NIAD Gallery Exhibition // “Feeling Language,” organized by Kate Laster

This show is all about comfort text: resilience in everyday words, writing and reading. Expression can also be wordless, the use of line and color as new vocabulary, pushing a thought out onto a surface, making marks and continuously trying to communicate with the world.

We tell stories to sustain ourselves and find each other. These messages embedded in art become an emotional telegram– a signal flare with a flame of memory trailing behind it. “Feeling Language” is about books, lists, slogans, language, gesture, touch and the trust given in sharing. Read More …

NIAD Online Exhibition // “Murmuration” selected by Alisa Golden

About the exhibition A murmuration is a flock of thousands moving together, a pattern through the sky, each bird attuned to its nearest neighbors. Made up of individual parts, the whole becomes greater and more powerful than when it stands alone. In the works presented here, individual parts are visible: pieced, gridded, grouped, and arranged with lines, letters, and fields of color. And from the thousands of works that fly together at NIAD, here is only a sample of pieces that somehow talk and listen to their nearest neighbors. A murmuration of applause to all. About the selector Alisa Golden writes, Read More …

A Year Through the Windows // NIAD’s 2021 Windows Exhibitions (online exhibition)

About the collection NIAD’s Windows Exhibitions are a pandemic-era innovation, born out of the necessity to see art, and for art to be seen, that continued unabated during lockdown. Way back in July 2020 Amanda announced in The Latest, “Starting now, each month we will add new exhibitions to NIAD’s street-side windows, selected by local artists, curators and NIAD community members… Interested audiences can now drive by, take a stroll past our windows, or get in touch with us directly to arrange for sales or more information on art and artists.” Many thanks to NIAD Gallery Director Julio Rodriguez, the deft facilitator Read More …

NIAD x Mills // MCAM Acquires 14 Works by NIAD Artists

We are thrilled to announce that fourteen artworks by NIAD studio artists Heather Hamann, Shana Harper, Serena Scott, and Jonathan Velazquez have been acquired by the Mills College Art Museum as part of a newly launched student acquisition project to help diversify the museum’s collection Full Press Release: Mills College Art Museum is pleased to announce the acquisition of 14 works of art by contemporary artists associated with NIAD Art Center in Richmond, California: Heather Hamann, Shana Harper, Serena Scott, and Jonathan Velazquez. These additions to MCAM’s collection are part of a newly launched student acquisition project to identity, research, Read More …

NIAD Holiday Gift Guide #5, collected by Dawline-Jane Oni-Eseleh

About the collection Gift-giving can be so tricky! It can be hard to know if someone has an item already, if it will be useful, or if it’s something that maybe you like instead of the recipient.  When I choose a gift for someone, I try to focus on their interests or recent big events in their life  – did they just move into a new home? Are they always dressed to the nines? Do they love sending videos about cute animals?  I curated this shopping guide with those friends in mind, so whether you are buying a gift for your new Read More …

NIAD Holiday Gift Guide #4: “SISTER SISTER” collected by Amanda and Sarah Eicher

About “SISTER SISTER” Some people think we look alike; others think our voices sound the same, and still others mistake us for each other – but do we have the same taste?  We definitely swapped clothes, jewelry, sneakers, and a few items we argued over as tiny pups in the world.In this selection, I tried to choose for my sister a few of the things I think she might have borrowed from my childhood bedroom – or that I’d want to borrow from hers. (Unsurprisingly, we chose a few of the same items the first time around!) As the younger sibling, I Read More …

NIAD Holiday Gift Guide #2: “The Color of Happiness” collection by Rebecca Jantzen

About “The Color of Happiness” collection “It was hard picking out [the collection] because there’s so many different styles and mediums. The happiness feeling is what they all have in common. People should buy art because it will make them feel happy!” About Rebecca Jantzen, the collector “I describe myself as visually impaired and learning disabled. I am a socially engaged artist who loves her art work. I love holidays and I like to make cards for special occasions. I like to draw things that brighten up my spirit and the day; images of peace, love and happiness. One of the reasons Read More …

NIAD Windows Exhibition: “Con Los Animales Estamos Conectados,” selected by Christo Oropeza

About the exhibition:  I recently became a dog father of a small two-month-old puppy.  Over the months after his arrival, I have learned so much about myself through him: patience, being present in the moment, not holding people in time and space, and unconditional love.  I had no idea that this was the relationship that would be built between him and I, and it has rocked-my-socks off because of how much of a connection has and continues to develop.    Having worked with NIAD artists at SFMOMA’s Mini Mural Festival in the Summer of 2021, I was excited to do an Read More …

Online Exhibition: “Edges of Attention” organized by Canela Art Gallery

About the exhibition   We selected our favorite evocative works and put them into a virtual gallery.     There was so much amazing work to choose from, but we believe that these works in particular speak for themselves. Lastly, we also think these works exhibited together speak to this moment in America and how art represents what we give our attention to. * Seleccionamos nuestras obras evocadoras favoritas y las pusimos en una galería virtual. Había tantas obras para elegir, pero creemos que estas obras en particular hablan por sí mismas. Por último, también creemos que estas obras expuestas Read More …

Special Exhibition: SFMOMA x NIAD MiNi Mural Gallery

About the gallery The NIAD MiNi Gallery is a collection of work that showcases the diversity of NIAD’s studio artists in material and form, featuring the artists who contributed to the SFMOMA MiNi Mural Project. About the event From the SFMOMA website: In 1940, more than sixty-five artists made their creative processes public when they participated in Art in Action, an exhibition of live art making conceived by architect Timothy L. Pfleuger as part of the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island. Among these artists was Diego Rivera, who during this time painted the mural Pan American Unity, which Read More …

Online Exhibition: Holding the Line, organized by jill moniz

About the exhibition The works in this exhibition use the line to suggest form and meaning. Whether as a solid object or a mere suggestion, the line elicits connections beyond formalism, and resonates with transformative power. The synchronicity between what is made and what is felt enriches the experience with the visual languages offered here. Together, these works tell a story with line, color and form about the pleasure, diversity and complexity born from simple materials that should be required reading. About the organizer  jill moniz is an independent curator of visual narratives. She shares her vision of empowering visual Read More …

Online Event: Thirsty Thursday – August 12

Join us online from 6-7 PM PT, Thursday August 12! We’ll welcome organizer Jessica Cadkin and guest artist Leigh Barbier in conversation about organizing this month’s NIAD Windows Exhibition, Picnic.  You could have the opportunity to meet and talk with participating NIAD studio artists Saul Alegria, Jeremy Burleson, Jonathan Velazquez, Serena Scott, Shana Harper, Michael Nuñez, Michael Walker, Tre’von Silva and Hacer Acma. Leigh Barbier is a renowned San Francisco-based artist with a singular style. What are Leigh’s career highlights so far? “Working on dioramas for the California Academy of Sciences, being part of an all-girl team to make a Read More …

NIAD Windows Exhibition: Picnic, organized by Jessica Cadkin

About the exhibition Ice cream trucks, pool parties, and picnics evoke images of summertime. This year in particular, picnics became an opportunity to reunite with friends and family after so many months of isolation. The summer ritual of gathering outside on blankets with baskets to share a meal, play games, and bask in the sun took on special meaning. So as this summer draws to a close, the artworks selected for this window exhibition are an expression of some of those things. About the organizer  Jessica Cadkin was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and grew up in Napa, California. She received Read More …

Online Exhibition: Serotonin Ping, selected by Zoë Taleporos

About the exhibition   Serotonin Ping is a collection of images that aspire to elicit feelings of well-being, stability, and happiness. Pets, food, inside jokes, oddities, simple statements – these are the things that cheer me up. Hopefully this show makes someone else crack a smile. About the selector Zoë Taleporos is a curator, arts administrator, and writer based in Oakland. She currently works as a Public Art Project Manager at the San Francisco Arts Commission where she is involved in commissioning a wide range of artworks for public spaces.

Online Exhibition: Forest Of Fantasy, selected by Bessie Kunath

About the exhibition This collection of objects and images meanders through the enchanted woods on a gothic quest steered by good and evil forces. The trees seem to come to life and the ground beneath is wrought with ancient Druidic wisdom. Go forth and may your travels be prosperous, meaningful and enlightening. About the selector Bessie Kunath (b. 1981, Orange, CA) is an artist and curator who lives in Cleveland, Ohio where she currently works as a nurse at the Cleveland Clinic. She has formerly worked at Creativity Explored in San Francisco and at ECF Art Centers in Los Angeles, CA. Read More …