![San Francisco Has [No] Culture](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/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)
[Thread]ing the Needle
Fashion, Film, and Queer Culture
My household is about 20 years late to Project Runway. The show started as background noise but surreptitiously promoted itself to nightly ritual. Yes, there is tear-filled drama and an ungodly barrage of product placement, but the series is ultimately about artists striving to make a living out of their art. With this week’s events, enjoy fashion as politics, the beauty of queer culture, and even an artsy staircase.
Also still deciding on if I could pull off this jacket.
Essential Threads: Runway Show
Category: Fashion (Party)
Date: Saturday, April 20th @ 7pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Galería de la Raza
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Without Galería de la Raza, there would be no “Dos Mujeres”, because there would be no Frida Kahlo. At least as we know her today.
The Mission gallery was founded in 1970 to champion Chicano art. When SFMoMA declined exhibiting little known artist Frida Kahlo in 1978, Galería de la Raza hosted one of Kahlo’s first major US shows and catapulted her to celebrity. The “interdisciplinary Chicano/Latinx space for art, thought, and activism" will once again uncover the forgotten through haute couture anchored in the uniforms and lives of blue collar workers.
Opening Reception: OUT | 出 | MUSEUM: A Chinese Queer Museum”
Category: Art (Party)
Date: Friday, April 12th @ 5:30pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: 41 Ross (Chinese Cultural Center)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: San Francisco nurtures safe spaces for queer culture, which can’t be said of all places LGBTQIA+ communities call home. Artist Xiangqi Chen recognizes the limits of her activism in Shanghai and has memorialized stories of the Chinese queer community here in SF. Hear the artist contextualize her work in the wider LGBTQIA+ global community from the heart of a city built on pride.
SF Silent Film Festival: Häxan
Category: Film
Date: Friday, April 12th @ 8:15pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Palace of Fine Arts Theatre
Price Range: $25
Why I Care: Team: this one’s a wild card. “Grave robbing, torture, possessed nuns, and a satanic Sabbath” — the Criterion Collection’s summary of this 1922 Danish pseudo-documentary on witchcraft. The Scandinavians do a bang up job with thrillers, so I guess they got their start somewhere. And if this is a bridge too far, dip your toe in the YouTube upload of the film.
Bandcamp Presents: Lalin St. Juste
Category: Performance (Music)
Date: Friday, April 12th @ 7pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Moxy Oakland Downtown
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Bandcamp has been through the wringer, so it’s heartening to see its name up on the metaphorical billboard. Lalin St. Juste’s hometown tour includes this stop in Oakland after grappling with her sexuality and exploring afro-futurism. Plus, gotta appreciate a 9pm end time.
Nama Fest
Category: Fair (Culinary)
Date: Sunday, April 13th @ 1pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Umami Mart
Price Range: $55
Why I Care: Take the BART into Oakland, baby, cause we’re going sake tasting. 16 sake makers from the Bay and beyond will be descending upon the Umami Mart back lot, and a ticket gets you a tasting of every. single. one. Partner in crime Casa de Kei will be there to provide nosh and remind you that maybe you need a snack around sake #7.
Opening Reception: Barbara Stauffacher Solomon
Category: Party (Art)
Date: Friday, April 19th @ 7pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: staircase
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Breaking news: San Francisco has high rent. Enter the humble staircase.
Cultural instigators have wrestled with the most olympic of affordable space gymnastics. High school friend Anna founded SOME.TIME.SALON with dinner-partied, living room exhibitions. Co-workers Anastasia & Victoria launched No Home Gallery as a nomadic space fostering conversation and movement. staircase continues this tradition while helping you close those rings.
The Stud Fundraiser
Category: Party
Date: Wednesday, April 17th @ 8pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Saint Joseph’s Arts Society
Price Range: $15+
Why I Care: Think historical institution fundraiser but make it drag. The Stud was San Francisco’s oldest gay bar until its 2020 closure. Embattled but not broken, the worker-owned bar is rising from the figurative ashes and re-opening this month. This fundraiser at Saint Joseph’s will support the launch and celebrate a pillar of the community with DJs, drinks, and of course, drag.
Next Drop: Monday, April 22nd