San Francisco was arguably the countercultural epicentre of the latter part of the 20th century—a refuge for artists and weirdos, a place where political activism proliferated, a city in which to live and make art free of commercial pressures. Tell Them We Were Here traces the throughline of that history into the 21st century, probing the artistic practices of seven notable Bay Area artists. Each is interested in challenging the transactional value of art, and all seem to be more interested in a life, rather than a career, in the arts. These artists have developed art practices that directly benefit their communities and centre ideas of civic responsibility, social activism and healing divisions of inequality in spite of the Bay Area’s increasingly unequal and unaffordable realities. Featured artists include Sadie Barnette, Amy Franceschini, Jim Goldberg, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Alicia McCarthy, Tucker Nichols, Nigel Poor and Michael Swaine. -NC
Screening Partner
- Year2020
- Runtime88 minutes
- CountryUnited States
- DirectorKeelan Williams and Griff Williams
San Francisco was arguably the countercultural epicentre of the latter part of the 20th century—a refuge for artists and weirdos, a place where political activism proliferated, a city in which to live and make art free of commercial pressures. Tell Them We Were Here traces the throughline of that history into the 21st century, probing the artistic practices of seven notable Bay Area artists. Each is interested in challenging the transactional value of art, and all seem to be more interested in a life, rather than a career, in the arts. These artists have developed art practices that directly benefit their communities and centre ideas of civic responsibility, social activism and healing divisions of inequality in spite of the Bay Area’s increasingly unequal and unaffordable realities. Featured artists include Sadie Barnette, Amy Franceschini, Jim Goldberg, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Alicia McCarthy, Tucker Nichols, Nigel Poor and Michael Swaine. -NC
Screening Partner
- Year2020
- Runtime88 minutes
- CountryUnited States
- DirectorKeelan Williams and Griff Williams