Philistines may be forgiven for confusing an experimental Hayes Valley art thing with an abandoned lot, but fortunately the Chronicle is here to set the record straight, writing that a block of what used to be the Fell Street ramp off the Central Freeway is not a decaying land site waiting patiently for development, but instead a vibrant space for artistic collaboration and enjoyment.
Recall Hayes Valley Farm? Now, in that same spot off Fell Street is “Hayes Valley Art Works,” and it's a place where a variety of odd and intriguing ideas are coming to fruition. As "A Community Creation Space," Hayes Valley Art Works had its first show this June, highlighted at the time by Hoodline. That was when the below sign went up, and the show featured site-specific installations plus a shipping container, perhaps a nod to nearby PROXY which held more traditional works.
The leadership at Hayes Valley Art Works is six artists who work as property managers, but even with many hands, the space is not without challenges for the team: “We have a signage issue where nobody notices us," one leader, Emma Spertus tells the Chronicle.
And yet that can make for more exciting discoveries, some find. For example, one enticing aspect of the current setup is a rock labyrinth. “I just imagined some people put this labyrinth together from stone, just for me,” a woman with her dog and a friend told the Chronicle.
Hayes Valley Art Works is of the ephemeral variety of art, its temporal tension heightened by coming changes. At the earliest, March will see the beginning of construction on affordable housing on the lot. But the neighborhood association that leases (currently for free) the space from the city would love an extension — if they can find more funds to keep the art going.
We do kinda need the housing, though.
Related: SFist Neighborhood Guides: Hayes Valley
