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Sept 9, 2003 CITY ART CELEBRATES ANNIVERSARY, BEST OF BAY AWARD SAN FRANCISCO - CITY ART Cooperative Gallery will recognize its Fifth Anniversary, "Best of the Bay" award and Open Studios during celebratory events in October and November. For the second year in a row, CITY ART was selected the Bay Area's best art gallery by the San Francisco Bay Guardian. The "Best of the Bay" award was presented to CITY ART members in August and a special "Best of the Bay Celebration" will be held at the Valencia Street gallery Friday, Nov. 21 from 7 to 10 p.m. At the same event, member artists and patrons will celebrate the art cooperative's fifth anniversary within the community. Prior to the November celebrations, CITY ART will join galleries and artists from throughout San Francisco in the city's 28th Annual Open Studios in October. CITY ART will celebrate Open Studios with an Opening Reception, Friday, Oct. 3 from 7 to 10 p.m. San Francisco Open Studios, produced by ArtSpan, is held every October to allow the public, free of charge, to visit the workspaces of more than 750 artists around San Francisco during the four weekends of the month. Open Studios weekend at CITY ART will be held Saturday, Oct. 11, and Sunday, Oct. 12. The public is encouraged to attend both the exhibit opening and the Open Studios weekend event at CITY ART. "CITY ART is thrilled to have won Best Art Gallery for the second year in a row, particularly because we are a grassroots cooperative, not a mainstream commercial gallery," said CITY ART Core Member Katie Gilmartin. "This makes us different in crucial ways. We show a wider diversity of artists, artistic styles, and mediums. "We have a friendlier, low-key atmosphere," Gilmartin said. "At our opening spreads you're as likely to find slices of watermelon as you are to find Brie. We have no paid employees, no expensive black leather couches, and no slick salespeople. Every person that sits behind our counter is a local artist. The most important difference, though, is this - when you buy work at CITY ART, a much larger percentage of your money goes directly to local artists. When you buy art at CITY ART you are supporting the local art community directly -- and given the drastic cuts in various federal, state, county and city art programs, this is more important than ever." Gilmartin said the gallery is also unique in the affordability of the art that is exhibited. "Most of the work at City Art goes for between $100 and $400," she said. "Many of our customers are people who never expected to be able to own original art, because their disposable income doesn't stretch to thousands of dollars. We're very proud of the fact that we are cultivating a different kind of art-buyer as well as a different kind of gallery. As I like to say, why shell out $98.99 for a reproduction of a reproduction of a Picasso at a retail store when for $150 you can buy a vibrant original work of art by a local artist?" Gilmartin has some tips for first-time art buyers. "I recommend visiting the gallery several times before making any decisions to buy," she said. "This allows you to explore a variety of mediums and styles, palettes and moods: to discover what kinds of work resonate most for you. "Attend an opening or two if you can - they take place the first Friday of every month, 7 to 9 pm -- and meet the creators of work that appeals to you. Ask them why they do what they do. Ask them what motivates them, what they think their work is about, and how it's made. And take your time. Many buyers visit a piece of work several times before purchasing. While there is a risk the piece might be sold while you're pondering, when you do take a work home you'll know for sure that it's one you love on rainy days as well as sunny ones." Gilmartin said she is amazed that the gallery has not only survived the past five years but has thrived. "Cooperatives are always difficult monsters, and one made up of the often opinionated, occasionally fiery personalities that artists tend to be," she said. "Moreover, we've weathered some of the rockiest economic times in San Francisco's history, most notably the dot.com bomb. And month-by-month, we keep selling great art, more of it every year." Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 9 p.m. CITY ART is located at 828 Valencia Street between 19th and 20th streets and easily accessible by BART and MUNI. Public parking is available two blocks away on 21st Street between Valencia and Mission streets. CITY ART can be reached at 415-970-9900 or through its website at www.cityartgallery.org. For more information on Open Studios, go to www.artspan.org. |