Southern Exposure

SOUTHERN EXPOSURE: Dynamic, cutting edge art, education, and community programs since 1974.

MISSION STATEMENT
Opportunities for creative expression are integral to a healthy society. Southern Exposure's unique programs nurture a broad range of innovative, risk-taking contemporary art in an accessible environment. As an artist-run organization, Southern Exposure reaches out to diverse audiences, and serves as a forum and resource center providing extraordinary support to the Bay Area's arts and educational communities.

BACKGROUND
Located in San Francisco’s Mission District, Southern Exposure is a 33 year old, non-profit, artist-run organization dedicated to presenting diverse, innovative, contemporary art, arts education, and related programs and events in an accessible environment. Southern Exposure reaches out to diverse audiences and serves as a forum and resource center to provide extraordinary support to the Bay Area's arts and educational communities. Activities range from exhibitions of local, regional, and international visual artists’ work, education programs, and lectures, panel discussions, and performances. Southern Exposure is dedicated to giving artists—whether they are exhibiting, curating, teaching, or learning—an opportunity to realize ideas for projects that may not otherwise find support.

PROGRAMS

*Gallery Exhibitions Program: Featuring solo, thematic, and juried exhibitions, Southern Exposure offers emerging artists the opportunity to work in formats and contexts that extend and challenge their artistic development and exposure to new audiences. Known for their consistent high quality, Southern Exposure’s exhibitions are pivotal in many artists’ careers. Southern Exposure’s exhibitions are developed by an artist-run Curatorial Committee made up of a rotating group of ten artists and staff.

*Public Art: Southern Exposure’s public art programs seek to commission and present new work by emerging artists that intervenes and interacts in the social and political spheres beyond the space of gallery. SoEx supports and encourages these practices as few venues support emerging artists working in the public. The recently completed, acclaimed yearlong series, SoEx Offsite, commissioned eight public art projects and related programs investigating artists’ strategies for exploring and mapping public space

*Artists in Education Program (AIE): Southern Exposure’s nationally recognized Artists in Education (AIE) program brings together diverse youth, artists, schools and community organizations in a dynamic series of innovative programs. AIE offers youth opportunities to learn critical, artistic, vocational, and cultural experiences beyond the traditional school environment. It also offers professional teaching opportunities for local emerging artists to become arts educators, extending their practice into the community.

*Artists Resources: In recent years, SoEx has actively worked to increase the services we provide for artists. In 2007, SoEx launched the Alternative Exposure Grant Program, a major new initiative that offers over fifteen $3,000 grants to local artists and groups working in the visual arts annually. Other resources include the SoExchange: Professional Development Workshop series, teaching opportunities and more.

*Publications: Southern Exposure Publications provide the public with access programs, stimulates dialogue and engagement with artwork, and encourages critical writing about the arts.

*Public Programs and Events: Lectures, performances, artists' talks, screenings, educational programs, panels and symposia create a forum on contemporary aesthetic, sociopolitical and cultural issues. Through their inter-disciplinary nature, Southern Exposure's events bring topical issues to a broader audience.