upper waypoint

SF Skateboard Mecca FTC Is Hosting its First Standalone Art Show

Save ArticleSave Article
Failed to save article

Please try again

‘For the City,’ by Michael Jang, is part of FTC‘s art show on Jan. 31. (Michael Jang)

In the early ’90s, as an eighth grader in summer school, Andrew “Ando” Caulfield discovered the San Francisco skate shop For The City (FTC) purely by chance.

His school was near the shop, and as a skater himself, he started hanging out there whenever he had the chance. He took on odd jobs around the shop throughout his teens, sealing his affiliation with the FTC skate community. He picked up photography, too, first shooting skaters before moving on to other projects.

Caulfield’s professional photography career has uprooted him to other cities over the years (most recently Barcelona), but to hear him tell it, nothing beats being able to come home to San Francisco. There’s something special, he says, about how deeply woven skate culture has become in Bay Area life over the last 40 years.

“It’s a pretty open and inclusive community,” he says. “Sort of like a big family, regardless of your level of skateboarding, you know, or sponsorship.”

Work from photographers like Richard Hart, above, are part of FTC’s art show on Jan. 31. (Richard Hart )

Now, Caulfield and the rest of FTC San Francisco are gearing up for a one-night-only show on Friday, Jan. 31, dedicated to artwork by FTC community skaters.

Sponsored

“We just wanted to do a show that shows what our friends and family are up to,” says Caulfield. “It’s about coming out and… meeting some interesting people that are probably right under your nose.”

Caulfield anticipates several artistic mediums for the show, such as photography of various formats, painting, and possibly some multimedia elements like video. Caulfield himself plans a collaborative piece with San Francisco-based artist Ian Johnson to recreate one of Caulfield’s photos in the form of a painting.

‘Prophetic Arrangements,’ by Sean Silk. (Sean Silk)

FTC SF has held other art-related events in the past specifically to celebrate and promote upcoming product and book releases. This show, meanwhile, is part of an ongoing effort toward more events that don’t revolve around product launches. Hosting it at FTC SF, which since opening in 1994 has become a local mecca for all things skate culture, only adds to its homegrown feel.

“We have such a big space, so it’s a cool opportunity for people to display work and have fun,” said Caulfield.

Since the show’s initial announcement, the list of artists to be featured has only grown. “There’s some pretty creative elements that are going to be thrown in here,” said Caulfield, “but we’ll have to see how they’re going to all work together.”


The FTC Art Show takes place at 6 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 31, at FTC Skate Shop in San Francisco. Details here.

lower waypoint
next waypoint