in-depth and experimental coverage of the bay area’s arts and cultural scenes
By Julius Ernesto Rea, with Austin Dean Ashford
Substrate Arts co-founder Julius Rea sits down with As the 2024 Artist-in-residence at Z Space in San Francisco, the critically-acclaimed Austin Dean Ashford shares his philosophy behind his art making.
By Nicole Gluckstern, with Avi Ehrlich
Substrate Arts co-founder Nicole Gluckstern spoke with the instigator of Silver Sprocket, Avi Ehrlich, about the balance between community benefit and commercial enterprise, and how the comic book industry can learn from the indie music scene.
By Hiya Swanhuyser, with Ani & Bonnie Bonani
Substrate Arts co-founder Hiya Swanhuyser talks to Ani & Bonnie Bonani about the history behind Petaluma’s inclusive queer arts space: Slough City Studios.
By Nicole Gluckstern
Mission District Filmmakers Mike Kuchar, Maria “M” Judice and Naomi Garcia Pasmanick are keeping the DIY spirit alive.
Representing three generations of filmmaking, these three artists have carved out their own creative niches; each one embodying a neighborhood that embraces its original thinkers and gives them the space to manifest their own liberation.
By Julius Rea, with H.P. Mendoza
The poetic prince of SF independent film paints the picture of his illuminating career trajectory.
Substrate Arts co-founder Julius Rea spoke onstage with San Francisco-based filmmaker H.P. Mendoza as he tours his newest film, “The Secret Art of Human Flight.”
By Julius Rea, with with Michael Arcega, Paolo Asuncion & Rachel Lastimosa
An American-mad motorcycle transforms into a healing container for Filipino lives.
Substrate interviews the creators behind TNT Traysikel, a mobile installation uplifting history, shared grief, and collective joy.
By Hiya Swanhuyser
Nazi punks, fuck off! The night of a small-town rebellion.
Bad trouble came to Petaluma’s Phoenix Theater in the form of skinheads wearing military-style jackets, tall boots, and armbands with swastikas. That night, a group of teenagers banded together to resist that racist violence—culminating in an intense but nearly forgotten confrontation.
By Nicole Gluckstern
No EXIT, a post-mortem.
What will become of EXIT Theatre’s vision of an expanding Tenderloin arts district now that they’ve closed up shop at 156 Eddy Street?
By Hiya Swanhuyser
“Sonoma County children both growing and grown share memories of the Running Fence…They don’t notice it lining the community center ceiling to baffle sound. They sell the livestock they’ve raised in front of it. If they do notice it, they wonder why it’s so huge, and what it’s made of, and why it’s so oddly unlikely to catch fire, although if you really try you can set it on fire a little.”
By David John Chávez
“The burgeoning Chicano culture, lowrider cars and bikes, Lowrider Magazine, which published for the first time in 1977 and a firm commitment to a whole new fashion for brown kids everywhere made for the perfect time for the 18-year-old Amaya to move his fledgling audience in a whole new direction.”