Author: AdminSFLD

Heron Arts, in collaboration with The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District and Oasis Arts, is hosting a group exhibition Pride Pop-Up Show.

The exhibition is a salon style show featuring artwork by local LGBTQ artists and is a celebration of the beginning of Pride month, as well as a celebration of the cultural heritage of the LGBTQ+ community in the SoMa neighborhood where Heron Arts is located.   Participating Artists include Adam Caldwell, Aleckzander Anthony, Alex Prestia, Diego Gomez, Dorian Katz, Elliott C Nathan, Favianna Rodriguez, Gloria Polo, J Manuel Carmona, Jonesy, Josh Katz, Justin Hall, Kegan Marling,  Phil Chanin (Glitter Moonbeam), Serge Gay Jr., and Tanya Wischerath.

The exhibition will be on view at Heron Arts from June 2nd until June 14th, 2023.  To view the exhibition, you can make a reservation here.

The opening reception for the Pride Pop- Up Show on June 2 was a great success, with roughly 100 attendees, and numerous works sold.  Entertainment featured DJ Trevor Sigler and Oasis performer Kochina Rude.  You can view a full gallery of images from the event here, courtesy of Fire Dragon Photo.

The LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District is proud to partner with Heron Arts and Oasis Arts in creating this event, with invaluable assistance from Soma West CBD.

Heron Arts is located at 7 Heron St, off of 8th Street near Harrison, in South of Market San Francisco.

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Committee meetings are currently held on Zoom.   

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General Information about Committee Meetings and Membership

Arts and Culture Committee – fourth Thursdays, 6-7pm

This committee advocates for creative activity in the Cultural District, organizes events, performances, public art, and gallery shows, and explores opportunities to attract and support leather and LGBTQ artists in the Cultural District.  Please contact the Arts and Culture Committee chair for more info!

Communications Committee – second Thursdays, 6-7pm

This committee handles the Cultural District’s social media and digital presence, public relations, branding, event promotion, and outreach to clubs, organizations, and individuals.  Contact the Communications Committee chair for more info!

Diversity & Membership Committee-first Thursdays, 6-7pm

This committee recruits individual members and works with other committees to ensure diversity of membership, programs and participants. Contact the Diversity & Membership Committee chair for more info!

Fundraising Committee – select Tuesdays, 5-6pm

This committee plans the District’s fundraising events, LeatherWalk and the Golden Dildeaux Awards.  Its work also includes planning other fundraising events and campaigns, exploring grant opportunities, and creating materials to generate donations to support the work of the organization.  Please contact the Fundraising Committee chair for more info.

Land Use Committee – second Monday, 6:30-7:30

This committee tracks construction projects and developments in the District, and working with developers and city agencies to mitigate the effects of gentrification.

The Land Use Committee also works to preserve culturally and historically significant buildings, businesses, organizations, traditions, arts, events, and aesthetics, to protect tenants from displacement, and to promote affordable housing in the District.  Contact the Land Use Committee chair for more info.

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As reported on their Web site, on Hoodline, and in the Bay Area Reporter, Blow Buddies will not be reopening after the pandemic.  The club, which opened on August 8, 1988 and saw its last guests on March 15, 2020, will be much missed by many in our community.  As the Web page says, “The club was created in response to one virus and done in by another.”

It joins Watergarden, the San Jose bathhouse which recently closed after 43 years of operation, a victim of both the cost of being closed, and the uncertainty about when they might return to normal.  A Bay Area Reporter article on that closing can be found here.

The good news, however, is that San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors is taking steps to make it easier for a bathhouse to operate in the city.  In legislation passed by the Board of Supervisors in July 2020, and adopted by the Department of Public Health in January 2021, they have removed the mandate for inspections and the ban on locking doors, making traditional gay bathhouses possible.

They have also implemented zoning changes which allow “Adult Sex Venues” (ncluding bathhouses) to operate in broad areas of the city, including key locations in the Castro, Tenderloin and SOMA, where such venues would be most welcome and successful.  You can learn more about the zoning changes here.

The first impact of these changes was the opening of the new Eros SF Sex Club, an SF Legacy Business formerly located on Market Street.  The new facility at 132 Turk Street opened in June, in time for SF Pride.  Read about the move here, and visit the Club’s website here.  

Of course, the Steamworks bathhouse remains open in Berkeley, for those willing to travel across the bay.

With the new zoning, other adult sex venues are likely to open in San Francisco.  If you would like to create one in SOMA, the LEATHER & LGBTQ Cultural District would love to help you.   Write to business@sflcd.org for information.