WEDNESDAY 11
Fear free zone Red Poppy Art House, 2698 Folsom, SF; www.fearnotproject.com. 6-9pm, free. The phrase “do not be afraid” appears in the Bible 366 times and happens to be subject of Jennifer Maria Harris’s “Fear Not Project” in which the artist uses unlikely methods to spread her anti-fearmongering message. On display for the opening reception includes the Fear Not Library — in which the text from best-sellers like the Koran and, yup, even Harry Potter, have been whited-out to leave only messages of fearlessness – tons of images of her street art, and a broadcast of hundreds of voices urging listeners to be not afraid (dial 1-888-363-2332 and leave a message at the beep to be a part of that broadcast).
THURSDAY 12
Crossroads Film Festival SFMOMA, 151 Third St., SF; www.sfmoma.org. 7pm, $7-10. Attend this year’s installment of SF Cinematheque’s avant-garde film festival featuring works from emerging and established filmmakers. The program will kick off its it’s 50th year with the culminating screening of Cinematheque’s Radical Light series – with rediscovered and restored celluloid rarities and gems – to celebrate the 2010 publication of Radical Light: Alternative Film and Video in the San Francisco Bay Area, 1945-2000.
FRIDAY 13
Art in Storefronts’ Central Market launch The ARTery Project, U.N. Plaza, Market and Sixth St., SF; www.sfartcommission.org, www.blackrockarts.org. 5-7pm, free. Art in Storefronts, the city-wide project to brighten up blighted and under-used storefronts and outer walls with site-specific art installations and murals, now in its second year, returns to the area of central Market with a neighborhood celebration. Six storefront installations and five murals will be unveiled, and local galleries will hold receptions, as live music and Off the Grid food trucks and other vendors line Market for a lively cultural experience.
“Oxy Moron” opening reception Welcome Stranger, 460 Gough, SF; www.welcomestranger.com, www.misterperson.com. 6-9pm, free. Check out the “drawerings” and “painterings” of Justin Hager at the opening reception for his solo show “Oxy Moron” in which the artist cleverly pairs two contradictory pop-cultural references to create a crazy hybridized paradoxical meme-monster like the E.T.-T-Boz combo “E.T. Boz,” or the “Urkel Jerks” version of the Circle Jerk’s famous dancing dude (can you guess what the outcome is?) The show has some pretty cool sponsorships to keep you fed and flying, most notably corndogs by Straw and brewskies by Pabst.
SATURDAY 14
Go Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 Ninth St. No. 290, Oakl.; www.bayareago.org. 1-4pm, free. There’s a Bay Area association for everything it seems, and the game of Go is no exception. Good thing, because members of the Bay Area Go Players Association will be on hand to teach you how to play the world’s oldest board game. Popular in East Asia and still played in its original form, Milton Bradley has nothing on this 4,000 year-old game, combining complex strategy with a seemingly simplistic set of rules. Once you learn the ropes, the experts will send you along with a free game set complete with a booklet of strategies.
“Apocalypse Meow” opening reception Space Gallery, 1141 Polk, SF; www.spacegallerysf.com. 7pm-midnight, free. For the crazy cat lady in all of us, this group show celebrates all things feline — with or without laser beams shooting out of their adorable little eyes, à la Kittenzilla of Western Addition street-art fame. Sixteen artists, including Ryan Jones, Helen Bayley, and two of three of the aforementioned laser kitty creators examine everything from LOLcats to Kit-Kats. Also be sure to check out Space’s sister gallery – more like a Siamese twin, actually – Lopo Gallery for the show “Of Course”, featuring artwork by Chad Hasegawa, Justin Lovato, and Jason Vivona. It’s right upstairs, so you have no excuse not to.
MONDAY 16
Swinging in the Shadows E6 Gallery, 1632 Market, SF; www.beatera.org. 7pm, free. We all know about the San Francisco Beats, thanks to local landmarks like City Lights and its neighboring Vesuvio Bar, but what do you know about the L.A. and Venice West Beat scenes? Tonight, check out a free screening of Swinging in the Shadows: The Untold Story of the California Beat Era and a Q&A session, after which you can wow your vacationing friends with historical accuracy while nursing whiskey-sodas at North Beach’s famous watering holes.
On the Cheap listings are compiled by Jackie Andrews. Submit items for the listings at listings@sfbg.com. For further information on how to submit items for the listings, see Picks.