The Other Art-World: A Photo-Performance Exhibit by La Pocha Nostra
September 12–December 9, 2025
Multimedia Performance Art Exhibition
Curated by Guillermo Gómez-Peña and Emma Tramposch.
Image: La Pocha Nostra: The Other Art World. Saint Joseph’s Arts Society, San Francisco.
Saint Joseph’s Arts Society
1401 Howard Street Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
Saint Joseph’s Arts Society Website
Saint Joseph’s Arts Society Instagram
Saint Joseph’s Arts Society Hours
| Monday | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm |
|---|---|
| Tuesday | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm |
| Wednesday | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm |
| Thursday | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm |
| Friday | 10:00 am – 5:00 pm |
| Saturday | Closed |
| Sunday | Closed |
Overview
Today’s LOVE LETTER TO ART is to The Other Art World: La Pocha Nostra at Saint Joseph’s Arts Society—a sweeping, four-decade survey of Guillermo Gómez-Peña and his performance collective, La Pocha Nostra. Co-curated with Emma Tramposch, the exhibition transforms the historic Saint Joseph’s into a living archive, blending photo-performance, films, sound art, velvet paintings, and rare ephemera that map the troupe’s radical, border-crossing practice.
Founded in 1993, La Pocha Nostra has long pushed into cultural, spiritual, technological, and geopolitical borders, crafting performance rituals rooted in decolonial critique, queer spectacle, and collaborative pedagogy. The show highlights their pioneering photo-performance collaborations, arranged as large-scale images, salon-style clusters, reading rooms, and time-based installations.
Preview of The Other Art-World: A Photo-Performance Exhibit by La Pocha Nostra. Saint Joseph’s Arts Society, San Francisco.
Shown here:
1) The Other Art World: La Pocha Nostra is a sweeping four-decade survey of Guillermo Gómez-Peña and his legendary performance collective.
2) This exhibition turns Saint Joseph’s into a living archive of photo-performance, film, sound art, velvet paintings, and rare ephemera.
3) La Pocha Nostra has spent decades pushing into cultural, spiritual, and technological borders with their collaborative, decolonial performance rituals.
4) The show highlights their pioneering photo-performance work through large-scale images, salon-style clusters, and time-based installations.
5) Saint Joseph’s Arts Society Director Martin Strickland
6) Safiya of The Futurelics with Writer and Artist Brontez Purnell
7) Michelle Kwan with A LOVE LETTER TO ART
8) Art meets life onstage as Guillermo Gómez-Peña welcomes the audience into La Pocha Nostra.
I first encountered Guillermo’s work in 2023, when he performed Tech-illa Sunrise for Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s excellent TECHS-MECHS exhibition at Gray Area—a mesmerizing performance you can preview HERE.
One of the greatest pleasures of being an art writer is seeing performance art IRL. The Other Art World: La Pocha Nostra is such a sensory treat. San Francisco doesn’t often get intimate, aesthetic performance art, and La Pocha Nostra’s presence makes any space more curious, more charged, more beautiful.
With Ken Fulk’s stunning décor, Saint Joseph’s Arts Society—his visionary arts hub led by Martin Strickland—is the ABSOLUTE BEST ART PARTY venue in San Francisco IMO. Pair that with thoughtful programming and exhibitions ranging from Warhol to cutting-edge contemporary artists and designers, and you have one of the city’s true cultural gems.
🗓 The Other Art-World: A Photo-Performance Exhibit by La Pocha Nostra is on view until December 9, 2025 at Saint Joseph’s Arts Society in San Francisco’s SoMa district.
✨ There’s still time to experience La Pocha Nostra’s fantastic performances, as the FREE CLOSING PARTY for The Other Art World will take place on TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2025 from 6:30-9:30 p.m.
💌 Did you see the show(s) or try any of our recommendations? What did you think? Let us know in the comments (in the Reviews section located on the second tab at the top of the page).
QUICK GUIDE: SAINT JOSEPH’S ARTS SOCIETY
⭐ LOCATION: 1401 Howard Street (cross is 10th Street) in SoMa. Closest Muni bus line is the 14 stop at Mission and 11th Street.
⭐ HOURS: The gallery is open Monday–Friday 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
⭐ MEMBERSHIP: The gallery is FREE to visit. Consider joining Saint Joseph’s Patron program for exclusive benefits such as complimentary invitations to select events and VIP access for you plus one guest. Membership starts at $100.
⭐ EXHIBITIONS:
- ON VIEW: The Other Art-World: A Photo-Performance Exhibit by La Pocha Nostra | Closes December 9, 2025
⭐ EVENTS :
- Holiday Pop Rox! | One Found Sound’s Holiday Pop Rox! is a one-night-only, cabaret-style holiday spectacular blending festive classics and pop icons like Mariah Carey, Beyoncé, and Queen, hosted by Melinda Campero with performances by drag artist Nicki J and narrations by Jamael Smith on Dec. 10, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. GA $30/person (free for members). VIP Reserved Seating $60/person ($30 for members).
- Mahjong Night at Saint Joseph’s Arts Society | Come join St. Joseph’s mahjong night on December 16, 2025, from 6:00–9:00 p.m. Play or learn, with beer and wine available for purchase at the bar. ($20/Free for Patrons)
⭐ RELATED VENUES:
- Little Saint | Ken Fulk’s vegan restaurant/cocktail lounge/music venue in Healdsburg, CA,
- Provincetown Arts Society | Ken Fulk’s art and event space in the Mary Heaton Vorse House in Provincetown, MA.
⭐ NEARBY ART:
- Root Division (SoMa) | ON VIEW: How it Is Nowadays on view from Nov. 8, 2025–Jan. 10, 2026. EVENTS: (FREE) Root Division’s 1st Annual Artist Fair Marketplace features original art, prints, jewelry, music, food, and drinks on Saturday, December 13, 2025 from 12:00 p.m.–5 p.m. RSVP HERE for a FREE drink ticket. | 11-min walk/3 min drive
- Four One Nine (SoMa) | EVENTS: TBA | 7-min walk/3 min drive
- Weinstein Gallery (SoMa) | ON VIEW: TBA | 18-min walk // 6 min-drive
⭐ NEARBY DINING:
- Cafe Suspiro | Music-themed cafe serving coffee and pastries within a book and record store. | 7-min walk // 3-min drive
- Rocco’s Cafe | Italian comfort food. Get the CHICKEN MARSALA! | 11-min walk // 3-min drive
💌 More nearby suggestions are always welcome. Feel free to add in the comments!
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Author: ALoveLettertoArt
