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Marry, F*ck, [Kill]
An SF Has [No] Culture "Kill Bill" Mother's Day screening, the opening of the Center for Asian American Media Festival, and buttons
My mother is not a highly-trained assassin, but if someone harmed her children, she’d pick up the profession real quick. At one point balancing three kids, a pregnancy, and a career in genetic research, my mom somehow navigated through it all without caffeine, guaranteed maternity leave, or epidurals. Which makes me think she could manage martial arts training if it meant protecting her five (theoretically) grown babies.
This Mother’s Day, we’re channeling that badass maternal energy with an SF Has [No] Culture screening of Kill Bill. Other features include flamenco at the San Francisco International Arts Festival, a film festival, and the art of the button.
Kill Bill | An SF Has [No] Culture Mother’s Day Screening
Category: Film
Date: Sunday, May 11th @ 3pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Litte Raven Gallery (SF)
Price Range: $8 (Free for Paid Subscribers)* - RSVP Required
Why I Care: Kill Bill is an ode to motherhood. So what better holiday than Mother’s Day to have our first San Francisco Has [No] Culture screening.
We set the stage in a small town in Texas, where a wedding massacre leaves but one comatose survivor: the bride. A plethora of factors contribute to our protagonist bride’s revenge rampage, but one stands out above the rest: vengeance for the loss of her unborn child. Never mind that the film itself presents some core tenets of raising a child: copious amount of bodily fluids, cartoon animation, and, though perhaps of a different era, a spanking.
*Ticket costs to help cover wine, beer, and movie snacks provided for screening
Curator Walk-Through | Beau McCall: Buttons On!
Category: Art
Date: Sunday, May 11th @ 1:30pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Museum of Craft and Design (SF)
Price Range: $10
Why I Care: Beau McCall has built his life around buttons. McCall, affectionately known in the craft community as ‘The Button Man’, began his relationship with the humble button at an early age. A young McCall would spend hours chatting with his family’s button jar as a kid and transformed that intimacy into a forty year career of producing wearable art. The Museum of Craft and Design celebrates that legacy with their exhibition, Buttons On!, and a guided tour with the artist and curator and Harlem icon Souleo. Both McCall and Souleo will linger after the tour to answer questions about how these tiny fasteners revolutionized Harlem and the wider fashion industry.
Opening Reception | What's In the Garden
Category: Art
Date: Saturday, May 10th @ 1pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: NIAD Art Center (East Bay)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: We have the National Endowment for the Arts to thank for NIAD Art Center, Creative Growth, and Creativity Explored. Florence Ludins-Katz and Dr. Elias Katz founded all three Bay Area organizations with the support of the NEA to empower artists with disabilities. NIAD originated as a research institution to advance the Progressive Art Studio method, which prioritizes acceptance over re-education for artists with disabilities. What’s In The Garden will focus on work from the center’s AAPI artists in celebration of Asian / Pacific American Heritage Month.
Here’s to honoring the impact NEA funding has had on the disability artist community and beyond, come what may.
Opening Reception | Crossing the Line: The Passport Re-Imagined
Category: Literary
Date: Friday, May 9th @ 6pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: San Francisco Center for the Book (SF)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: The San Francisco Center for the Book is placing the world in the palm of your hand with Crossing the Line: The Passport Re-Imagined. The exhibition first debuted at the Bainbridge Island Museum of Art after twelve artists were commissioned to create travel document-inspired artist books. The event offers visitors a chance to peruse the artworks, hear the artists talk about their process, and enjoy some light bites and drinks while you explore the exhibition.
If you’re an Same Page SF subscriber, this event should already be on your radar (and if you haven’t subscribed yet, check it out).
CAAMFest Opening Night Film & Gala
Category: Film & Art
Date: Thursday, May 8th @ 6:30pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: AMC Kabuki 8 & Asian Art Museum (SF)
Price Range: $30+
Why I Care: The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) has been a cornerstone for Asian American creativity the past forty-five years. CAAMFest is one of several initiatives for Asian American storytelling and will kick off its annual festival with documentary film Third Act and an Opening Night Gala at the Asian Art Museum. The festival program spans short films, documentaries, and narrative features throughout the weekend. Be on the lookout for Daniel Dae Kim, the first AAPI Tony award nominee, who is rumored to be attending the closing ceremony.
Jeffrey Gibson: She Never Dances Alone
Category: Art & Film
Date: Wednesday, May 7th @ 11am (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University (South Bay)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Artist Jeffrey Gibson nearly abandoned his career in the arts. Gibson struggled to balance his artistic practice with paying jobs at Ikea and Macy’s, but everything shifted in 2012 with his solo exhibition “one becomes the other”. Since then, he’s received a MacArthur fellowship and become the first Indigenous artist to represent the US at the Venice Biennale. His video work She Never Dances Alone showcases jingle dancer Sarah Ortegon and honors the role of the matriarch in Indigenous communities. The exhibition opens on May 7th and runs at Stanford through October 19th.
Make it a South Bay art week with the May 8th screening of Tell Them We Were Here, which documents the history of activism in the Bay.
Tríptico: A Flamenco Performance
Category: Dance
Date: Sunday, May 11th @ 7pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Dance Mission Theater (SF)
Price Range: $25+
Why I Care: The San Francisco International Arts Festival unites local and international artists over nearly two weeks of programming. The festival prioritizes cultural and institutional diversity to ensure that the most marginalized of voices have a stage. Among the highlights, Tríptico is one of the closing performances with its mix of traditional and contemporary flamenco to the beat of live electronic music.
Explore the full calendar of events to enjoy other festival highlights before this closing performance.
Next Drop: Thursday, May 15th
Paid Subscribers Only
San Francisco Ballet YPC | Spring Soirée (Discounted Tickets)
Category: Dance
Date: Friday, May 16th @ 7pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: The Academy SF (SF)
Price Range: $65+ (discount codes for paid subscribers below)