“Top Attractions and Highlights of San Francisco Art Week”

**San Francisco Art Week 2024: A Mosaic of Creativity and Cultural Resilience**

San Francisco, a city often caught between the forward march of technology and the wistful longing for its countercultural past, finds its soul through art. Rebecca Solnit, a noted Bay Area historian and cultural critic, once described the city as being overshadowed by corporate and technological dominance, morphing into a “soulless wasteland” controlled by tech magnates. Despite these critiques, the Bay Area continues to nurture vibrant art, activism, and innovation, much of which is on full display during **San Francisco Art Week 2024**.

From January 18 to January 26, artists, curators, and creatives come together for a diverse art experience that underscores the region’s unique identity. Anchored by the renowned **FOG Design+Art fair**, the week includes local exhibitions and installations that reflect the dynamic interplay of history, resilience, and experimentation in San Francisco’s art ecosystem.

### **Hiba Kalache: A Testament of Healing**
**Exhibition**: *Embodiment*
**Location**: Altman Siegel, 3067 Sacramento Street | Closes February 1

Hiba Kalache transforms trauma into vibrant abstractions. Having survived the devastating 2020 Beirut explosion, Kalache channels her emotional and physical scars into intricate works of ink, oil, and oil bar. Inspired by *Kalīla wa-Dimna*, a 13th-century collection of fables, her paintings evoke tales of transformation, resilience, and strength. Through her striking canvases, Kalache fuses ancient storytelling with contemporary artistic techniques, creating pieces that pulsate with raw, frenetic energy.

### **Davina Semo: Sculptural Symphonies**
**Exhibition**: *A Serious Celebration*
**Location**: Jessica Silverman, 621 Grant Avenue | Closes February 22

Davina Semo reimagines the bell—part musical instrument, part alarm—as a symbol of celebration in her exhibition. Known for working with form and texture, Semo’s kinetic sculptures engage both sight and sound. Each hanging bell, resembling floating balloons, invites interaction, creating fragmented symphonies reminiscent of party banter or even alarms. Her inventive use of materials and spatial dynamics transforms the gallery into a realm of contrasting whimsy and urgency.

### **Kota Ezawa: Where History and Memory Converge**
**Exhibition**: *Here and There — Now and Then*
**Location**: Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture | Closes March 9

In *Here and There — Now and Then*, Kota Ezawa reflects on pivotal historical moments with his groundbreaking “video murals.” Some works revisit the 1969–71 occupation of Alcatraz by Indigenous activists, while others reframe more contemporary events, such as the early COVID-19 cruise ship quarantine in the Bay Area. Ezawa’s minimalist aesthetic, blending abstract drawings and motion, compels viewers to reimagine these stories through personal and collective lenses.

### **The Blinding Light: A Search for Meaning**
**Exhibition**: Winter Group Show
**Location**: Slash, 1150 25th Street, Building B | Closes April 19

Curated by Diego Villalobos, *The Blinding Light* borrows its conceptual framework from Benjamín Labatut’s acclaimed novel *When We Cease to Understand the World*. The group exhibit explores the intersection of scientific progress and existential uncertainty. Among the standout works is Isabel Nuño de Buen’s enigmatic *Codex 39*, which resembles fragments of mystical relics, challenging viewers to reconcile the speculative with the tangible. Each piece in the show serves as a philosophical inquiry, making it a highly reflective experience.

### **2024 SECA Art Award: Honoring Local Visionaries**
**Location**: San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) | Closes May 26

This year’s SECA Award celebrates Rose d’Amato and other trailblazing artists, showcasing deep ties to San Francisco’s history and communities. D’Amato’s works highlight her family’s legacy as sign-makers and craftsmen, channeling the rich tradition of Latinx and lowrider cultures. Her installation—a restored 1955 Chevrolet Panel truck surrounded by intricately layered automotive sign paintings—serves as both an homage to her roots and a testament to SF’s artisanal legacy.

### **Ashwini Bhat: A Call for Environmental Awakening**
**Exhibition**: *What Will It Take / For Us To Awake?*
**Location**: Asian Art Museum | Ongoing

Ashwini Bhat uses the calla lily, both fragile and resilient, as a metaphor for humanity’s relationship with nature. Her bronze bell sculpture at the Asian Art Museum doubles as an instrument of self-reflection. Visitors are invited to ring the bell, transforming it from a