BLACK GALLERIES IN THE BAY

The Bay Area has a rich history of art and culture, with a breadth of offerings ranging from classic to experimental, set against a backdrop of social justice, diversity, and technology. Locally, both nascent and globally recognized black artists including Sargent Claude Johnson, David Johnson, Mel Waters, Kristine Mays, Emory Douglas, Raymond Saunders, and Nina Fabunmi deliver thought provoking pieces in their chosen mediums.

Black art is experiencing a belated surge in demand thanks to a reevaluation of Western art’s canon and seismic shifts in culture, politics, and curation. Activity amongst black collectors is also intensifying, and these black Bay Area galleries and museums offer an eden to both seasoned and first-time collectors, as well as patrons. ​

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African Plural Art​

1305 Fillmore St. SF CA 94115
Hours: T-W 11-6, TH-Sat 12-7

​​Founder: Solange Mallet
​
Located in the Historic Fillmore district, African Plural Art features handcrafted African Art, textiles and tribal artifacts.

Sargent Johnson Gallery​

762 Fulton Street SF, CA 94102
​Hours: M-Sat 12-4

​Curator: Melorra Green

Founded in 1977, Sargent Johnson Gallery is named for one of the Bay Area's most prominent sculptors, Sargent Claude Johnson. Locate in the first-floor lobby of the African American Arts and Culture Complex, this gallery focuses on exhibiting works by African American artists from San Francisco's Western Addition and the greater Bay Area.

 Luggage Store Gallery ​​

1007 Market St SF, CA 94103
​Hours Vary

Co-Founder: Darryl Smith

You won’t find any luggage at this artist run gallery, but you will find eclectic mix of public art, sculptures and emerging art housed in three locations and across the tenderloin. Founded in 1987, Luggage Store Gallery is dedicated to cultural equity and broadening social and aesthetic networks. ​​

Tenderloin National Forest​

511 Ellis Street SF, CA 94109
​Hours Vary

Co-Founder: Darryl Smith

​Part of the Luggage Store Gallery family, this City and County recognized public art space nestles murals and sculptures amongst trees and edible plants, transforming a dead-end alley into a thriving outpost of the Tenderloin.

SWIM Gallery

509 Ellis Street SF, CA 94109
​Hours Vary

Co-Founder: Yarrow Slaps

​Located next door to the Tenderloin National Forest, SWIM Gallery provides a space for emerging and established artists to showcase their work in a way that will foster their growth of their artistic careers. Founded in 2013  as a curated blog/traveling exhibition, SWIM materialized into a physical space in 2018.

Jenkins Johnson Gallery
​

464 Sutter Street SF, CA 94108 Hours: T-F 10-6, 10-5 Sat

Founder: Karen Jenkins-Johnson

Karen Jenkins-Johnson founded this gem in 1996. Today, Jenkins Johnson Gallery is a national dealer of contemporary art representing international artists working across disciplines

Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD)

685 Mission Street SF, CA 94105 Hours: 11-6 M-Sat, 12-5 Sunday

Executive Director: Linda Harrison

A branch of the Smithsonian, the Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco, features a small permanent collection and rotating exhibits. MoAD also hosts an Emerging Artists Program, with a gallery for emerging and mid-career artists based in the Bay Area who produce solo exhibitions addressing the cultural and artistic richness of the African Diaspora.

 SOMArts
​

934 Brannan Street SF, CA 94103 Hours: T-F 12-7, Sat 12-5

Executive Director: Maria Jenson

​SOMArts prioritizes supporting artists who have been historically marginalized in contemporary art, hosting many exhibitions on the topics of culture and race. Notables include The Black Woman is God, a widely received multimedia exhibit featuring black female artists redefining beauty, power and sexuality, and Reclaiming Identity, a series on the complexities of race and gender.

African American Museum and Library​

659 14th Street Oakland, CA 94612 Hours: M-F 12-5:30

A part of the Oakland Public Library’s special collections, this museum regularly hosts traveling and original exhibitions that highlight the art, history and culture of African Americans.

Alena Museum​

2725 Magnolia St. Oakland, 94607
Hours Vary

Founder: Seven Asefaha

​Alena translates to “We are here.” in Tigrinya, the language of founder Seven Asefaha’s native Eritrea. Alena Museum embodies the spirit of their namesake by curating and activating spaces to preserve and cultivate African diasporic culture in the face of aggressive gentrification, using art as resistance against racism, displacement and the marginalization of black and brown communities

Ashara Ekundayo Gallery​

480 23rd Street Oakland, CA 94612 Hours Vary

Founder: Ashara Ekundayo

​Ashara Ekundayo Gallery (AEG) amplifies and celebrates the voices of black women by curating archival, contemporary art, and new media works of Black women of the African Diaspora, and artistic creations made in collaboration with Black women. Highlighting artistic production across a myriad of disciplines, AEG specializes in displaying works that investigate and inspire social and spiritual inquiry at the intersection of Fact, the Black feminist imaginary Afrofuturism.

Betti Ono

1427 Broadway Oakland, CA 94612 Hours: W-Sat 12-5

Founder: Anyka Barber

​A staple in Oakland’s art scene, Betti Ono’s mission is to inspire limitless creativity. Named after two women, founder Anyka Barber believes moved culture forward and have not fully received the recognition they deserve: Betty Miles Davis and Yoko Ono, this gallery presents arts, media and performance experiences and exhibitions, featuring local, national and international artists.

Joyce Gordon Gallery

406 14th Street Oakland, CA 94612 Hours: W-F 11-6, Sat 1-4

Founder: Joyce Gordon

Joyce Gordon Gallery reflects the social and cultural diversity of the Bay Area and beyond by showcasing emerging local artists as well as internationally renowned painters such as Raymond Saunders and Richard Mayhew. The gallery aims to respect the creative pursuits of the individual and seeks to make such work accessible to a broad audience

Thelma Harris Art Gallery​

5940 College Ave. Oakland, 94618
Hours: T-F 11-6, Sat 12-5

​Founder: Thelma Harris

​A destination for master works by African American artists, the Thelma Harris Art Gallery is the perfect place to jumpstart or expand a collection, and has been presenting museum quality exhibitions for over two decades.