Recap: “Keep It Local,” May 23, 2025
I know everyone in this photo, and that makes me so damn happy. Photo by Lester Raww
Putting on an art show is like riding a bike—when you haven’t done it in a while, you can fret all you want beforehand. Once you start rolling, though, it all just comes back to you.
And then there are the emotions that a night like last Friday evoke. I could go on and on (and in fact I did with my therapist before I published this recap), but let me just say: My heart is full.
Side note: This weekend, I’ll be celebrating 25 years in San Francisco. And besides that milestone, here lately, I just feel at home. Like, so at home. Eight years doing Storied: San Francisco are my testament to how much I love this city. I’ve given it all I can give, and will continue to do so. But it has offered me so much more in return. (That celebration will be at my friend Lester Raww’s Apocalypse Sunday at Madrone. Come join me!)
Keep It Local is the theme of the podcast this season. It was also a singular event that took place at Babylon Burning in the South of Market neighborhood on Friday, May 23, 2025. Let me tell you all about it.
Photo by Misstencil
I mentally rolled the dice when Mike from Babylon Burning handed me a box of chalk and suggested that “one of the artists make that sandwich board outside look cool.” Or maybe my choice wasn’t so random? Thank you for beautifying this tiny slice of the world, Misstencil!
That group of artists included:
Kate Campbell
Millie Kwong
A party that starts at 6 in a part of town with not a lot of dinner options meant one thing: get food vendors.
For “Keep It Local,” I, uh, kept it local with bites from Remy’s Creations and delicious Asian-spiced jerkies from Bonjerk:
Slideshow photos by Jeff Hunt unless otherwise noted
Helping to hang an art show is something like building Legos. It’s tough to see the finished product as you assemble all the pieces. And there’s not exactly a logic or science to it. But once it’s done, if you’ve done at least a half-decent job, the work itself is art. I’m so happy with how the gallery turned out for this show, a testament to the six incredible artists I asked to be in it.
Here’s a nice little walk-through video I made before guests really started arriving:
And here’s just a short taste of the wonders brought to us the one-and-only Kitten on the Keys, who brought the live music last Friday:
At the end of a truly magical evening, dear friend of the show H.P. Mendoza captured this fun 360 video of me relishing what I helped to create. Check it out:
If you weren’t there, I’m sorry we missed you. There will be more special occasions for all of us, I’m sure, and not just the ones thrown by Storied: SF. It’s cliché anymore to say that SF has come back, in some ways better than ever. But it’s true!
Until our next show in September, stay curious and keep celebrating one another.
