Bradley McCallum had to resort to siphoning off electricity from the hotel next door while trying to open his gallery. | Source: Amanda Andrade-Rhoades/The Standard
Outside TnT Art Lab (opens in new tab) in the Tenderloin, four vertical LED screens are visible through street-facing windows, displaying collages of protesters.
The work by Deborah Oropallo and Andy Rappaport intertwines a montage of mass movements for Black Lives Matter, anti-ICE street protests, and pro-democracy students in Hong Kong, among others.
Peek inside, and you’ll see brilliant white light illuminating the art on the walls, which includes intricate corded masks by Angola’s Ana Silva and a photograph of two men in a tender embrace by South Africa’s Lulu Mhlana.
But for a year after the gallery’s soft opening in October 2025, the lights could not be easily flicked on. The reason involved landlord miscommunications and the gallery owner’s inexperience with San Francisco’s complex bureaucracy. But the biggest hitch, according to owner Bradley McCallum, was the eight-month wait for an electricity meter from PG&E.
It’s just one of the thousand obstacles that leave small businesses struggling to bring in revenue in an unfinished space. Until last week, McCallum’s gallery could open only for private showings and events, stringing together a solution by tapping into electrical circuits on the loading dock of the neighboring Timbri Hotel.
TnT Art Lab features socially conscious art, as well as a workshop space and library.
“I can imagine there are other new businesses that don’t have that level of generosity and support provided to them, and they really are left in the dark waiting,” McCallum said. “If we were still waiting to begin doing any kind of programming, we would be at ground zero.”
The ground-floor retail space at 67 Turk was designated for use by a community-focused nonprofit in a development agreement with landlord Group i, which developed the adjacent hotel and condos. The idea was to offer free rent to a nonprofit, but prospective tenants like the Magic Theatre (opens in new tab) and MoAD (opens in new tab) were spooked by the cost of renovating the raw shell space, McCallum said.
McCallum isn’t some dilettante. He’s been a conceptual artist for more than three decades, with an MFA from Yale and residencies in Tokyo, New York, and the Hague. He was “happily making ceramics” at Minnesota Street Project but saw an opportunity to anchor his mission of merging social justice and art through his nonprofit Conjunction Arts, complete with a gallery, shared workshop, library, and space for an artist-in-residence.
“As someone who has been making contemporary art and working in the field of social practice my entire professional career, I see this as a real opportunity to make a generational difference for the art community, in terms of creating a space that’s dedicated to social practice,” said McCallum, who is infectiously optimistic.
He signed a 10-year lease, with an option to renew for 10 more.
McCallum had started putting up walls and installing artwork when he realized the space had never been outfitted with electricity. Crossed wires with Group i about who was responsible for installing a PG&E meter caused weeks of delay. When McCallum finally ordered one, he was told it would take eight months to arrive.
Then, when it came, McCallum was distraught to find that the space had never been “green-tagged” by an inspector for an electrical hookup and would require another round of inspections.
When the power was finally switched on Tuesday, McCallum was relieved — and ready to move forward. “Much longer than I ever thought would be the case,” he said.
PG&E said in a statement that TnT’s electrical meter was installed within its target timeline. The minimum and target for installing meters is just under six months, with a maximum of 335 days — a requirement from the California Public Utilities Commission that was instituted in 2024 (opens in new tab) to shorten waits.
Owner Bradley McCallum speaks to a crowd visiting TnT Art Lab just before his power went on.
TnT Art Lab is at the corner of Turk and Taylor streets.
“This timeframe does not include actions that customers must take, such as obtaining permits, inspections, payment, or other required documentation from local governmental agencies prior to PG&E meter installation and connection,” said Tamar Sarkissian, a PG&E spokesperson.
Even without the power fully on, TnT last week joined First Thursdays Art Walk (opens in new tab), a monthly tour of the neighborhood that brings together the growing collection of gallerists and artists. Despite a schism this year (opens in new tab) over funding from the Civic Joy Fund, Low Key Skate Shop (opens in new tab) and TENDESF (opens in new tab), among others, still participate in the community event, which is now supported by the city and Tenderloin Community Benefit District.
“They’re thinking at a community level and the type of experience they can provide while working together,” said Kate Robinson, executive director of the Tenderloin Community Benefit District. “They’re such a part of the fabric of the community. They reflect that collaborative spirit.”
When McCallum told friends and collaborators he was opening an art space in San Francisco, they were optimistic about the civic support he’d likely receive. But the reality has been more complicated.
Even without rent, TnT Art Lab’s monthly expenses — including taxes, utilities, and payments for common spaces — come to about $4,500. He said opportunities for city-funded support have been slim, and he was discouraged when the city rejected his application for a storefront improvement grant.
McCallum has adapted — he hosted a fundraiser in the space when the walls were just steel beams — and his enthusiasm for the community remains.
With the power on, TnT is moving quickly, hosting (opens in new tab) a conversation with sound artist Jorge Bachmann on Wednesday. McCallum is also planning a public video art festival at the end of October that will activate at least 13 storefronts in SoMa.
Recently, the city assessor’s office approved a request to designate the space as a free museum, which makes it exempt from property taxes and cuts monthly expenses in half.
“When you’re operating a small nonprofit arts space, each of these small policy decisions by the city can make a huge difference in our ability to function and make things work,” McCallum said.