanceworks cultivates contemporary dance in the Bay Area. The organization was founded over a decade ago by former San Francisco Ballet soloist James Sofranko, with fellow SFB alum Dana Genshaft now steering its creative direction. This Season 8 performance will include choreography from three distinct voices in contemporary dance: JA Collective, which intersects hip hop and contemporary dance; Yue Yin, whose work is anchored in Chinese classical and folk dance; and Emma Portner, who weaves fashion and film into her performances. All three pieces will be either world or Bay Area premieres.
Opening Night Preview | San Francisco Art Book Fair
Category: Literary
Date: Thursday, July 10th @ 6pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Minnesota Street Project (SF)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: The San Francisco Art Book Fair has programming throughout the weekend, but the opening night preview always feels special. All of the exhibitors have that new-book smell as they open their booths to the public; hugs and kisses are being exchanged across the aisles; and the DJ is shepherding vibes throughout the night. The fair has over 150 presses from across the globe, so this first evening is also a chance to case the joint and return over the weekend with a clear vision of the print(s), book(s), and zine(s) you want to purchase.
Opening Reception | Noelle Phares: Salty and Dark
Category: Art
Date: Friday, July 11th @ 6pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: COL Gallery (SF)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Julia Li and Callie Jones founded COL Gallery in 2023, but their work has quickly expanded beyond Ghirardelli Square with projects like Karl that foster a wider Bay Area arts ecosystem. Salty & Dark will exhibit the paintings of artist Noelle Phares, whose work explores motherhood, femininity, and the French terrain that initially inspired this series. The artist will be in attendance, so you can ask thoughtful questions about meditations on parenthood or muse if the exhibition title is in any way related to her favorite chocolate flavor.
West Coast Craft Waves
Category: Fashion
Date: Saturday, July 12th @ 11am (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture (SF)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: West Coast Craft is bringing back a special edition of the fair that highlights vintage clothing, design, and house decor: WCC Waves. Waves launched to supplement the wider artisan fair so that lovers of all things vintage could have a specially curated space for secondhand gems. Some vendors close to my heart include Mercy Vintage and LaliSimone, but with over 100 artisans in attendance, you’ll have the chance to walk away with your own personal favorite.
Opening Reception | Mourning and Melancholy: Artists' Books From the Arab World and Its Diaspora
Category: Literary
Date: Friday, July 11th @ 6pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: San Francisco Center for the Book (SFCB) (SF)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: This exhibition began with a SFCB From the Bench studio tour in 2024 with curator Maymanah Farhat. The series occurs monthly over Zoom to give community members a peak behind the creator’s curtain, and Farhat structured her artist discussion around processing destruction and displacement in the Arab world. The upcoming exhibition will include artists’ books, memorabilia, and video art surrounding this topic and highlight the works of artists from the region and its diaspora.
Find Farhat on Sunday at the SF Art Book Fair for a panel discussion on memory, activism, and reclamation within the Arab and Arab American artist community.
Vertical Dance Performance | BANDALOOP
Category: Dance
Date: Saturday, July 12th @ 2pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Oakland City Hall (East Bay)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: This is both a cultural highlight and a PSA: if you see people hanging off the side of Oakland City Hall, they’re meant to be there! BANDALOOP is an Oakland-based vertical dance company that has performed in hundreds of locations over the past thirty-four years. This has included aerial performances atop Yosemite, 15th century Mexican cathedrals, and UNESCO world heritage sites, each time with site-specific choreography. This City Hall performance is one of several throughout the month in Oakland.
Now if you see someone scaling a building outside of this schedule, I’ll let you be the judge of appropriate next steps.
Next Drop: Thursday, July 17th
Want to dive further into the state of the arts in SF? Manny’s has organized a series of panels discussing how museums, artists, and non-profits are evolving in the current political and economic environment. Check it out!