East Meets West: 2009 Boston Artadia Awardees opens at SFAI on July 14 San Francisco, CA: A group exhibition of the Artadia Awardees 2009 Boston, curated by Mary Ellyn Johnson. The show is on view from July 15–September 10, 2011 in the Walter and McBean Galleries on SFAI’s 800 Chestnut Street campus. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, July 14 from 5:30­–7:30 p.m.

East Meets West brings together the seven Boston-based artists who received the 2009 Artadia Award: Claire Beckett, Ambreen Butt, Caleb Cole, Raul Gonzalez, Eric Gottesman, Amie Siegel, and Joe Zane. The show is part of the Artadia Exhibitions Exchange program, a groundbreaking initiative from the nonprofit organization Artadia to foster dialogue and exchange between artists, peer organizations, and arts communities around the country. By exhibiting awardees from one Artadia city in another—current partner cities are Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, and the San Francisco Bay Area—the program provides vital exposure for Artadia Awardees, promotes partner communities as cultural hubs, and opens new avenues for curatorial enrichment. The series of five shows in 2010–2011 includes an exhibition of Artadia Awardees 2009 San Francisco Bay Area at the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center from July 15–September 18, 2011.

East Meets West falls within the New Voices section of SFAI’s Exhibitions and Public Programs department structure. The New Voices initiative and Arcadia share the goal of encouraging young curators, artists, and activists by providing them with spaces and strategies to present their projects. Additionally, the Walter and McBean Galleries strive to present work by compelling artists who may be as-yet-unknown to local audiences.