R&D
20 Years/20 Artists
October 10 - November 8, 2003
Reception: Friday, October 10, 6-9 PM
                     Gallery hours: Wednesdays-Saturdays, 1-6 PM 

This exhibition is a celebration of The LAB’s endurance and pluck. It’s a place that fosters a sense of experimentation and lively spirit of creative progress in a political atmosphere that shifts like San Francisco microclimates. No one needs reminding of the right-blowing winds these days, but it’s all the more reason to cherish a place like The LAB and its continuing existence. Over the years, the gallery and its multidisciplinary programs have hosted hundreds of artists, something easily proved by a peek into the archives. There are too many creative people to fit into the 16th Street space, at least in any cohesive manner, for this event. Besides, one of the other hallmarks of this type of institution is spinning shoestring budgets into something inspiring. R&D, by necessity, is then a selective memory of my own – of The LAB’s first two decades of programming. It features 20 artists who have made significant appearances in their careers as well as made admirable contributions to the institution in both its current space as well as its initial, Divisadero Street location. The latter being a place where I, for one, made important bonds with like-minded artists and thinkers. The LAB, after all, emerged from a community of artists, and thankfully remains one. This is just one look at its history.
Glen Helfand, Guest Curator, Fall 2003