Dear Ones,
On Saturday, we awoke to the news that a catastrophic fire ripped through the Ghost Ship warehouse in Oakland where musicians and artists – friends counted among them – had gathered for a concert. As I write this, the death toll has climbed to 36 and is expected to rise. A wave of grief, tenderness, and shock ripples through every form of communication I’ve read in the past three days. It will not subside soon; it is present in my words to you here.
A criminal investigation is already underway into the illegality and fire code violations of the live-work spaces occupying the warehouse. But even in mainstream media accounts such as the New York Times, the large-scale displacement of artists in the Bay Area is held out as an underlying cause of the fire. Artists cope with precarious housing because economic violence inflicts precariousness upon them.
The idea that Southern Exposure is yours to claim takes on new meaning in the wake of this tragedy and the precariousness that caused it. We strive to be a place that defies the economic violence that so indifferently devalues and eradicates the work of artists. We seek to be a place where artists find welcome and unfettered expression. We hope to be a place that they can reshape in their own image.
With those goals in mind, we extend several invitations at once: Please join us this Friday for the opening of a powerful new exhibition. Please stake your claim in Southern Exposure. Please support our friends and their loved ones in their time of grief. Please know how dear you are to us. We are everything we are because of you.
With gratitude and care,
Patricia, on behalf of the staff and Board of Southern Exposure
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