Ann Meade

a flyer with bold typography. yellow and gray letters spell "SF ART BOOK FAIR" and red numbers read "@$". smaller text is information repeated from the event listing.

NIAD at the 2024 San Francisco Art Book Fair (SFABF)

NIAD is thrilled to participate once again in the SFABF. We’ll be unveiling a special collaborative print by NIAD artist Ann Meade and beloved friend of NIAD Lena Gustafson, along with artist books and merch galore. The San Francisco Art Book Fair (SFABF) is pleased to announce its seventh year at Minnesota Street Project’s contemporary art campus. Open July 19 through July 21, 2024, with a preview the evening of July 18, the SFABF is a free annual multi-day exhibition and celebration of printed material from independent publishers, artists, designers, collectors, and enthusiasts from around the world.
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“Search Engine”, organized by Diego Leclery (online exhibition)

This exhibition is about transcendent forms. I looked through all of NIAD’s archives to find works that conveyed something beyond this world, something magical, something that emanates a powerful force. In some cases, geometries tap into universal formulae, in others, abstract gestural strokes become vessels for cosmic frequencies from another dimension, forms that are reduced and simplified into symbols tho speak the divine names of the essences invoke those they cannot contain. I was looking for works that felt timeless, and, perhaps, even, beyond culture.

an assortment of fruit - grapes, bananas, cherries, limes - drawn with thick black outlines.

NIAD Gallery Exhibition // “What’s Cookin?!,” organized by Terri Moore and the Cooking Corner class

This show is all about comfort text: resilience in everyday words, writing and reading. Expression can also be wordless, the use of line and color as new vocabulary, pushing a thought out onto a surface, making marks and continuously trying to communicate with the world.

We tell stories to sustain ourselves and find each other. These messages embedded in art become an emotional telegram– a signal flare with a flame of memory trailing behind it. “Feeling Language” is about books, lists, slogans, language, gesture, touch and the trust given in sharing. Read More …

an assortment of fruit - grapes, bananas, cherries, limes - drawn with thick black outlines.

NIAD Main Gallery Exhibition // “What’s Cookin?!”

In the exhibition What’s Cookin?!, you will see food, art and creativity from various NIAD artists. So feel free to pull up a chair in your mind, take a seat at our dinner table, and see what’s cookin’! Cooking Corner is a place where artists can share artwork, make art, share food ideas and recipes, and interests they have in cooking, and also cook along with me from the comfort and safety of their own homes. Since we have returned to being on site, Cooking Corner has made its way back to the 23rd Street NIAD studio, where myself and a group of artists meet weekly, and come up with recipes to prepare, prep, cook and serve to the NIAD community. Read More …

a white embroidered tshirt

NIAD Annex Exhibition // “Crossover”

Crossover is an apt title for this show, which will showcase the vibrant and newly-connected fiber art scenes of NIAD and Cedars. Crossover is a companion to the textile-centered exhibition Follow the String, on view at Marin MOCA. In preparation for this show, artists from both programs visited each other’s studios, and participated in a tee-shirt and doll making workshop at Marin MOCA. T-shirts and dolls from this workshop will be on view in NIAD and Marin MOCA. Read More …

A person holds a small green fish-shaped ceramic sculpture.

NIAD Annex Exhibition // “Whales and Pencil Holders”

When Peter Harris is asked which of his ceramic pieces is his favorite, he says with conviction, “I love all of them.” This show is a celebration of “all of them.” The title is drawn from Michael Starofsky’s beautiful series of whale sculptures and pencil holders. Several of these artists are new to working in ceramics, and they are already establishing new forms and vibrant styles. Meanwhile, experienced NIAD ceramicists showcase their newest sculptures and functional ware. Whales and Pencil Holders presents this broad spectrum of subjects and inspiration—enjoy them all. Read More …

NIAD Online Exhibition // “I Wanna See All My Friends At Once” organized by Cone Shaped Top

Looking through works from the roster of NIAD artists, ideas around bodies coming together under the unifying force of music for release, freedom, self-expression and camaraderie began to emerge. Balloons, dancing, fearless fashion, music, friendship, colorful people and spaces filled with lights, projections and disco balls; all themes that form the ethos of our space. These works highlight motifs and sentiments that conjure the feeling of bliss from celebrating life with chosen families through music. Read More …

a cluster of hand-drawn words in a stylized serif font, slightly italicized. The words: coke, diet, chriss, kiss, paul, stanley, peter, malltts. Each word is a different color - green, red, blue, black or brown.

NIAD Online Exhibition // “DESIRE, DESIRE,” selected by Diego Leclery

Posted onAuthorNIAD Art Center

About the exhibition Being brought up in a culture oriented towards consumption, self-gratification, and self-fulfillment, one learns not only what to desire but how to desire, where to situate one’s desire in relation to the self, all desire’s dimensions. The goal of this hegemonic cultural project is to eventually make one lose the sense of self beyond that desire, and be left with nothing but desire. “What I want” and “who I am” become one, and the cultural program, determining what these desires are, can control our sense of ourselves. There are many ways of dealing with this predicament, from 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 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

Posted onAuthorNIAD Art Center

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 …

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

Posted onAuthorNIAD Art Center

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 …