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The Andy Warhol Foundation Honors 500 Capp Street through “The Philanthropy Factory”

We are happy to announce that 500 Capp Street has been selected to participate in the inaugural “Philanthropy Factory,” a new initiative honoring Andy Warhol’s philanthropic legacy by providing recent grantees an opportunity to benefit from the sale of Warhol works from the Andy Warhol Foundation’s collection.

Highlighted above is a Polaroid taken by Andy Warhol of Halston’s partner and Warhol’s assistant, Victor Hugo. Hugo, a performance artist and window designer, was a constant figure in Warhol’s photographs. Usually depicted by Warhol in a sexualized and provocative context, often fully nude or with his penis out, here he is seen in a different facet, as a member of the Studio 54 royal court.

Our fall programming is proudly supported by the Andy Warhol Foundation, and we are honored to be selected for this fundraising opportunity. All proceeds from the sale of seven Warhol pieces will go towards supporting 500 Capp Street’s operations, enabling us to continue encouraging artistic experimentation through our programming and artist residencies.

This work and more are available here. Don’t miss this chance to support 500 Capp Street and grab yourself an exclusive Andy Warhol piece.

Artist conversation between Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo & David Wilson

Wednesday, June 23, 6 pm PT
In Person & Online

Join us for an intimate artist conversation between David Wilson and Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo on Wednesday, June 23 at 6pm. Drop by in person, or tune in on Instagram Live @500cappstreet. David Wilson is the resident artist of The David Ireland House while artist Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo is the curator of Southern Exposure’s current exhibition, We use our hands to support. They have previously collaborated with one another and now find themselves in the same neighborhood doing collective exhibition work. Join the artists as they check in on each other, share stories and, exchange experiences of their work processes in an intimate one-on-one dialog.

This program will take place outdoors on The David Ireland House terrace. Free and open to the public.

Doors: 5:30 pm PT
Program: 6:00 pm PT

Links to the shows:
We use our hands to support, Curated by Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo at Southern Exposure @southernexposuresf

Sittings, David Wilson exhibition after 4 months of residency at The David Ireland House @500cappstreet

About the artists:

Lukaza Branfman-Verissimo is an artist, activist, educator, storyteller & curator who lives/works between Ohlone Land [Oakland, CA] and Powhatan Land [Richmond,VA]. Their work has been included in exhibitions and performances at Konsthall C [Stockholm, Sweden], SEPTEMBER Gallery [Hudson, NY], EFA Project Space [New York City, NY], Leslie Lohman Museum [New York City, NY], San Francisco State University Gallery, Signal Center for Contemporary Art [Malmo, Sweden], Yerba Buena Center for the Arts [San Francisco, CA] and Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive [Berkeley, CA], amongst others. For the past 5 years, Lukaza has been the Lead Curator at Nook Gallery [Oakland, CA], collaborating with over 80+ artists, writers, performers & musicians, in a gallery located in their apartment kitchen. They are currently enrolled in an MFA program at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, VA.


David Wilson creates observational drawings based on direct experiences with landscape and orchestrates site-based gatherings that draw together a wide net of artists, performers, filmmakers, chefs, and artisans into collaborative relationships. He organized the experimental exhibition The Possible at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) and received the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) 2012 SECA Art Award. He has exhibited his work with SFMOMA, was included in the 2010 CA Biennial, and presented a Matrix solo exhibition at BAMPFA. Wilson has received grants from The Andy Warhol Foundation, Southern Exposure, The Center for Craft and the Kenneth Rainin Foundation. He is based in Oakland, CA.


Mildred Howard Honored with 2025 Guggenheim Fellowship

We are thrilled to congratulate the icon Mildred Howard on being awarded a 2025 Guggenheim Fellowship! This special occasion not only marks the centennial of the Guggenheim Fellowship but also celebrates Howard’s decades-long career in conceptual art and her invaluable contributions to social justice, history, and community.

500 Capp Street is proud to have played a key role in the development of Mildred Howard’s recent Guggenheim Fellowship, having supported her proposal and the early shaping of Collaboration with the Muses. Howard’s new public sculpture at 500 Capp Street is part of this visionary multi-year project, made possible through the Open Spaces program of the Kenneth Rainin Foundation and presented in collaboration with the Shaping the Legacy initiative of the San Francisco Arts Commission. As a historic artist’s home dedicated to conceptual experimentation and community-rooted practice, 500 Capp Street is honored to contribute meaningfully to this major milestone in Howard’s career and to the broader transformation of public art in the Bay Area.

This latest honor not only acknowledges an extraordinary and influential career in the fine arts—it also signals that there is so much more still to come.

Mildred Howard: Collaborating With the Muses Part 2

2025 Guggenheim Fellow Mildred Howard returns to 500 Capp Street this Juneteenth for Collaborating With the Muses: Part Two, presenting a never-before-seen suite of new works titled Untold Histories/Hidden Truths.

At 500 Capp Street, visitors will encounter a powerful installation on our patio: a reincarnation of a Junípero Serra monument draped in red textile. Referencing the Serra statue in Golden Gate Park that was toppled in 2020—as well as many other monuments removed amid nationwide protests following the police murder of George Floyd—Howard reimagines this figure to engage public space and collective memory, contributing to the city’s ongoing reckoning with its civic monuments.

In partnership with the San Francisco Arts Commission’s Monuments & Memorials Advisory Committee, 500 Capp Street will host public programs, performances, and community discussions exploring racial justice, historic preservation, and the reimagining of public art.

Collaborating With the Muses: Part Two follows the first installment of the series, which brought Howard’s work to 500 Capp Street, Anglim/Trimble, and Pt. 2 Gallery last year. Through Collaborating With the Muses, Howard reaffirms her belief in art as a catalyst for dialogue and healing—bringing her lifelong commitment to political engagement, site-specificity, and community-centered practice into urgent contemporary discourse.

A special thanks to the generous support of the Kenneth Rainin Foundation and the San Francisco Arts Commission.

Community Building Through Street Sweeping, Tea, and Sharing Stories

With WEAD – Bring your Broom!

When: April 19, 2025 1 – 4 pm

Where: 500 Capp St.

Register Here

Join Minoosh Zomorodinia and WEAD Women Eco Artists Dialog for an afternoon of collective action, reflection, and dialogue, inspired by the intersection of art, ecology, and community. This event pays homage to Jo Hanson, a feminist pioneer and WEAD co founder who turned sweeping her San Francisco sidewalk into a public art practice, and David Ireland, whose conceptual engagement with the broom as a sculptural object is immortalized in his piece at SFMOMA.

Bring your broom and participate in a community street sweeping, honoring Jo Hanson’s activist art and David Ireland’s meditation on everyday labor as art. Afterward, enjoy a tea ceremony, sharing tea and conversation in a space created for reflection and connection. The event also invites story sharing, where participants can engage in discussions about the trash they’ve found during the street cleanup, fostering meaningful conversations around social engagement and environmental consciousness.

While Jo Hanson used the broom as a tool for civic engagement and environmental activism, David Ireland elevated it as an artistic artifact, seen in his celebrated broom piece at SFMOMA. This event brings their legacies together—merging action with contemplation, labor with art, and public space with personal gesture.

All are welcome—bring your broom and be part of this inspiring closing event!

Community Building, Walking, Sweets, Tea, Sharing Stories with Makaan

Saturday, April 5, 2025; from 2:30-4:30 pm at Minnesota Street Project Foundation Studios, 1240 Minnesota St, San Francisco, CA 94107. Register Here.

500 Capp Street partners with Makaan to produce an afternoon of storytelling, ritual, and collective reflection, bridging past and present through movement and shared traditions. Taking place just a few days after Sizdah Bedar* “Nature Day”, the last ritual of the Persian New year, this gathering will weave together cultural memory and urban space. 

This event extends Minoosh Zomorodinia’s residency at 500 Capp Street to MSP Foundation Studios, home to Makaan. Zomorodinia was invited by Makaan to present new work that examines themes of memory, time and space, and transformation through site-specific interventions and video works at MSP. On Saturday April 5, Zomorodinia invites visitors to walk and explore spending time in the neighborhood to experience Sizda Bedar and gather back at MSP for conversations, reflections, and observations. Through walking, tea, sweets, and shared stories, we will create a temporary space of connection, acknowledging the landscapes we inhabit and the invisible threads that tie us to one another.

This talk coincides with “When I Was Here”, an exhibition by Minoosh Zomorodinia, on show at Makaan from April 4 – 7. Open by appointment. RSVP 

Makaan is a communal hub for CWANA artists for creative exchange, experimentation and collaboration. The word مکان makaan from the Arabic مَكَان (makān) meaning “a place, a location, a station, a situation, a position, habitation, dwelling, an abode, a house, a home, a room” is shared amongst many of the languages Central and West Asia to North Africa and points to the centuries-old interwoven connections amongst the diverse people of the region. 

*Sizdah Bedar is an annual Iranian festival celebrated on the 13th day of Farvardin, marking the end of the Nowruz (Persian New Year) holidays. Known as “Nature’s Day,” it involves spending time outdoors, often picnicking in parks or countryside areas. The festival symbolizes renewal and the shedding of negativity, while also honoring nature and community bonding. Traditions include discarding the Haftsin sabzeh (sprouted greens) into running water to ward off bad luck and engaging in activities like grass knotting for good fortune

Spring Break Teen Art Intensive at The David Ireland House

LINK TO SIGN UP

Description

Explore the work of local internationally known artist David Ireland through his house at 500 Capp Street and the eyes of contemporary artists engaging with his groundbreaking work. This weeklong spring break intensive workshop will introduce you to the Conceptual art movement of the 70s and encourage you to make your own work influenced by the work of David Ireland and how his work resonates today. Youth will also work with artists in residence at the David Ireland House to create collaborative work. This workshop focuses on how artists discover creativity within both their communities as well as themselves. 

Educators

Minoosh  Zomorodinia:  Lead artist

Amy Berk: Education lead

Timeline:

Monday 3/31 1-4

Meet at Mission Art Center, 745 Treat Ave 1-1:30

Travel to 500 Capp Street

Tour

Activity about David Ireland at dining room table (Mexican croissants)

Tuesday 4/1 1-4

Meet at 500 Capp Street 

Meet Minoosh and tour her exhibition

Working with Minoosh, students work on sketching/thinking about project

Teens bring in objects/select objects to work with

Wednesday 4/2 1-4

Meet at 500 Capp Street

Continue working on projects

Thursday 4/3 1-4

Meet at 500 Capp Street

Continuing working on projects

Friday 4/4 1-4

Meet at 500 Capp Street 

Finish projects

Recipes of Resilience project!

Make David’s Purple Pasta recipe 

4-5 Reception

Teens talk about their projects and eat pasta!

Community Building, Melting Pot, Bahar

When: Saturday, March 15, 2025; 1-9:30pm

Where: 500 Capp Street

Price: Free

Registration Here

Celebrating Bahar (spring) until sundown by Iftar with Minoosh Zomorodinia and Shirini Bakes.

The Community Building, Melting Pot, Bahar event is a special gathering designed to bring people together through the shared experience of food, fasting, and celebration. Inspired by Nowruz, marking the arrival of spring and the Persian New Year, and Ramadan, a sacred time of reflection and fasting, this event highlights the rich cultural traditions of diverse communities. By breaking fast together, sharing meals, and exchanging stories, we create a melting pot where people from different backgrounds can connect, learn, and celebrate renewal, unity, and togetherness. It is a joyful occasion that fosters understanding and a sense of belonging.

Important things to note to participants: We will not be eating throughout the day, only after sundown. This is called breaking the Iftar.

Part One: Cooking and preparing food and staging the iftar (1-5)

Join us while we cook and prepare food to be served at a later event. Learn about the Persian cuisine that is prepared during the springtime. Later on we will together stage the iftar table and learn about the different ways food takes part in the Spring celebration. Sign up for either or both of the time slots below. An important aspect to consider is that we will not be eating throughout the event and will respect the tradition of fasting. We will come together again after sundown to break the fast.

Part Two: Conversation about Sofre and zine followed by eating (6-9:30pm)

Join resident artist Minoosh Zomorodinia and collaborator Shirin Makaremi as we walk through Minoosh’s exhibition and talk about the Persian New Year table (Haftseen Sofreh) and the Iftar table. There will be zines and other takeaways relating to the event and holiday. Later on we’ll come together to “break the fast” after sundown and enjoy the meal prepared by the 500 Capp community earlier that day.