Long Exposure
A new exhibit captures residents experiencing the boom and bust of the Bay Area.
Status Update, an exhibit at SOMArts from November 13 to 15, brings together photo and video projects on the recent transformations — and ongoing disparities — in the San Francisco Bay Area. Co-curators Pete Brook and Rian Dundon gathered 14 bodies of work, many created over months or years, by photographers and filmmakers currently documenting the region. Rather than focusing on the obvious symptoms of the area’s gentrification — high-rises, Silicon Valley charter buses, an abundance of new condos — the exhibit depicts subtle moments in the everyday lives of residents affected by, and left out of, the tech boom. “If change is quick, it becomes the haves and have-nots. We don’t think it’s that simple,” says Brook. “We wanted to pause and take stock and get past the us and them.” The show kicks off a weekend of screenings, workshops, and talks and is the first stop in what will become a traveling exhibition in Bay Area schools and community spaces.
Status Update is produced by the Berkeley-based organization Catchlight.