This is your source for information on San Francisco Bay Area exhibitions, talks, artist receptions, and workshops for people interested in photography. Our focus is on events that are free or are sponsored by non-profit/educational organizations.
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Event Type: SHOW
2023-12-08 to 2024-12-31
Stanford University
Hohbach Hall, 557 Escondido Mall, Stanford, CA 94305
Event is Free
Hours:
For more information:
Acclaimed photographer Mary Beth Meehan collaborated with Stanford professor Fred Turner to highlight an often overlooked side of Silicon Valley: the people who are struggling to make ends meet in a region known as the center of technological innovation.
A selection of portraits and text from their award-winning book Seeing Silicon Valley is on display throughout Hohbach Hall's study spaces. This long-term exhibition will be up through 2025.
Event Type: SHOW
2024-11-16 to 2024-12-31
Bolinas Museum
48 Wharf Road, Bolinas, CA 94924
Event is Free
Hours: Fri 1:00 PM-5:00 PM; Sat - Sun 12:00 PM-5:00 PM;
For more information:
Berkeley-based photographer Jenny Sampson has spent many years photographing the Bay Area skater community. Skaters have long been seen as rebellious, marked by their fashion, the noise they make rolling down the streets, and their unconventional use of urban spaces. This non-conformist image reflects the depth and determination of skate culture, where skaters fall, rise, and persevere with resilience. Working with the 173-year-old photographic process of wet collodion or tintype, Sampson captures the beauty and spirit of the thoroughly contemporary culture of skating. Creating these intimate portraits requires time, interaction, and collaboration, mirroring the inclusive nature of skater culture. Each portrait reveals a unique honesty, offering a glimpse into the skater or sitter’s true character.
Event Type: SHOW
2024-11-23 to 2024-12-29
Center for Photographic Art
San Carlos at 9th Avenue, At the Sunset Center, Carmel, CA 93921
Event is Free
Hours: Wed - Fri 12:00 AM-12:00 AM; Sat - Sun 12:00 PM-4:00 PM;
For more information:
Opening reception and awards presentation: Saturday, November 23, 4:00 - 6:00pm
The Center for Photographic Art (CPA) is excited to announce the 2024 International Juried Exhibition with over $5,000 in awards! Forty-five juror-selected photographs will be exhibited from November 23, 2024 through December 29, 2024 in our historic gallery in Carmel, California, and vie for eight cash awards totaling more than $5,000. These photographs will also be featured in an online gallery on the CPA website along with an additional forty-five juror selected images.
2024 IJE Juror CPA is pleased to announce this year’s International Juried Exhibition juror: Elizabeth Avedon. Elizabeth Avedon is an independent curator, and photography book and exhibition designer. She is a sought after consultant for photographers; editing, sequencing, and advising towards their exhibition, book, and portfolio projects. Former Director of Photo-Eye Gallery, Santa Fe; Creative Director for The Gere Foundation; Art Director for Polo Ralph Lauren national advertising; and Photo Editor for Ralph Lauren Media’s RL Magazine, Elizabeth has received awards and recognition for her curatorial work, exhibition design and publishing projects, including the retrospective exhibition and book "Avedon: 1949-1979" for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts, and High Museum, Atlanta; "Avedon: In the American West" for the Amon Carter Museum, Corcoran Gallery, and Art Institute of Chicago. Also from the Leica Gallery, New York; the Menil Collection, Houston, Texas; and for the Estate of Diane Arbus, among others. She is an instructor in the prestigious Masters in Digital Photography program at the School of Visual Arts, New York and proud to have received a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Griffin Museum of Photography.
Elizabeth brings a deep understanding of photography and a broad appreciation of diverse photographic styles, genres and mediums to CPA's 2024 International Juried Exhibition.
Event Type: SHOW
2024-11-16 to 2025-01-04
Euqinom gallery
49 Geary Street, Suite 417, San Francisco, CA 94108
Event is Free
Hours: Wed - Sat 12:00 PM-5:00 PM;
For more information:
Opening reception with artist: Saturday, November 16, 2024 2-5pm with artist walkthrough
EUQINOM Gallery is delighted to present Peripheral Gestures, its second solo exhibition with Chilean-born, Los Angeles-based artist Rodrigo Valenzuela. The exhibition showcases Valenzuela’s newest works, including his Garabatos photographic series, Muecas white ceramic sculptures, and a selection from his New Land paintings, developed during a residency at the Headlands Center for the Arts.
In Peripheral Gestures, Valenzuela continues his exploration of protest, labor, and the universal bodily language of underground movements. His black-and-white Garabatos series draws inspiration from his research into Latin American subcultures and music scene during the dictatorship years, in the aftermath of Operation Condor, a CIA lead initiative aimed to neutralize socialist agendas in South America by creating a web of cooperation among military regimes. Utilizing archival images, magazines, and films, Valenzuela isolates bodily gestures, transforming these documentary scenes into a unique visual language. By recreating and photographing these movements as abstract sculptures, he conjures a haunting reflection on collective memory and the visceral expression of suppressed voices.
Event Type: ONLINE EXHIBIT
2024-11-01 to 2025-01-01
Marin Society of Artists
1515 3rd Street, San Rafael, CA 94901
Event is Free
For more information:
Event Type: OPENING
2025-01-04 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
Center for Photographic Art
San Carlos at 9th Avenue, At the Sunset Center, Carmel, CA 93921
Event is Free
For more information:
Exhibition on view: January 4 - February 9, 2025 Conversation with Lewis Watts and Judy Walgren: Saturday, January 4, 3:00 - 4:00pm Carpenter Hall
Please join us for this retrospective exhibition of works by internationally exhibited photographer, archivist, curator and Professor Emeritus, Lewis Watts. With a keen interest in both historical and contemporary representations of people in the African diaspora, this exhibition includes portraits of artists, activists, authors, and musicians along with his photographs of historical, archival objects, images from his best-selling book, Harlem of the West, as well as his documentary street photography. For more than fifty years, Watts' photography practice and research has been grounded by an interest in the culture, history, and migration of people of the African diaspora, beginning in the San Francisco Bay Area and the nation, but also in Europe and abroad. On opening night we'll have the pleasure of hearing Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Judy Walgren in conversation with renowned photographer Lewis Watts. Not to be missed!
Event Type: ARTIST TALK
2025-01-04 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Center for Photographic Art
San Carlos at 9th Avenue, Carpenter Hall at the Sunset Center, Carmel, CA 93921
Event is Free
For more information:
Exhibition on view: January 4 - February 9, 2025 Opening reception: January 4, 4:00 - 6:00pm
Please join us for this retrospective exhibition of works by internationally exhibited photographer, archivist, curator and Professor Emeritus, Lewis Watts. With a keen interest in both historical and contemporary representations of people in the African diaspora, this exhibition includes portraits of artists, activists, authors, and musicians along with his photographs of historical, archival objects, images from his best-selling book, Harlem of the West, as well as his documentary street photography. For more than fifty years, Watts' photography practice and research has been grounded by an interest in the culture, history, and migration of people of the African diaspora, beginning in the San Francisco Bay Area and the nation, but also in Europe and abroad. On opening night we'll have the pleasure of hearing Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Judy Walgren in conversation with renowned photographer Lewis Watts. Not to be missed!
Event Type: FUND RAISER
2024-11-14 to 2024-12-31 11:59 PM
The Weston Collective
1713 Broadway Ave, Suite B5, Seaside, CA 93955
Event is Free
For more information:
We are excited to announce that the Weston Collective has again been selected to participate in the Monterey County Gives! Campaign! You have a fantastic opportunity to support our many youth photography programs, which put cameras in the hands of students in our community who need them most.
With the many amazing organizations in this year’s campaign, we hope you will consider donating to our cause. Your contribution will help support our vision of showing how important it is for students to be exposed to art as they grow. Thank you!
Out of the darkroom and into the light: the Weston Collective is where science, technology, and art meet through photography to enlighten students’ lives. Founded in 2004, the Weston Collective (TWC) – a 501(c)3 non-profit organization in Monterey County – puts cameras into students’ hands, enriching their lives by expanding analytic and creative thinking through learning photography. TWC is committed to teaching analog (film) and digital photography to students on the Central Coast of California (primarily Monterey County), regardless of age, disabilities, socioeconomics, demographics, race, or sexual identification.
TWC teaches after-school, summer, and elective photography classes to elementary through high school students, holds the annual Weston Scholarship, offers workshops, courses, and open studio/darkroom hours to adults, and hosts exhibitions and artist-in-residency programs. TWC offers mobile photography programs, bringing teachers, cameras, and individualized curriculums to campuses and youth centers in Monterey and Aromas Counties. Inspiring students and the community each year, TWC awards Weston Collective Scholarships to over 25 high school and college students from Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties for their winning photographic portfolios. Since 2004, the Weston Scholarship has awarded 447 scholarships totaling over $130,000. TWC was created to celebrate, draw attention to, and preserve teaching and learning photography in high schools and colleges.
Event Type: FUND RAISER
2024-11-19 to 2024-12-31
Center for Photographic Art
San Carlos at 9th Avenue, At the Sunset Center, Carmel, CA 93921
Event is Free
For more information:
The Center for Photographic Art is thrilled to be celebrating nearly 40 years as a dynamic resource for the West Coast arts community. Together, with your support, we can continue to inspire generations of photographers and photography lovers with our powerful exhibitions, fascinating lectures and workshops, and diverse in-person and online programming that reaches far beyond our peninsula and connects us to the world. The generosity of members, artists, educators, supporters and friends alike is crucial, help us continue our mission and offer new and exciting programming and opportunities for everyone!
When you make a tax-deductible donation through the Monterey County Gives! website or write your check to MC Gives! for the Center for Photographic Art, your gift will be increased with generous matching funds. There has never been a better time to support CPA!
Please make your tax-deductible donation by December 31.
Event Type: SHOW
2024-11-23 to 2025-01-04
Casemore Gallery
1275 Minnesota Street, #102, San Francisco, CA 94107
Event is Free
Hours: Tue - Sat 11:00 AM-6:00 PM;
For more information:
Casemore Gallery is pleased to present Mercy, Give and Take, a group exhibition that explores the idea of opposition in the photographic works of John Gossage, Raymond Meeks, Awoiska van der Molen, Sean McFarland, and Aspen Mays.
The show pairs works from each of the included artists, with each pairing sharing common visual elements—buildings, landscapes, photographic tools—but in markedly juxtaposed states, whether life or death, turmoil or serenity, idyll or menace, pushing up or giving way, or even transposal of space. In doing so, the viewer has the opportunity to look beyond the idea of opposition as having two parts, and ponder all that lies between.
Event Type: WORKSHOP
2024-12-01 to 2025-01-05
East Bay Photo Collective
312 8th St, Oakland Photo Workshop, Oakland, CA 94607-4210
General Admission $55.00
For more information:
website: www.ebpco.org
Sunday, January 5, 2025 3:00 PM 6:00 PM
This one day workshop will be held at Oakland Photo Workshop. Signup info at ebpco.org/workshops
If you think a zine is just a printed pamphlet, get ready to open your mind! In this one day workshop, Jaya will present a variety of zine making techniques, ranging from the more “traditional” to the most unexpected and experimental formats. You’ll get a taste of what goes into digital zine layouts as well as getting hands-on with your own DIY zine mock up.
This workshop is open to all. Basic EBPCO Members receive a 20% discount off this workshop; Premium EBPCO members receive a 50% discount!
Event Type: SHOW
2024-12-07 to 2024-12-31
Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center
85 Throckmorton Avenue, Mill Valley, CA 94941
Event is Free
Hours: Tue 12:00 PM-4:00 PM; Thu - Sat 12:00 PM-4:00 PM;
For more information:
Views Across North America photography and canvas prints by Harrison Boyd
At the invitation of the Mill Valley Chamber of Commerce, and in collaboration with the Mill Valley Arts Commission, I will be exhibiting some of my favorite images that I’ve captured in my travels across the United States and Canada.
From a Golden Gate lookalike in Vancouver, British Columbia, to a birdseye view of Midtown Manhattan – there’s a little something for everyone.
Event Type: SHOW
2024-12-07 to 2024-12-31
Mill Valley Community Center
180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA 94941
Event is Free
Hours: Mon - Fri 8:30 AM-5:00 PM;
For more information:
email: recreate@cityofmillvalley.org
website: https://www.millvalleyrecreation.org/facilities/community_center/