Foggy Fun, Mr. Vice President, Whalefest
Happy new year! On the heels of the holidays comes the fifth annual FOG Design+Art event, a welcomed occasion to experience an array of panel discussions, conversations, screenings, and more, bringing a wide variety of designers, artists, curators, collectors, and dealers together June 11-14 at the Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture in San Francisco. A Preview Gala benefiting San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is also slated for January 10.
The fair assembles 45 leading international galleries including some of the most prominent dealers of the 20th-Centery and contemporary art and design. Additionally, 21POP, a special installation by Stanlee Gatti, will be showcased.
FOG kicks off its public festivities by honoring Alice Waters, founder and owner of Chez Panisse, at its Innovators Luncheon in the FOG Theater Thursday, January 11 at noon. Supported by FENDI, the luncheon will celebrate the acclaimed chef’s ingenuity and tremendous impact that her pioneering cuisine and visionary collaborations with artists and designers have had throughout the world. Registration is required for this event.
Programming highlights this year include Women Rising: Building Representation and Marketability for Female Artists, Artist as Social Activist: A Conversation with Theater Gates, Community Impact: Shaping the City Through Public Art, and Shop Local as well as conversations with artists Isaac Julien and Lynn Hershman Leeson, and contemporary photographer Ryan McGinley, among others.
FOG Design+Art is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and until 5 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are good for reentry throughout the fair and can be purchased at the door for $30. To purchase tickets to the Preview Gala benefiting SFMOMA, visit fogfair.com/tickets. For all other details, visit fogfair.com.
ENTERTAINING NOTES. The Jewish Community Center of San Francisco welcomes Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday , January 9 at 7 p.m. as part of the American Promise Tour, in support of his new memoir, “Promise Me, Dad: A Year of Hope, Hardship, and Purpose.” Tickets include a pre-signed copy of “Promise Me, Dad”, a #1 New York Times bestselling memoir. Proceeds support the JCCSF’s Arts and Ideas program. “Over the last month I’ve traveled around the country to share the story of my son Beau,” says Vice President Biden. “I have been incredibly touched by countless stories of resilience and hope that so many people have shared with me – stories of enormous loss, and yet, in defiance of that loss, they get up every morning and summon the strength to live a life of purpose. I am grateful to have the opportunity to continue this tour and hear from so many more people.” Tickets start at $75 and may be purchased at the JCCSF 3200 California Street, San Francisco, by phone at 415-292-1233, or online at jccsf.org/arts …The eighth annual Whalefest Monterey will be held January 27-28 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Old Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey. This free, fun and educational, interactive family event celebrates the migration of the gray whales and much more. The event benefits many local and national marine organizations that educate, inspire, and empower the public to protect the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Highlights include a Symposium with lectures and documentaries related to ocean and marine life conservation which will be presented at the Wharf Theatre. Additionally there will be musical performances,
educational displays, and whale watchers from around the globe. Activities include Abalone Races; Dee: The Beautiful Inflatable 43-foot Whale; Gyutaku, the Japanese art of stenciling fish; Marine Life Studies Take it to the Streets; and more. For complete details, visit montereywharf.com. … There is still time to catch one of the amazing performances of authentic Chinese culture presented by Shen Yun in the Bay Area. “Shen Yun performs the essence of Chinese culture and the historical figures who have been nurtured by it,” says H. Sue Gao, Vice President of Shen Yun’s training school, Fei Tian College. “Shen Yun is using classical Chinese dance to present this culture on the world stage.” Performances continue at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco through January 7, then head to Sacramento Community Center Theater in Sacramento January 9-10; followed by Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley January 12-14. For tickets and more information, call 888-633-6999 or visit ShenYun.com/CA.