Remember that post about 1am Gallery from a few months back? No? Well it's OK...this one is better anyways...
I was able to catch up with Daniel and Anna of 1AM Gallery (www.1amsf.com). These guys are located on 6th and Howard here in San Francisco. Real awesome people doing something positive for local artists and a great place to get all of your needed street art supplies. You NEED to check them out HERE(www.1amsf.com)
LR: So tell me a bit about the people involved in making 1AM happen.
Anna: 1AM was started by Daniel Pan & Twick ICP. Daniel comes from a business and entrepreneur background, he met Twick while Twick was painting across the street at the Defenestration wall. They chopped it up, and it just took off from there.
LR: For those that don’t know, how long have you guys been in business for?
Daniel: At this point it’s been about a year. In fact on October 16th we are having our one year anniversary show. I literally built this place with my own hands, it was a Laundromat before. There’s a lot of “sweat equity” put into this place.
LR: What was the motivation behind opening 1AM?
Daniel: It all just kind of fell into place. I’m a San Francisco native and have always been a fan of the city. Meeting Twick gave me more of an understanding of the graffiti culture as well as visual understanding. I was also motivated by seeing the culture and the love that graffiti writers have for the art; if more people were educated I think there would be more understanding and tolerance for graffiti. I’ve been on both sides so I see both points of view.
LR: Was there any reason that you chose 6th and Howard as your location?
Anna: Well, the Defenestration building is right across the street, and that’s sort of where it all began. It’s one of the last ICP walls in the city that’s regularly changing, and it’s been an SF landmark for about 15 years now. Also, this neighborhood is not one that many people really want to go to, so I think 1AM built a sense of community, it’s something the neighborhood needed.
LR: What does 1AM do differently than other galleries in SF?
Anna: It’s all about the sense of community we create. For example we have classes here and now Roman(Art director/graffiti writer) looks at these kids like they were his own. I mean on a typical day we have graffiti writers coming in to by art supplies, fine artists checking out the art were displaying, and kids who just want to come in to have Twick hit up their book, no other gallery in SF is like that.
Daniel: Also, we emphasize educating people about graffiti and working with the city to create an understanding of the art form; and we try to create something beautiful in a neighborhood which people perceive as being a bad one. We also offer classes which are about the history of graffiti, mural design, laws concerning graffiti, and Roman beautifies neighborhood walls by commissioning to paint legal murals throughout the city. Plus, we are connected with a lot of OG San Francisco crews and writers, I don’t know of anyone else doing that.
LR: How do you guys select the artist you show, and what do you guys have in the works?
Daniel: All of the artist we have showcased we selected personally based on what we like and feel would be a good fit. Now that we are established and people like the space we are starting to receive more portfolios. As for the future, we have some secret plans with some groups that would like to remain unknown for the time being.
LR: So do you guys notice a common thread or characteristic amongst the type of person who would be considered a “street artist?”
Daniel: Not really, they’re all ethnically diverse, various ages, upbringings. I’ve seen a 16 year old crush a canvas harder than someone that’s 30 so the age doesn’t matter. But they do all share a passion and a love for it. I mean a lot of them have gotten beaten up, arrested, risk their lives just to see their name up, but then when they make it to the gallery they want to prove that they can do more than just be in the streets.
Anna: One thing I do hear a lot even from OG’s like Twick and Chez is that it saved their lives. It actually kept them out of trouble, some of those guys have had it rough but street art gave them something to do. I was kind of intimidated by that scene before I knew much about it, but in reality they’re all real nice guys, it’s like a family.
