It’s Now or Never for Gallery Heist

Posted on November 24, 2009 
Filed Under Art, Tenderloin

Recently Culturcosm had a chance to chat with Julianne Yates, proprietor and curator of Gallery Heist, which just opened it’s first show “Now or Never” on November 14th. In an exclusive interview, she tells us what it’s like to be a 23-year-old from Los Angeles curating art in San Francisco and opening her first gallery amidst the art explosion in the Tenderloin.

22heistsf

What brought you from L.A. to San Francisco and what has kept you here?

At the time I was in a musical—my background down there was acting—and I was doing PR for a tri-annual fashion, music, and art event called Project Ethos, which is a really good vehicle and advocate for youth and the arts. Then all the projects I was working on in Orange County came to a natural end and I had an opportunity to move up here, just for the summer, and I took it. I ended up meeting an art consultant named Debbie Green who was working with Hyde Street Gallery. When I was about to move back to L.A. because I couldn’t find any work at all, I got a call from her asking if I would like to come work at the gallery.

How did Gallery Heist and your first show here become a reality?

I had this list of artists who I’d been watching for two years while I worked at Hyde Street, and was totally inspired by their work. One of the artists, Brett Amory, who I showed with at Hyde Street has been a huge inspiration to open the gallery and stay in San Francisco. He introduced me to pretty much everybody that I know in this art scene.

I was invited to sit and draw at a Sketch Tuesdays [at 111 Minna], one of the events that I’d watched for about a year and a half. When I finally went, I thought ‘this is amazing, why didn’t I come sooner?’ I met the curator, Brad [Alder], who knew that I was curating at Hyde Street and that I’d worked with Brett, so he invited me to co-curate Sketch Tuesdays. So I started rounding up artists, and then I met Gabe [Scott], who was the main curator for the Minna gallery. I told him I was opening a new gallery and asked him if he wanted to co-curate the first show with me.

I went to high school with [photographer Zach Lewis] and then caught up with him up here and he turned me on to Mike Giant. I was doing a fundraiser for Heist Gallery called Artcycle SF, and I contacted Mike to see if Rebel8 and The Skullz Press would be interested in sponsoring the alleycat [bike race] around the city.

09heistsf

What has been the most challenging or exciting thing about curating?

I don’t hang until I get all the artwork in here and then I lay it all out and then sit with it. My favorite part is hanging the shows. It’s almost like painting, you have this canvas and that’s the blank wall, and then all of your colors are all the different pieces. It’s just like how artists sometimes explain painting as building up and taking down. It’s like communicating with a piece—it will tell you when it’s done. [Hanging a show] is the same thing, in my eyes, it’s an art form that I enjoy.

How do you choose the artwork you want to show?

To me, art is language in common. You don’t have to speak the same language to understand what’s happening in a painting. I like it when the pieces are saying something, when they’re thought provoking and make you think something deeper. I love artwork that challenges whatever’s happening in the world or society. Like with Adam Caldwell’s pieces—he has the technical training and ability, but then he has these ideas that he’s able to execute, these socially challenging conceptual pieces that are backed with mad skill.

You had a great turnout for your first opening, how did it compare to your expectations?

I didn’t really have any expectations. Obviously you hope for the best, but I think I was so focused on making sure everything was hung and ready to go that I didn’t really think about the turnout. I had promoted as much as I could and there were people helping me out promoting, and I’m thankful to all those people. I guess I couldn’t have asked for a better turnout and I sold some work and so that’s awesome on top of everything.

08heistsf

How can a small gallery hope to be successful in this economy?

I think the key is lower price points, smaller works, more volume, less margin. In this show there were 51 pieces from 21 different artists, all the prices range from $50 prints from Mike Giant, to Kevin Taylor’s piece, which is $4,900. I want to be able to have that range, so if someone can’t afford the art, they can buy it on a T-shirt, and experience the art, support and promote it, and be a part of it. I’m not going to only cater to people who can afford $3,000 paintings.

How does your own work fit into your plans for Heist?

I’ve always considered myself a writer. I don’t have anything published yet, but I plan to. I definitely want to tie that aspect into the gallery, with open mic events and publishing books, eventually getting my own publishing company, publishing my work and the work of others. I’m talking to The Beat Museum about starting that sort of endeavor. Acting will always be a part of my life and hopefully, I believe this will lead me back into that. And photography—I’m always continuing to build on that.

What about the long-term plans for the gallery?

Ideally, the long-term goal for Gallery Heist would be to open up a location in Los Angeles so I could get back there, and definitely in New York. I’m really hopeful. I believe in the art here and the artists, and I see it taking off. Just look what’s happening on Geary Street with me and Kokoro [Studio], and Ever Gold, and Public. White Walls definitely paved the road for conscious art and provided the groundwork for us to be here, along with Fecal Face and Ratio 3.

01heistsf

What makes the art you’re showing and the galleries in the Tenderloin important?

Our history is being documented by with these artists. These are the people who are saying something about our society, and taking the risk to be protestors and advocates of conscious art. I think the future is beginning. It’s DIY and it’s just cool. It’s so fun to see these young people saying ‘this is the art that we want to see’ and being able to have the courage and passion to open up a spot and rough it out, and really do it. It’s places like this that are making the movement. It’s finding more alternative spaces like this that are going to put San Francisco on the map, I think, as an International scene. People want it. There are so many young people here in San Francisco, and here is art by young people for young people, and for everybody. There’s a sense of belonging and community here, which I think is important.

You’re 23—some people might be surprised at someone taking on such an ambitious endeavor at your age. What would you say to them?

When am I ever going to do this in my life again? It still hasn’t really set in—what I’m doing, I just know that it feels right. This is happening, this is life, this is what it’s all about. I’ll write about this in twenty years and it’ll be a cool story, once it takes off.

Gallery Heist is located at 679 Geary St. at Leavenworth in San Francisco.
Stop in to say hello and check out “Now or Never,” Tuesdays-Saturdays, noon-midnight, Sundays, noon-6pm.

—Sara

Photos courtesy of Greg Jacobs.

Shareadd to del.icio.us :: Add to Blinkslist :: add to furl :: Digg it :: add to ma.gnolia :: Stumble It! :: add to simpy :: seed the vine :: :: :: TailRank :: post to facebook

Comments

One Response to “It’s Now or Never for Gallery Heist”

  1. Ryan De La Hoz on November 24th, 2009 7:00 pm

    Great write up!

Leave a Reply