There is one more week to see Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power, 1963-1983, at the de Young Museum, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco. Don’t miss this. It’s a powerful, uplifting, enlightening exhibit. Don’t wait! It closes on the 15th of this month.
This exhibit started at the Tate in 2017, and has been to many museums around the country since then. I have not yet found if/when it has dates past the SF exhibition.
The range of art is huge, from exclusively black-and-white paintings from the Spiral exhibit, to street photography,
to sculptures inspired by works from Oceania at the Field Museum, to posters from the streets, to collages from the ruins of Watts, to a remembrance of the door of murdered activist Fred Hampton.
Can abstract art further the revolution? The abstract artists thought so, though those putting revolutionary posters on the streets may have differed. The abstract work at this exhibit was outstanding, and some was quite clear in its message.
I asked at the de Young if it was ok to post photos I took at the exhibition to review/promote it, and they said that was fine. This is a very small selection — so many more styles and formats to see!
Getting to the de Young from Market Street BART Stations:
The 5R Fulton bus goes from Market St (pick it up by the GAP at Powell BART) to 10th Ave, where you’re almost at the door of the museum. The N-Judah will take you to the south side of the park instead, where you can get off at 9th, have pizza at the worker-owned collective Arizmendi, and take a somewhat longer walk to the museum. As a bonus for coming in from the south, you get to pass Nancy Pelosi Drive en route.
The prices for this exhibit range from $10 for kids to $16 for students, $22 for seniors, and $25 for adults. If this is prohibitive for you, come on Saturday, when the museum is free for Bay Area residents, and Soul of a Nation admission is $10. And keep the information below for future reference! (copy-pasted from the de Young site)
Every Saturday the de Young offers free general admission to all residents of the nine Bay Area counties. Saturdays feature engaging art experiences for the entire family, including art making, gallery guides, and tours with discussion and sketching in the permanent galleries.
- This offer applies only to the permanent collection galleries.
- Reserve your tickets in advance online. Please be prepared to verify with ID onsite.
- Free admission may be redeemed onsite with a driver’s license or postmarked envelope.
- See it for $10! Every Saturday, Bay Area residents receive discounted admission to Soul of a Nation. Discount is redeemable on-site only.
- Visitors ages 17 and under always receive free admission to the permanent collection galleries.
- Qualifying counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma