People go to the Sunset for the food. Now they come for the arts, too.

"People come to the Sunset to sample the fish burrito from Hook Fish Co., the chicken wings at San Tung or the biscuit breakfast sandwich from Devil's Teeth. Now, increasingly, they can come for the art galleries. These spaces, often just a few hundred square feet, are tiny compared to those in other parts of the city, like the three-story artist building at 1890 Bryant St., or the Minnesota Street Project in Dogpatch that occupies 4,600 square feet."

"There has always been a vibrant artists' community in the Sunset, noted John Lindsey, the owner of the Great Highway Gallery on Lawton Street since 2013. Back in the 1890s, people bought discarded horse-drawn streetcars and used them as houses, offices and studios near Ocean Beach. The area, known as Carville, was frequented by Bohemian artists like the novelist Jack London, poet George Sterling and artist Xavier Martinez."

"More recently, artists like the Mexican performance artist Ana Teresa Fernandez, sculptor Lawrence LaBianca and painter Jessica Dunne have moved to the outer avenues. But "right now, you have a lot of small little spaces, which is really cool," Lindsey said. "That wasn't the case when I opened up." "Rent is never cheap," he added. "But there were a lot of opportunities for people to go into spaces that were not $5 a square foot, but maybe $2.""

Visitors to the Sunset now come for small art galleries in addition to local eateries. Galleries are often only a few hundred square feet, much smaller than large spaces like the three-story building at 1890 Bryant St. or Minnesota Street Project's 4,600 square feet. Local artists, curators and gallery owners, many living within a few blocks, are establishing galleries that raise the neighborhood's arts profile. After the COVID-19 pandemic, smaller commercial spaces on the Westside became more available and affordable. The Sunset has a long history of artists dating back to Carville in the 1890s and continues to attract contemporary artists. Lower-cost spaces have enabled openings despite persistent rent pressures.

Read at Mission Local