In a region known for experience occurring in the cloud, on the net and through a virtual reality, City Art Cooperative in San Francisco, CA focuses on a single physical space and the objects that 200 artists create. Twelve times a year the gallery walls and pedestals, laden with an ever-changing display, transform and the first Friday of every month sees the City Art gallery packed with art aficionados out to see new art from new artists.

After being vetted and offered membership, artists can rent gallery space for one month. Members come with a wide range of experience, from known, established individuals to new and emerging artists. This sharing of allows artists to have shows without breaking the bank.

For fresh talent, City Art offers a rare but crucial type of training: business training. All members who display work must also dedicate some hours to staffing the gallery. Through this labor, as well as interaction with the board and other artists, members learn about pricing, bookkeeping and communication with possible patrons. As all professional artists must pair know-how in finance and customer service with an ability to create art, this education, specific to the discipline, proves invaluable. As demonstrated by the consistently high quality of the City Art’s shows, the cooperative also supports emerging artist in understanding the subtle nuances of superior art display.

What all this means is that City Art provides gallery goers the opportunity to sample a wide range of locally grown art. The large membership ensures that, each month, the space houses a diverse collection, work from twenty-nine different artists. The cooperative, as it supports these artists, wants to ensure that more members of the larger Bay Area Community engage with this specific space dedicated to creative expression.