Gray Area

NEXT WEEK! Gray Area is excited to present "The Memory Theaters of Claudia Hart" a series of audio-visual fairy tales about love, power, and money, in four acts, by Claudia Hart and performed with Tommy Martinez.

Transforming the contents of her archives, Hart’s Memory Theater takes the form of a 40-minute theatrical monologue combined with animations that include experimental avatar dance, 3D animation, and video recordings of live performances. Memory Theaters track Hart’s transformation of life into art, reflecting on generational trauma and her own psychological dissonance as she navigates the harsh political realities of the contemporary art world.

📅 September 26
Doors: 6 PM

Get Tickets: https://grayarea.org/event/the-memory-theaters-of-claudia-hart/

THE GALLERY IS OPEN! Our exhibition of Lauren Lee McCarthy's "Bodily Autonomy" is still on view in our gallery until Sunday.

Gallery Schedule:

Wednesday - Friday: 4 – 8PM
Saturday & Sunday: 12 – 6PM

Open Gallery Hours, sliding scale admission: pay what you can ($0-$30)

The show brings together two major works — "Surrogate" and "Saliva" —to examine bio-surveillance. "Surrogate" takes the form of performances, videos, and installations wherein McCarthy offers her body up as a remote-controlled surrogate to individuals and couples interested in having a child. This proposition is never fully realized by the artist, but it prompts important conversations regarding familial norms, legal barriers, genetic manipulation, gender, and reproduction. "Saliva" is a series of performances, installations, and videos about DNA sampling and data harvesting through the routine collection of swabs and spit. As a counter-gesture McCarthy has devised a saliva exchange station where visitors can trade their own samples with one another through the assistance of an attendant. The process sidesteps the anonymity of medical and corporate entities, and invites active discussions on data privacy, race, gender, and class as they pertain to genetic material. Together, "Surrogate" and "Saliva" encourage a potent and timely dialogue regarding bodily autonomy in times of rapid technological development and increased corporate and government surveillance.
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Saliva Bar is a project by Lauren Lee McCarthy, commissioned for the Mandeville Art Gallery and curated by Ceci Moss.

📸Barak Shrama Photography

Interested in exploring an alternative path in the history of technology that emphasizes ecological and organic systems? Curious about how cybernetics could connect the technosphere with the biosphere?

Join our newest online course: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℂ𝕪𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕔 ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕦𝕝𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕤 𝕀𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 --> grayarea.org/cybernetics

Guided by Dr. Bruno Clarke, the Cybernetic Countercultures Intensive is a 12-week exploration of the untold history of cybernetics. You'll delve into the world of organic cybernetics, focusing on the intricate behaviors of living systems and how they intersect with technology. Throughout the course, you’ll explore the pioneering ideas of Gregory Bateson, Heinz von Foerster, Lynn Margulis, James Lovelock, Humberto Maturana, and Francisco Varela, uncovering how their ecological insights can inspire new ways of designing advanced systems, from machines that work in harmony with natural processes to adaptive architectures and regenerative infrastructures. This course invites you to rethink how technology can integrate with the biosphere, offering a fresh perspective on our place within Earth’s complex, living systems.

The Intensive kicks off on September 30 — sign up today to secure your spot!

🗓️ September 30 – December 16
🕗 Every Monday, 6:00 – 8:00PM PT
🎓 Scholarships Available!
Enroll: https://grayarea.org/event/cybernetic-countercultures-intensive/

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𝕀𝕟𝕗𝕠 𝕊𝕖𝕤𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟

Meet your lead instructor of the Cybernetic Countercultures Intensive, Dr. Bruno Clarke! Run your questions by him, alongside TA Hannah Scott , during our free info session next week. Learn more about our new 12-week online course, meet our team, and ask any questions you may have!

Info Session
🗓️ September 3 | 6PM PT
🌱 Free RSVP: https://grayarea.org/event/cybernetic-countercultures-intensive-information-session/

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🚨LAST CHANCE FOR GRAY AREA FESTIVAL 10 EARLY BIRD FESTIVAL PASSES🚨

A couple of hours are left until Early Bird pricing for the Gray Area Festival tickets ends! Take advantage of a 20% discount on a festival pass and enjoy a conference filled with visionary artists and thinkers and four nights of performances by leading performance artists and audiovisual spectacles.

Along with a Gray Area Festival Pass, you get a year-long Co-Creator Membership! This includes access to exclusive member events, free admission for you and a guest to all Gray Area exhibitions, talks, and performances, discounts on Gray Area workshops and courses, and free admission to over 1000 reciprocal museums in the US.

Get your Early Bird Festival Pass:
https://grayareafestival.io/

Are you interested in joining the Cybernetic Countercultures Intensive? Don't miss our free info session on September 3 at 6PM PT to learn more about our new 12-week online course, meet our team, and ask any questions you may have.

We'll be joined by lead instructor Dr. Bruno Clarke from Gaian Systems, and TA Hannah Scott. See you there!

🗓️ September 3 | 6PM PT
🌱 Free RSVP: https://grayarea.org/event/cybernetic-countercultures-intensive-information-session/

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Led by Dr. Bruno Clarke, the Cybernetic Countercultures Intensive is Gray Area's new 12-week online course. Embark on an unexpected journey through the history of cybernetics. Dive deep into organic cybernetics, focusing on the complex behaviors of living systems. Explore the works of Gregory Bateson, Heinz von Foerster, Lynn Margulis, James Lovelock, Humberto Maturana, and Francisco Varela, and discover how their ecological ideas can inform today's complex adaptive systems.

The Intensive kicks off on September 30 — sign up today to secure your spot!

🗓️ September 30 – December 16
🕗 Every Monday, 6:00–8:00PM PST
🎓 Scholarships Available!
https://grayarea.org/event/cybernetic-countercultures-intensive/

Finishing our short journey through the Festival archives, we arrive at Gray Area Festival 2020: Radical Simulation, our first fully virtual festival and exhibition.

In her 2020 keynote address, Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code author Ruha Benjamin presented on the technological injustices embedded in our systems and their impact on our view of reality.

Radical Simulation featured talks by 15+ artists including Stephine Dinkins and Lawrence Lek. Explore the archive (linked in bio) to see them and talks from all previous Festivals!

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Early bird tickets are on sale now for Gray Area Festival 10!
📆September 12-15
https://grayareafestival.io/

TONIGHT!

Join us for a multimedia poetry reading, exhibition, & book signing with poet and digital artist Ana María Caballero!

Caballero will present her newest work MAMMAL. Giving voice to what is left unsaid, the collection lifts the veil off romanticized motherhood to challenge the notion that sacrifice is a virtue.

Collaborating with an international group of poets and visual artists, her work with theVERSEverse collective includes innovative approaches to sharing and selling poetry, making her the first living artist to have a digital poem auctioned by Sotheby's.

📆 TONIGHT | 7PM
Get Tickets:
https://grayarea.org/event/ana-maria-caballero/

As we put the final touches on the Gray Area Festival 10 lineup, we wanted to highlight our Festival Archive.

Explore a decade of insightful talks and knowledge from hundreds of artists on the cutting edge of art and technology, and discover what's in store for Gray Area Festival 10.

The Festival Archive is available for free at: https://archive.grayareafestival.io/ !

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Gray Area Festival 2017

In advance of her solo exhibition Bodily Autonomy at Gray Area Festival 10, journey with us back to 2017 when Lauren Lee McCarthy was a keynote speaker. She shared her insights on navigating social and technological systems to understand human interactions and personal identity.

Explore the archive for more talks, including those by Nora Al-Badri, Jan Nikolai Nelles, and Kenric McDowell during Gray Area Festival 2017.

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Early bird tickets are on sale now for Gray Area Festival 10!
📆 September 12-15
--> grayareafestival.io

CROSSROADS is returning to Gray Area at the end of this month 🥳!

San Francisco Cinematheque's annual film festival features 75 works of film and video by 68 artists representing 19 countries and territories presented in 10 curated programs across 3 days.

🗓️ August 30 - September 1, 2024

Get your tickets and festival pass: https://grayarea.org/event/crossroads-2024-presented-by-san-francisco-cinematheque-gray-area/

📸 2. Film still from "and so it came about (A Tale of Consequential Dormancy)" (2023) by Charlotte Pryce (US); courtesy of the artist

📸 3. Film still from "Bisagras" (2024) by Luis Arnías (Venezuela); courtesy of the artist

📸 4. Film still from "Negative/Positive Film" (2023) by Federica Foglia (Italy/Canada); courtesy of the artist

Join us on the 26th for August's Simulation Session, our free monthly event series for artists, game designers, architects, world builders, and AI designers exploring 3D simulation.

📅 Monday, August 26 | 6PM

This month, we’re welcoming tech artist and scholar Alexa Ann Bonomo! Specializing in preservation and archiving methods, with a strong background in creative technology, her work spans net art, creative writing, and community-driven projects, blending creative coding with traditional handmade crafts like printmaking and fiber arts.

Come connect with fellow Gray Area members, creators, and world builders. As always, drop by anytime between 6 - 9pm, and bring your projects and ideas to share,

🌿 Simulation Sessions is facilitated by the World Engines Lab incubated at Gray Area.

RSVP: https://grayarea.org/event/simulation-sessions-with-alexa-ann-bonomo/

Gray Area is excited to present the latest work by OK Labs () The Vitruvian Code. The sculpture is a creative artificial intelligence and data project that explores the timeless genius of Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian Man in dialogue with the concept of non-binary human design.

Experience it alongside Dream Fields by in our upcoming event "AI and the Future of Live Experience", a panel exploring the future possibilities of AI-enhanced live entertainment with Steve Milton (Chief Innovation Officer at ) and Alex Kane (Co-founder and CEO of ).

📆August 8 | 6PM
Get Tickets:
https://grayarea.org/event/ai-and-the-future-of-live-experience/

On view at the Gray Area Gallery through September 1: Dream Field (2024) by Gray Area Incubator artist Yvonne Fang.

In Dream Field, Yvonne constructs an AI-controlled ecosystem and creates an embodied experience for the audience to see themselves being transformed into part of that ecosystem, through real-time image generation combined with game engine simulations. Viewable by appointment, email [email protected] for more information.

Experience Dream Field alongside The Vitruvian Code by OK Labs in our upcoming event "AI and the Future of Live Experience", a panel exploring the future possibilities of AI-enhanced live entertainment with Steve Milton (Chief Innovation Officer at Superfly) and Alex Kane (Co-founder and CEO of Volta).

📆 Opening night: August 8 | 6PM
Get Tickets:
https://grayarea.org/event/ai-and-the-future-of-live-experience/

Mark your calendars for Gray Area Festival 10!
-> grayareafestival.io
Join us September 12–15, in-person at Gray Area’s historic Grand Theater in the Mission for 4 days of presentations, performances, workshops, and an exhibition surveying art and technology’s influence on culture.

To celebrate a decade of Gray Area Festival, we are bringing together pioneers who have shaped the field of new media, emerging talents leading us into the future, and past Festivals’ visionary participants to share their latest insights and predictions.

✧ ANNOUNCING OUR INITIAL FESTIVAL LINEUP ✧

𝙎𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙠𝙚𝙧𝙨:
Lynn Hershman Leeson, Rashaad Newsome, Casey Reas, Trevor Paglen, Lauren Lee McCarthy, Eryk Salvaggio, Ranu Mukherjee, Morehshin Allahyari, Victoria Ivanova

𝙋𝙚𝙧𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙢𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙗𝙮:
DJ Dave and Char Stiles, Meuko! Meuko! and NONEYE, Rick Farin and Actual Objects , Portrait XO

𝙀𝙭𝙝𝙞𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣:
“Bodily Autonomy” by Lauren Lee McCarthy, curated by Ceci Moss.

✧ GRAY AREA MEMBERSHIP ✧
This year, to celebrate our 10th Anniversary, everyone who buys a Festival Pass gets a year-long Co-Creator Membership! This includes access to exclusive member events, free admission for you and a guest to all Gray Area exhibitions, talks, and performances, 20% off workshops, 10% off Gray Area Intensive Courses, and free admission to over 1000 reciprocal museums in the US.

Get your Early Bird Festival Pass before August 22: grayareafestival.io

Gray Area Festival 10
September 12–15
Gray Area / Grand Theater
2665 Mission St, San Francisco

Gray Area is excited to present transdisciplinary scholar, vocalist, word-craftswoman, jalatarangam artist, and double-bassist on September 22!

The California-based, Tamil vocalist and composer has become known for her captivating voice in the spiritual jazz and soul realm, infusing it with her upbringing. Join us for an evening that melds jazz and South Asian classical music with ambient textures.

📅 September 22
Doors: 7 PM
EARLY BIRD TICKETS ARE SOLD OUT

Get Tickets Today: https://grayarea.org/event/ganavya/

New Workshop!

Join Gray Area Incubator artist Spencer Chang in crafting communal websites that emphasize collective over individual online experiences.

In this hands-on and experiential workshop, you'll explore alternative device interfaces and internet environments that foster intimacy, co-creation, and solidarity. By the end of this 2.5-hour session, you'll have created a functional "communal computing" interface.

𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚞𝚗𝚊𝚕 𝙲𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚞𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚔𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚙 : 𝙽𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚋𝚘𝚛𝚑𝚘𝚘𝚍 𝙸𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚗𝚎𝚝𝚜
📅 Sunday, August 18, 2 – 4:30pm

Enroll Today:
https://grayarea.org/event/communal-computing-workshop-neighborhood-internets/

Announcing: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 ℂ𝕪𝕓𝕖𝕣𝕟𝕖𝕥𝕚𝕔 ℂ𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕦𝕝𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕖𝕤 𝕀𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖

Led by Dr. Bruno Clarke, this new 12-week online course takes students on an unexpected journey through the history of cybernetics. Dive deep into organic cybernetics, focusing on the complex behaviors of living systems. Explore the works of Gregory Bateson, Heinz von Foerster, Lynn Margulis, James Lovelock, Humberto Maturana, and Francisco Varela, and discover how their ecological ideas can inform today's complex adaptive systems.

The Intensive kicks off on September 30 — sign up today to secure your spot!

🗓️ September 30 - December 16
🕗 Every Monday, 6:00–8:00PM PST
🎓 Scholarships Available!
🌱 Link in bio

Cybernetic Countercultures Intensive Online Course Alongside the well-known cybernetics of command and control, of informatics and machine intelligence, in the 1960s and 1970s a more organic cybernetic mode also arose, an ecological line of inquiry that foregrounded the complex internal and interactive behaviors of living systems.

Announcing: AI and the Future of Live Experience

On August 8, join us for an engaging panel discussion on the future of entertainment and live experiences. With insights from leading experts in the field, we will explore the collaborative processes, technical integrations, and future possibilities of AI-enhanced live entertainment.

Afterwards, enjoy a happy hour and explore AI-driven artworks by Yvonne Fang and OK Labs displayed throughout the Grand Theater.

Featuring Steve Milton, CIO at Superfly; Amy Sorokas, Director of Strategic Partnerships and Brand Strategy at Microsoft; and Alex Kane, CEO at Volta.

Free for Gray Area members!
RSVP:
https://grayarea.org/event/ai-and-the-future-of-live-experience/

Image: Volta at the Brooklyn Mirage with Deadmau5, June 2022. This marked the first prototype of audience interactivity at a major show, with real-time rendering visuals controlled by attendees via a private Twitch stream.

AI and the Future of Live Experience Join us for an engaging panel discussion on the future of entertainment and live experiences. With insights from leading experts in the field, we will explore the collaborative processes, technical integrations, and future possibilities of AI-enhanced live entertainment. Afterwards, enjoy a happy ho...

Looking for hands-on experience in audio-visual event and exhibition production, digital arts, and nonprofit operations? Intern with us!

The Gray Area Fall internship is a great opportunity to gain real-world experience: Coinciding with our annual Gray Area Festival, you'll help organize a significant cultural event featuring a conference, exhibition, performances, and workshops.

Dates: August 26 – November 8, 2024
$500 Stipend
Apply by August 11:

Apply to be an Intern at Gray Area Join our small team at Gray Area as an intern and gain experience working in a fast-paced nonprofit at the center of art, technology, science, and the humanities.

Join us at Gray Area on August 16 as we welcome poet Ana Maria Caballero for an intimate evening of poetry reading and media presentation from recent bodies of work.

Afterwards, stick around for a happy hour and book signing with the poet!

Recognized as an innovative force within the nascent genre of digital poetry, Caballero seeks to expand the ways verse is experienced and exhibited in a rapidly evolving technological age, incorporating performance, artificial intelligence, code, collage, and choreography.

🗓️ August 16, 2024
🕗 7PM

RSVP: Link in bio! https://grayarea.org/event/ana-maria-caballero/ ‎

Ana María Caballero: Beyond the Page Beyond the Page presents a brief survey of key poetic oeuvres from Caballero’s newest book Mammal, concurrently with a reading from this text, exemplifying the ways poetry can be expanded in the digital age. Afterwards, stick around for a happy hour and book signing with the poet.

Join us next week for Simulation Sessions, our free monthly event series for artists, game designers, architects, world builders, and AI designers exploring 3D simulation.

📅 Monday, July 15 | 6PM

This month, we’re welcoming Chloe Barreau, Head of Product, Designtime at Inworld AI. Chloe is at the forefront of integrating technology and creativity in gaming and will share insights on making Inworld’s latest advancements accessible to everyone.

Come connect with fellow Gray Area members, creators, and world builders. As always, bring your projects and ideas to share!

🌿 Simulation Sessions is facilitated by the World Engines Lab incubated at Gray Area.

RSVP: https://grayarea.org/event/simulation-sessions-with-chloe-barreau/

We're excited to announce a special performance by experimental rock band Xiu Xiu on October 29, as they tour their newest record "13" Frank Beltrame Italian Stiletto with Bison Horn Grips"!

📅 October 29
Doors: 7 PM

Get Tickets Today: https://grayarea.org/event/xiu-xiu-13-frank-beltrame-italian-stiletto-with-bison-horn-grips/

Join us for the SF Premiere of "Balkancisco" and meet our newest team member, Du!

We're thrilled to introduce Duygu Gün, the Creative Producer behind the "Balkancisco" documentary and our newest Corporate Partnerships & Development Lead at Gray Area! 🤩

Discover Balkan culture at the SF premiere, featuring a Q&A with director Tuğrul Sarıkaya and a performance by Fanfare Zambaleta, who will lead us in a lively parade from Gray Area to Bissap Baobab for an evening of dance. We hope to see you there!

~

Born in Turkey, Duygu Gün has always been driven by a desire to explore and learn about cultures and traditions from around the world, leading her all across Europe and finally landing here in San Francisco. A multi-talented arts professional, working as a musician, an artist, and a curator, Gün co-founded the Anatolian Arts Institute and performs folk music as one part of the accordion and guitar duo Nakarat.

In 2023, Gün finished work on "Balkancisco," a documentary exploring the influential power of Balkan music in San Francisco. Gray Area is excited to present the SF theatrical premiere of this award-winning film along with an evening celebrating Balkan culture and music in the Bay Area!

📅 June 23
4pm: Gray Area | Grand Theater
7:30pm: Bissap Baobab
Get Tickets Today: https://grayarea.org/event/balkancisco-screening-and-premiere-celebration/

📷Couretsy of Balkancisco

Join us at Mutek on August 20 in Montreal for Portrait XO’s keynote talk "I’m not in Denial: Sonifying a Century of Climate Anomalies" at the tenth edition of Mutek Forum.

In this hybrid performance-keynote, the Berlin-based multimodal AI artist Portrait XO shares her journey of working with AI and data-driven technologies in sound and visuals and using them as a vehicle in addressing the pressing questions of climate change and environmental devastation.

Presented with the support of Milieux Institute and Applied AI Institute, in collaboration with Gray Area

📅August 20 | 4:30PM
More Info: https://forum.mutek.org/en/shows/2024/keynote-im-not-in-denial-sonifying-a-century-of-climate-anomalies