Galleries & Museums

The Luggage Store has two gallery spaces, always hot with new art — like Ramekon Orwisters’ “Collared yams in mink Texas-style picnicking.” The gallery’s name comes from a building sign for a previous tenant of the Market Street location. 14 1007 Market St. and its annex, 15 509 Ellis St., aka 509 Cultural Center, and adjacent Cohen Alley, where Luggage Store curates murals, performance pieces and public art, 255-5971.

The San Francisco Public Library’s offerings range from “exceptional, eclectic exhibitions of photos of disabled athletes in competition to historic San Francisco ephemera and prints,” says Jewelle Gomez. The library hosts regular exhibitions throughout the library, as well as readings, lectures, film programs, performances, storytelling, classes, holiday celebrations. 16 100 Larkin St., 557-4277

Femina Potens shows queer, feminist visual art and also programs spoken-word, film, workshops and performance art, “making it a fantastic fun art space and community center,” says Michelle Tea. 17 2199 Market St., 217-9340

Togonon Gallery is where you can find “Bay Area and West Coast artists and art with a soul,” says Salvador Acevedo. The gallery hosts up to 10 exhibitions annually, showcasing contemporary artists, both established and emerging, who explore multicultural and natural world themes in all visual arts media. 18 77 Geary St., 2nd Floor, 398-5572

Live Worms Gallery, complete with creaky wood floors and exposed pipes, formerly was North Beach’s legendary Figone Hardware. It features paintings, photos, installations, readings by artists who rent the space. 19 1345 Grant Ave., 307-1222

Cartoon Art Museum is “guaranteed to put a smile on your face,” says Ben Fong-Torres. Seven major exhibitions a year from vintage cartoons to Japanese anime. Permanent collection includes 6,000 original pieces.
20 655 Mission St., 227-8666

SF Camerawork has mounted 400 exhibitions exploring new directions in photography and related media since its founding in 1974. It also publishes Camerawork: A Journal of Photographic Arts twice a year, maintains a reference library, and offers lectures, workshops, confer­ences and critique sessions. 21 657 Mission St., 512-2020

Two that “present thoughtful, sometimes quirky, irreverent contemporary art” are the retail and gallery spaces Park Life (22 220 Clement St., 386-7275) and Giant Robot (23 618 Shrader St., 876-4773), says Jennifer Lin. They feature avant-garde and limited-edition design products, clothing, objets, even candy, like Giant Robots’ Choco Egg Combat Figure.

Galeria de la Raza organizes cutting-edge art exhibitions, multimedia presentations, performances, spoken-word events, screenings, computer-generated murals to foster appreciation of Chicano/Latino art and culture. 24 2857–24th St., 826-8009

NEXT