SL and I were in the Bay Area this week and we did our usual walkabouts. On a Sunday afternoon, after arriving on the ferry at Embarcadero from Oakland, we passed the familiar tables and booths of the registered sellers of arts and crafts.
While we appreciate their work, it’s not the subject of our attention. We care about artegora, which by definition is sold in less formal, less regulated ways with less infrastructure.
Just one block away from the official area, down Market Street we saw a person with their work set up under the rail of a ramp to the electric streetcars on a Market Street sidewalk.
They placed additional inventory on the ground and leaned up custom paintings offering their work for sale. This is core Arte Agora methodology– no permits, no set up or tear down– informal ways to connect to people walking by.
This is in contrast with the dominant methods of selling work on Market– tables that require vehicles for load-in/ load-out, table coverings, chairs, and so on. Here’s the pieces we picked up:
We picked up three pieces from this artist.
Then, walking southbound on Embarcadero Street there was a person cued up on the street sitting next to a large sketchbook opened to a fresh painting. We asked them if they sold art and they said “not really”. We asked if we could buy the art that they had and they agreed.
Each of these artists is working in what we call public studios, just outside the accepted, regulated art markets in San Francisco. They are making and selling their work in the open, and making them available for sale to all who pass. No permits, no venmo, just art– reducing the distance between the artist and the passerby.
