Another Love Letter: Live Worms Show Elevates Local Artists
by Joe Bonadio
Even more than San Francisco at large, the North Beach neighborhood has always been closely associated with the arts. From the jazz icons that graced the clubs on Broadway in the 50s and early 60s to the Beat writers and poets who haunted the bars and coffeehouses we still patronize today, North Beach has long been the creative, beating heart of this city. It’s no secret: if you’re a newcomer who writes, paints, or plays an instrument of some type, this is the neighborhood you want to live in.
And as much as things may have changed in San Francisco, this neighborhood’s creative plumage is still bright. Just in the past two years, we’ve seen the arrival of Golden Sardine and The Lost Church, both right on Columbus Avenue. Places like these keep the spirit of performance alive in North Beach—and slowly but surely, live music has been retaking its center position in our bars and cafes, and on our street corners.
Tony Gemignani has always been a supporter of the arts, and last year the busy restaurateur came up with a novel way to boost North Beach, while at the same time supporting the creative community. A conversation with local photographer Markelle Palombo gave him an idea: why not donate the billboard he leases, which sits above the corner of Union Street and Columbus facing the park, to local artists to promote their work?
Tony liked the idea so much he decided to double down, leasing another big billboard right next to Caffe Trieste on Vallejo and Columbus. Then he sent out a call for artists to submit their work for the chance to be featured on the boards, free of charge—and was deluged with emails. “I got flooded,” he told me at the time. “Tons, just dozens and dozens of responses.”
He requested each submission be “a love letter to San Francisco or North Beach,” and it was anything but an easy choice. “I got some amazing pieces,” Tony said. But he picked six of those artists, and donated both billboards for six months last year. Each artist would be featured on both boards for one month, and Palombo was the first artist featured.
The program was such a hit that Tony is doing it again this year. He’s chosen another roster of artists, the second of which is on display right now. And this year, he’s planning to take it to the next level. To further showcase last year’s featured artists, Tony is creating a brand-new event: a three-day art show in North Beach where they can display and sell their art.
Planning is busily underway—and it’s all coming down in the first week of December. Last week I sat down with Tony for the details, and lightly edited for length and clarity, our conversation is below.
Joe Bonadio (JB): Tony, it’s been about and a year and a half since you started the billboard art program, and now you’re set to take it to the next level. Can you tell me a little about it?
Tony Gemignani (TG): Sure. On December 5th, 6th and 7th I rented out the Live Worms gallery so the twelve artists and photographers that were on the billboards have a chance to showcase their art and sell it. It’s free to them. They make money, and that’s what they want––it’s what they need.
Each artist will have their own QR code which goes straight to them when a customer wants to make a purchase. It’s all digital, and the funds just go right to the artist, so nobody’s between the customer and the artist.
I sent out an email today to all the artists, basically calling for participants. It’s the first one we’re doing, so I was kind of worried about whether we could pull this off. So, let’s see. (Tony pulls up the inbox on his phone.) We’ve got 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 so far. Seven responded out of the twelve, within just a few hours.
People seem really excited—here are just a couple of the responses: I’m interested and would love to participate….I’m in….Thank you so much for this incredible opportunity, it’s truly meant a lot to be part of this project.
JB: That’s great, man.
TG: I’m happy to help where I can. There, Ray Yuen just responded too—he’s the one who had the piece last month, with the cable car. “Thanks so much for this incredible opportunity. It’s been a unique and generous platform for local artists.”
TG: Okay, just got a couple more responses….so nine of the twelve are probably in right now. And that was an email we sent out this morning.
JB: It looks like you’re good on artists…
TG: No, the response has been really great.
JB: It’s hard to get all the artists to participate, and I bet you’ll be twelve for twelve. (Editor’s note: ten of the twelve artists have signed up to participate.)
TG: They can make postcards. They can do shirts. They can do prints. They can do whatever they want.
JB: And you’re going to keep the billboard program going?
TG: I think I am. The next one is a cool one that I curated with the photographer, Raymond Rodriguez. It says, This Is North Beach. And it’s all black and white photos of people from all over the neighborhood. And there will be a part two of this one next year, then a part three the following year. You know, you can’t fit everybody in. And I’m sure people will be bitching about that. Why isn’t this so-and-so in it? What about this person? It was just a photographer’s work that I looked at.
JB: A “People of North Beach” kind of thing.
TG: Yes. It’s diversity. Old and young. Not political. A few people thought there should be certain people, supervisors and people like that, and I said: it’s not about politics. It got changed a little bit.
[At this point we walk down to the corner of Union and Columbus, just a few steps, to see the new billboard, which sits above Mario’s.]
TG: At first the artist didn’t understand what I was trying to do, with his picture in there with the others. But I told him, that’s you, and this is your work. It’s titled This Is North Beach.
JB: I think it’s great. Sometimes the best ideas come from the oddest directions.
TG: Don’t you think it’s beautiful?
JB: It’s gorgeous.
TG: Yeah, I think it’s cool. I love the black and white.
TG: So, that’s a special one by a local photographer. He showed me a book that he sponsored, it’s about 40 women in North Beach or something similar. I talked to him about some women in North Beach that should be a part of it. I saw his photos, and asked him what he thought about doing one of the billboards. And he said, What’s your idea?
TG: I said, my idea is pictures. Do you have more? He said, yeah, I’ve got a bunch of pictures of people. I said, well, let me see them. I want to pick a bunch. I want these people, and these people too.
TG: Then I saw one shot he had, the last one, and asked him: What’s this one? He said, it’s me taking a picture of myself in the bathroom mirror. That’s it. And that’s where the idea came from. I’m like, I want that.
TG: You know, at first he said that he didn’t want to be shown. I’m like, no, you’re the photographer! That’s the whole point.
JB: Well it turned out great. Keep me posted on the event, and I’ll definitely be there. Thanks again, Tony.
Event
Friday, December 5th: 4pm – 10pm
Saturday, December 6th: 12pm – 7pm
Sunday, December 7th: 12pm – 7pm
Live Worms
1345 Grant Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 263-8959
