{"id":364417,"date":"2026-06-17T16:44:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T16:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/364417\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T16:44:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T16:44:12","slug":"space-program-makes-room-for-local-artists-to-blast-off-no-jerks-please","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/364417\/","title":{"rendered":"Space Program makes room for local artists to blast off (no jerks, please)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Large warehouses that artists could repurpose as affordable studios used to be fairly common in San Francisco\u2019s Dogpatch neighborhood. Jacob Pritzker<\/a> wanted to keep that going, and he let friends use his former warehouse there, complete with recording studio, for their projects. He imagined offering artists, so starved for space, a residency. In 2019, he and sculptor Jud Bergeron<\/a> were able to do that with Space Program<\/a>,\u00a0starting with artist Michelle Yi Martin<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bergeron had met Pritzker in 2015 when Pritzker commissioned him to create some bronze sculpture. They became friends and Bergeron started working in the Pritzker\u2019s warehouse. There they hatched the plans for the residency now housed in that warehouse.<\/p>\n

The residencies Bergeron had taken part in previously weren\u2019t particularly suited to his work as a sculptor\u2014he was afraid of making a mess on the floor and spent a chunk of his time searching for materials he could use in his work. So, with the Space Program, the goal was to create everything an artist would need in their six weeks there. Audio projects and sculpture were a focus since those were their main mediums, and Pritzker was also determined to have screen printing, which he thinks is a fun way for artists to experiment. <\/p>\n

\"\"Jacob Pritzker and Jud Bergeron in the recording studio. Photo by Sam Oberter Photography<\/p>\n

They\u2019ve added other tools and materials over the years and bring in various experts if the artists need some guidance. Bergeron works on site along with textile artist Ben Venom<\/a>, the studio manager who facilitates the silk-screening program. A tight community with the more than 50 residents over the years has formed, with an open door policy about coming back to use any equipment they might need.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In an email,\u00a0Pritzker and Bergeron responded to questions about the residency. Pritzker says he knows they created something special by the artists\u2019 responses.\u00a0\u201cThe way people\u2019s eyes light up when they talk about it is undeniable,\u201d he said. \u201cThe eyes don\u2019t lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Julia Goodman<\/a> is one of those artists whose shining eyes express her feelings about the invitation-only residency she did in 2024. Her words back that up. One she uses repeatedly is \u201ca gift.\u201d She especially felt like this as a mother of a young son.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cJud and Ben are so generous. They\u2019re also both parents, and they\u2019re working around their kids\u2019 schedules, so I never felt guilty about having to go home,\u201d she said. \u201cI was able to experiment with new facilities, and have new studio mates, and to be able to be home for dinner and bedtime. It\u2019s tremendous.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Goodman saw the recording studio, she decided to create an audio project\u2014a medium completely new to her. She archived conversations she\u2019d been having with astronomer Dr. Isabel Hawkins and astrophysicist Dr. Aparna Venkatesan, which have influenced her work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sponsored link<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"Jud Bergeron in the welding Studio. Photo by Sam Oberter Photography<\/p>\n

In 2023, photographer Jamil Hellu<\/a> also tried something different in his time at the Space Program. He came in with a proposal to do something about the iconography of Lady Justice<\/a>, representations of which he calls racist and sexist.\u00a0Once he was there, he decided that for his work he would use bronze\u2014which Bergeron has done for decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a pretty giant leap forward in thinking about how to materialize my photography into a sculpture,\u201d Hellu said. \u201cSince then, I\u2019ve been making masks, I\u2019ve been doing face sculptures, so it\u2019s not something that it was one-of-a-kind for me. It opened a route for me to continue to explore.\u201d<\/p>\n

Making things in bronze or developing screen prints require knowledge and equipment most artists don\u2019t have access to, and the team at the Space Program encourage artists to use the residency to try materials and techniques they may not have used before. The poster point person for this is Christopher Duncan<\/a>, who during his time there in 2023, recorded an album and printed and silk-screened covers for it, as well as learned to cast bronze and fire ceramics.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Maybe it\u2019s something about having about having all that space\u2013more than 2,000 square feet\u2014as well as studiomates, that inspires the artists. During her 2025 residency, Carrie Ann Plank<\/a> found herself doing airbrushing and digital work to create a suite of paintings, not the prints she often makes. She loved working alongside established artists.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re amazing,\u201d she said about Bergeron and Venom. \u201cThey\u2019re there to offer advice or encouragement, but mostly they just give you space to do your work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Michelle Yi Martin in the studio. Photo by Sam Oberter Photography<\/p>\n

For Hellu, Bergeron\u2019s mentorship was critical.\u00a0\u201cIt was very wonderful working under the guidance of Jud. He has an impact because he\u2019s present,\u201d he said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t in a corner doing everything by myself. It\u2019s a small cohort of me, Jud, and Ben. I met a lot of artists coming through, but it was the one-on-one conversations with Jud that allowed the work to continue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goodman created a silk screen for each recording she made. Her experience with Venom was equally positive. \u201cBen is just a dream to work with on the silk screens,\u201d she said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t have been able to pull them off without him. There\u2019s just no way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Besides Venom and Bergeron, the Space Program team includes Emily Lakin<\/a> doing administrative work, and Jacob and his brother Isaac Pritzker overseeing the operation. The application process would be too time-consuming to take on with this small team, Bergeron says. With artists they invite, they are looking for people willing to work outside their comfort zone. And one more thing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a strict \u2018no jerks\u2019 policy,\u201d Bergeron wrote. \u201cWe need to be able to get along and most importantly, respect one another\u2019s process and practice. It\u2019s not a place for self-importance or big egos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bergeron is happy the residency offers some relief to artists in the high-priced Bay Area. And he loves the community that has been created which includes his kids.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThey have pretty much met every artist that has come through the program,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI love that this is just part of the fabric of their lives. They are teenagers now and they have really strong relationships with some of the artists and that is priceless.\u201d<\/p>\n

THROUGH LINE,\u00a0 an exhibition of Jud Bergeron\u2019s work will open at St. Joseph\u2019s Arts Society on Thu\/18. More info here.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Space Program is organizing an exhibition at Southern Exposure<\/a> that will August 10. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Large warehouses that artists could repurpose as affordable studios used to be fairly common in San Francisco\u2019s Dogpatch…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":364418,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[143,145,144],"class_list":["post-364417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364417"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364417\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364418"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}