SPACE   in the Bay Area is a limited resource and we pay a premium for it. Although the prohibitive cost of living here affects a broad range of people this project is inspired by the question of what it means for emerging artists to keep a studio space or art practice here.

‘Practice’ was conceived in the end of 2016 with the intention of documenting a handful of the many artists whose work had contributed to the Oakland/Bay Area art scene.  Over the course of the next year I met with and photographed 12 artists in their studios. Those photos were compiled into the first issue of ‘Practice’ and released at the SF Art Book Fair in the summer of 2018. The experience of doing those studio visits was much more rewarding than I expected.  I had so many questions about the realities other artists dealt with and our conversations gave me insight into the individual ways they’d figured out how to make a practice work.  We talked a lot about transparency, idealism vs. reality, and the importance of finding ways to connect with/support other artists. 

With the intention of sharing some of that exchange this second issue features photos and Q&A interviews of 10 new artists whom I visited with over 2018/2019.

Lena Gustafson

June 2019