Events

installation view of the Art of the African Diaspora at Richmond Art Center

Off-Site Exhibition // NIAD Artists in “Art of the African Diaspora 2022” at Richmond Art Center

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January 20 – March 19, 2022 About the exhibition Art of the African Diaspora, in partnership with Richmond Art Center, supports artists of African descent in the Bay Area through representation, professional development, and building a creative community. In 2022 we are celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Bay Area Black Artists Exhibition at Richmond Art Center! Over 100 artists of African descent will showcase their work at Richmond Art Center, as well as in open studios and satellite exhibitions at different venues across the Bay Area. NIAD Artists in the Exhibition Halisi Noel-Johnson Thomas Harden Raven Harper Kiesha White Shawna Read More …

A painting on white paper in four colors - yellow, red, indigo and grey. Yellow and red form thick half arches on the left side of the paper. Indigo forms a cloud in the middle and top right corner. Grey is a mass in the mid to lower right. Brushstrokes visible in all the forms.

NIAD Online Exhibition // “Murmuration” selected by Alisa Golden

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About the exhibition A murmuration is a flock of thousands moving together, a pattern through the sky, each bird attuned to its nearest neighbors. Made up of individual parts, the whole becomes greater and more powerful than when it stands alone. In the works presented here, individual parts are visible: pieced, gridded, grouped, and arranged with lines, letters, and fields of color. And from the thousands of works that fly together at NIAD, here is only a sample of pieces that somehow talk and listen to their nearest neighbors. A murmuration of applause to all. About the selector Alisa Golden writes, Read More …

A satirical print of a white male, wearing a blue uniform, smiling, holding up a blue hood with his raised right hand. The words "Trump equals" above the figure and "cobra commander" at the bottom are handwritten in black.

NIAD Online Exhibition // “Innersense” ushered by Germán Herrera

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About the Exhibition What is expressed in this small selection of works emanates from tender voices; better equipped than most to express the one quality humankind probably needs the most in this moment: love.  They make me think of canaries in a coal mine and, their message, an invitation to  embrace our humanity. May all of us be inspired by their courage, honesty and capacity to feel. About the organizer Germán Herrera Human being. I am an artist interested in spirituality, communication and art as an extension of consciousness. Student of A Course in Miracles, I live in California with Read More …

an installation shot of Relics from the Future installed in NIAD Art Center's galleries.

In-Person Closing Reception February 12 // “Relics for the Future” curated by Jessica Snow

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Closing Reception Saturday February 12 1-4PM NIAD Art Center 551 23rd Street, Richmond About the exhibition Relics for the Future takes as its point of departure an imagined future in which the art created today is interpreted in an entirely new light. Will future generations look at works of art of the contemporary moment and assign meaning which was entirely unintended by today’s artists? Will they see our artwork as antidotes to archaic social networks that in fact isolated us more than connected us? The artwork of today may be seen as our most successful attempts at communication— odd idols, Read More …

A Year Through the Windows // NIAD’s 2021 Windows Exhibitions (online exhibition)

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About the collection NIAD’s Windows Exhibitions are a pandemic-era innovation, born out of the necessity to see art, and for art to be seen, that continued unabated during lockdown. Way back in July 2020 Amanda announced in The Latest, “Starting now, each month we will add new exhibitions to NIAD’s street-side windows, selected by local artists, curators and NIAD community members… Interested audiences can now drive by, take a stroll past our windows, or get in touch with us directly to arrange for sales or more information on art and artists.” Many thanks to NIAD Gallery Director Julio Rodriguez, the deft facilitator Read More …

An arrangment of artworks related to the Win Win 10 fundraiser, organized in two rows of three, with the Win Win 10 logo in the middle of the bottom row.

Win Win 10 Sneak Preview, collected by Isabel Xilonen Ortiz (online exhibition)

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Our final NIAD Gift Guide of the season doubles as a sneak peek into what’s in store for you at Win Win 10, NIAD’s Annual Benefit Fundraiser coming up on Saturday March 5, 2022! Isabel X. Ortiz from NIAD’s fundraising team describes the NIAD artworks that inspired her Win Win 10 Sneak Preview collection… About the collection I curated this collection with all the game-lovers and risk-takers in mind. It’s for the artists who are pushing their own creative boundaries. It’s for the innovators who are thinking of their next passion project. It’s for the people who like to spice up their homes with Read More …

A handful of dogs (some brown, some yellow) and what appear to be a few cats poke their heads in sideways and here and there into a garden scene of red and pink flowers with twining stems and bright green leaves on a light green background. Only the heads and necks of the dogs (and cats, perhaps) are visible.

NIAD Windows Exhibition // “Menagerie on 23rd Street” selected by Prajakti Jayavant

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About the exhibition The exhibition windows of NIAD on 23rd street are wildly overstuffed this holiday season. Amongst a backdrop of drawings that are doodled and dotted emerge a collection of creatures that are striped and spotted. This menagerie includes an assortment of tickles and roars from the furriest felines to amphibians galore. At daybreak, dapper penguins appear as mischievous musketeers, parading their way through showers of shapes. Marsupials, with pocketfuls of petunias, patiently postpone their leaping while snails slowly scribe a chalk hopscotch design. By midday, squirrels engage in patterns of play by using their tails as paintbrushes to carry Read More …

an arrangement of works by NIAD studio artists included in NIAD Holiday Gift Guide #5 - a red ceramic snake, a wrapped necklace, a watercolor of football helmets, a scarf, a weaving, a t shirt, a beaded necklace and a print

NIAD Holiday Gift Guide #5, collected by Dawline-Jane Oni-Eseleh

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About the collection Gift-giving can be so tricky! It can be hard to know if someone has an item already, if it will be useful, or if it’s something that maybe you like instead of the recipient.  When I choose a gift for someone, I try to focus on their interests or recent big events in their life  – did they just move into a new home? Are they always dressed to the nines? Do they love sending videos about cute animals?  I curated this shopping guide with those friends in mind, so whether you are buying a gift for your new Read More …

A graphic of a collection of artworks included in the holiday gift guide. arranged in a grid.

NIAD Holiday Gift Guide #4: “SISTER SISTER” collected by Amanda and Sarah Eicher

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About “SISTER SISTER” Some people think we look alike; others think our voices sound the same, and still others mistake us for each other – but do we have the same taste?  We definitely swapped clothes, jewelry, sneakers, and a few items we argued over as tiny pups in the world.In this selection, I tried to choose for my sister a few of the things I think she might have borrowed from my childhood bedroom – or that I’d want to borrow from hers. (Unsurprisingly, we chose a few of the same items the first time around!) As the younger sibling, I Read More …

NIAD Holiday Gift Guide #3: “The Zindel Collection” collection by Bill

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About “The Zindel Collection” collection The items in this Holiday Gift Guide are perfect for your friend or family member who: 1. loves handsome dudes and fall colors. Mireya Betances, Two Dudes ceramic 13x7x2″ 2. admires intelligence, integrity, and dedication. Raven Harper, MLK T-shirt hand silk-screened, 100% cotton  3. dreams of living in a strawberry. Heather Hamann, Untitled  mixed media on paper 12×18″ 4. loves swamp creatures.  Saul Alegria, Untitled ceramic 13x10x2″ 5. loves alien swamp creatures.  Saul Alegria, Untitled acrylic on paper 30×22“ 6. likes laughing, and ponies on the freeway. Nathan Lam, Bad Traffic Sign  graphite on paper, Read More …

A two by three grid of six featured artworks in the "Color of Happiness" collection.

NIAD Holiday Gift Guide #2: “The Color of Happiness” collection by Rebecca Jantzen

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About “The Color of Happiness” collection “It was hard picking out [the collection] because there’s so many different styles and mediums. The happiness feeling is what they all have in common. People should buy art because it will make them feel happy!” About Rebecca Jantzen, the collector “I describe myself as visually impaired and learning disabled. I am a socially engaged artist who loves her art work. I love holidays and I like to make cards for special occasions. I like to draw things that brighten up my spirit and the day; images of peace, love and happiness. One of the reasons Read More …

NIAD Windows Exhibition: “Con Los Animales Estamos Conectados,” selected by Christo Oropeza

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About the exhibition:  I recently became a dog father of a small two-month-old puppy.  Over the months after his arrival, I have learned so much about myself through him: patience, being present in the moment, not holding people in time and space, and unconditional love.  I had no idea that this was the relationship that would be built between him and I, and it has rocked-my-socks off because of how much of a connection has and continues to develop.    Having worked with NIAD artists at SFMOMA’s Mini Mural Festival in the Summer of 2021, I was excited to do an Read More …

A collection of artworks featured in Samantha Kershner's "Mixed Media" Holiday Guide

NIAD Holiday Gift Guide #1: “Mixed Media” collection by Samantha Kershnar

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We are thrilled to kick off our NIAD Holiday Gift Guide series! Every week we’ll have a fresh collection of artwork from NIAD’s dazzlingly diverse inventory – paintings, afghan blankets, coloring books, planters, posters, necklaces, music, t-shirts, wallhangings, prints, greeting cards, zines, soft sculptures, ceramics, and more. And it’s all lovingly hand-picked by the art aficionados who know it best – NIAD studio artists and staff. Enjoy!   About the “Mixed Media” collection “Holidays bring family together. You remember people who aren’t with you. When you look at the gifts, they should make you think about the good times you Read More …

Online Exhibition: “Stories” selected by B. Wurtz

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About the Exhibition For this exhibition for NIAD I didn’t want to overthink the process. I decided to begin by going through all the available art and to notice things that kind of jumped out at me. I viewed everything one time and then went back a second time to select artworks. As I viewed the first group of selections I tried to see connections between the works. I noticed that there seemed to be a theme in many of the works that I would describe as being of a narrative nature. I am talking about implied narratives, nothing really Read More …

RSVP for Thirsty Tuesday

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Join us online from 6-7:00 PM PT, Tuesday November 9! NIAD Gallery Manager Julio Rodriguez will walk us through the November Windows Exhibition with curator and Director/Co-Founder of Incline Gallery Christo Oropeza. Tune in and you can meet friendly NIAD artists, studio facilitators, community members, and chat with the artists in the exhibition about their work! About Thirsty Thursday Hosted by Julio Rodriguez, NIAD’s Gallery Manager, Thirsty Thursday is our new event series bringing together artists and curators with interested people like you. Admission is free, but you must register to receive the Zoom link. 

Online Exhibition: “Memory” organized by Ling Shang

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About the Exhibition Memory can be buried deep in our mind. It emerges at a quiet moment, when looking through a window on a peaceful afternoon, or while mixing in a noisy crowd. Memory can come in colors, in detail, or totally abstract. Powerful, but impossible to describe in words.The selected works can be any part in our memories: those sweet, lonely, joyful, silly, bitter, innocent, or nonsensical moments. About the Organizer Born in Beijing, my understanding and sense on art come from the rich memories of the seemingly long past and my present life in lively everyday reality. My Read More …

A print of a person wearing a helmet an an armband that reads "police" about to bring their foot down on the face of a person lying on the sidewalk. A protest sign that reads "POLICE BRUTALITY" lies nearby, next to a vivid red brick wall.

Online Exhibition: “Edges of Attention” organized by Canela Art Gallery

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About the exhibition   We selected our favorite evocative works and put them into a virtual gallery.     There was so much amazing work to choose from, but we believe that these works in particular speak for themselves. Lastly, we also think these works exhibited together speak to this moment in America and how art represents what we give our attention to. * Seleccionamos nuestras obras evocadoras favoritas y las pusimos en una galería virtual. Había tantas obras para elegir, pero creemos que estas obras en particular hablan por sí mismas. Por último, también creemos que estas obras expuestas Read More …

An ink drawing of floating hearts surrounded by smaller hearts, large floating flowers with hearts on the petals, flowers surrounded by flowers, all shapes filled with thin washes of color, blotched here and there. Some are colored with pencil. The colors are varied and bright. The artist's signature is in the bottom right corner.

Online Exhibition: “A Firmament in the Midst of the Waters” organized by Jay Youngdahl

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About the exhibition   Viewers can learn much from the work of NIAD artists. Their work offers the viewer a recognition that life is often a jumble of color and form.  Things arise, and often not in a linear or scientific manner. In reviewing the NIAD catalog, a religious/spiritual theme emerges.  Based on the conception of the beginning of the world found in the Old Testament book of Genesis, out of a chaos a world is born. Let there be light. About the organizer Jay Youngdahl is an artist, writer, and activist. For the past few decades he has made his Read More …

NIAD Windows Exhibition: The Ultimate NIAD Hard-Core Horror Metal Art Show

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About the exhibition  “Bonfires burning brightPumpkin faces in the nightI remember Halloween … Halloween, Halloween, Halloween, HalloweenCandy apples and razor bladesLittle dead are soon in gravesI remember Halloween” -The Misfits About the organizer Alan Perez is an artist who is interested in the dark side. His work may not always be the nicest or the friendliest, but to be honest with you, he’s more interested in the darkness and mysteries of life.  From bands like Misfits to filmmakers like Tim Burton to writers like Edgar Allan Poe, Alan is very interested in popular culture’s ideas of the dark side, too. Read More …