Welcome to Tenderloin Arts LIVE, a collection of monthly Tenderloin arts events sourced from organizations, individuals, and venues from the neighborhood. Here are some of the many arts & culture happenings in the Tenderloin this month.
Want to submit your events for next month’s listing? Email info [at] tlcbd [dot] org to receive the event submissions form.
Tilden Hotel Holiday Spectacular at TILDEN HOTEL
Date: Opening Reception, December 3, 5-8pm
Location: Tilden Hotel, 345 Taylor Street
Join Tilden Hotel during the months of December and January in embracing local artists’ work as part of its Art Program. On December 3 from 5-8 p.m., Tilden Hotel will host a welcome reception – the Tilden Tuesday Holiday Spectacular – for several of its past artists, showcasing their various forms of artwork. The honorable artists include: Gordon Silveria, Eric Dyer, Christopher Fodera, Anna Sidana, Laurie Blessen, Mike Gosbee, Chris Cook, and poet Dorian Dorey.
The holiday-themed reception will take place in the lobby and will include complimentary festive drinks and tasty bites crafted by The Douglas Room, the hotel’s signature restaurant and bar, as well as an exciting giveaway with special prizes. Looking to check off holiday gifts? Art pieces are available for purchase right from the lobby walls.
Concerts at CENTER FOR NEW MUSIC
Multiple Dates
Location: 55 Taylor Street
C4NM presents concerts of all types of new creative music. From contemporary classical to avant-garde, to new jazz, and more. Here are the shows happening this month.
Find a full list of this month’s shows here.
Thu, Dec 5 | 8 PM | Mark Helias + Ben Goldberg: 2 Solos and a Duo
Sat, Dec 7 | 7 PM | Mobius Trio: Bon Voyage Release Party
Wed, Dec 11 | 7 PM | Five Songs for Kate and Vanessa ~ a world premiere
Thu, Dec 12 | 6 PM | Closing Reception: Dragging the Right Chord by Taro Hattori
Fri, Dec 13 | 6 PM | C4NM Holiday Party
Sat, Dec 14 | 7 PM | Global Arts Bridges: Inception Part II Sun, Dec 15 | 7 PM | Charlie Rauh
Fri, Dec 20 | 7 PM | Bay Area Composer Group: The Unquiet Grave
PIANOFIGHT, Multiple Live Performances Nightly
Location: PianoFight, 144 Taylor Street
There of 20-25 shows per week. Check out the complete show calendar online.
Neon Monuments: The One-Stop Shops that Shape the Tenderloin at the TENDERLOIN MUSEUM
Date: December 5, 6-9pm
Tenderloin Museum, 398 Eddy St
Elliot Bamberger wants you to look twice at San Francisco.
To Bamberger, a San Francisco native, the city’s small businesses are less like old buildings and more like odd characters. Described as portraits, the neon-lit bars, liquor stores, and laundromats that Bamberger focuses on in his photographic series, Neon Monuments: The Bars, Businesses, and One-Stop Shops That Shape the Tenderloin, are charming—and enduring—testaments to classic ideas surrounding opportunity, enterprise, and resilience.
On December 5, join the TL Museum for the opening reception of Elliot Bamberger’s unique exhibition, which celebrates the local monuments which set San Francisco apart from the rest of America’s cities.
Matchbook Walking Tour: From the Tenderloin to Union Square with TENDERLOIN MUSEUM
Date: December 12, 6-8:30pm
Tenderloin Museum, 398 Eddy St
A one-year anniversary celebration of The Match Book, which includes an evening walking tour from the Tenderloin to Union Square.
Join us for an evening tour through San Francisco’s historic corridors between the Tenderloin and Union Square. This is a brand new tour as a follow-up to last year’s Tenderloin Matchbook-Neon tour. Randall Homan and Al Barna from San Francisco Neon and Katie Conry from the Tenderloin Museum will lead a walking exploration of Tenderloin matchbooks associated with legacy businesses and neon signs.
Preceding the tour, patrons will have the opportunity to appreciate the art of the match book every day: in honor of its one-year anniversary, copies of the Tenderloin Museum’s book, The Match Book, which resurrects the Tenderloin’s overlooked history of restaurants, bars, hotels and other business establishments through these daily objects, will be signed and made available for purchase —just in time for the holidays.
Tour starts with a brief orientation about the Match Book project at the Tenderloin Museum and ends at Union Square. Book early, space is limited.
Wile & Wing Poetry Book Launch at TENDERLOIN MUSEUM
Date: December 17, 6:30-8:30pm
Tenderloin Museum, 398 Eddy St
Author and songwriter Kimi Sugioka is a mesmerizing—and folkloric—figure in the Bay Area literary community. She is described as maternal, witchy, and passionate by Anne Waldman, author of Trickster Feminism. For decades, Sugioka has been involved in the Bay Area’s literary community, and was a former curator of the legendary Café Babar poetry series of the 1990s. Now, Sugioka says, poetry readings are more significant than ever in a shifting San Francisco: “the [literary] community subsists on artistic freedom—and it is still free. There are multiple poetry readings every night and they don’t cost anything. They cut across class, race and culture, and engender the expression of diverse voices that share the paradoxical wit, wisdom, terror and joy of our times.”
On December 17, the Tenderloin Museum will have the privilege of hosting the book launch for Wile & Wing, Sugioka’s latest series of poems which explore themes of Invisible borders, personal boundaries, and social justice. In classic “Babarian” fashion, Sugioka will also be joined by authors Natasha Dennerstein and Susan Dambroff, where they will each read book excerpts and original poems.
SF First Thursday Art Walk: Tenderloin and Lower Polk
Date: Every First Thursday
Multiple Locations
Mark your calendars! The next SF First Thursday Art Walk is set for Thursday, November 7th. Come check out the multifaceted display of color and imagination. Make sure to visit their website for a list of participating galleries and to download the map. Over 20 galleries and art spaces bringing together the arts and culture of the surrounding Lower Polk and Tenderloin communities.
100 Under $100 Group Art Show at FLEET WOOD SF
Date: Thursday, December 5th, 3pm-10pm
Fleet Wood SF, 839 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CAHead to Fleet Wood SF for their annual ‘100 under $100’ group art show with 100+ pieces of art all priced to sell at $100 or less. The opening reception is part of SF First Thursdays: Lower Polk / TL Art Walk on Thursday, December 5th from 3p-10p.
Cold libations from our friends at Pine Street Brewery // Food pop-up // Tunes on the turntables // Mega holiday sales !
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