MORE CRUCIAL INFORMATION!

• Pier 29 is not well heated. It is a pier standing over a cold body of water. Though we will do our best to address this, during winter months, artists working inside will have to do the usual Bay Area thing- wear layers, be hearty.

• The opportunity to work at Pier 29 is a result of the vision and generosity of the Port, the Port Commission, and the City of San Francisco. All artists working on the pier must remain mindful of this kindness afforded to us. We are very lucky to have this chance.

• Art + Water is a new kind of program for the Bay Area, based on a very old idea- artists sharing space and learning from each other. Because our teaching artists are giving their time, all emerging artists will be expected to be mindful of this kindness, and be excited to be part of this. Community-mindedness is a must.

• Emerging artists at Art +Water commit to 10 months of intensive training in two-dimensional visual art. Students must be able to commit to about 30 hours a week at Pier 29. Of those 30 hours a week, somewhere between 2 and 4 of those hours will go to helping with the upkeep of the studios and working in the exhibition  spaces. You might be asked to help set up a show in the Exhibition Hall, or you might be asked to re-paint a moveable wall after a gallery show. You’ll be learning a lot while doing these chores and responsibilities — everything from curating, teaching, printmaking, framing, art-handling, interior design, retail, etc.

• This is a rigorous art education that combines both classical training and contemporary techniques and materials. Students must want to learn everything.

• All 20 emerging artists will be together for most classes. That’s why we have limited the first cohort to 20 — to ensure that our established artists teach only one class a week, and that the 20 emerging artists all learn together.

• Art +Water is largely a tech-free program. Almost everything made at Pier 29 will be made using non-digital tools.

• There are no grades given at Art +Water.

• Art +Water is not an accredited school. If a student completes all the courses over the course of the year, that student will receive a statement reflecting this, signed by all the faculty members. The student will have been given a very rigorous education for free. That’s how art instruction worked for about a thousand years, and how it will be here.

• Art +Water is fully ADA accessible to students and visitors.

• Art + Water will host regular open houses and open studios. Located on the Embarcadero adjacent to the cruise ship terminal at Pier 27, our space welcomes a diverse flow of visitors from around the world. During weekday class hours, the public will have access to the building’s exhibition and programming areas, though the artist residency spaces remain private for working artists.

We seek artists who are excited to be part of a vibrant, accessible cultural space- people who are community-minded, genuinely curious, and open to spontaneous encounters with visitors from all backgrounds. If you’re energized by the idea of your practice existing in dialogue with the public rather than in isolation, and if you’re ready to help build something transformative for the Bay Area, we want to hear from you.