a.Muse Gallery

My fiancé and I recently had an engagement party at Lori’s venue in December and while I’d love to give a four or even five star review I have to discount to a three given a few critical issues. I’ll start with the good/​pros and end with cons/​things to be aware of:
The good:
1) Lori’s space is beautiful — very open with a nice flow to it and EASILY accommodated our 75 guests, The artwork was interesting and attractive and in general it’s a great space
2) Pre-​planning – Lori was really helpful with pre-​planning and obviously has experience hosting and planning events. She offered to let us use some of her supplies and was also very accommodating with willing to let us come early to set-​up and after the event she was really gracious with letting us store our stuff later than initially agreed upon (which we really appreciated!).
The not-​so good /​points to be aware of if booking the venue:
1) my fiancé and I unfortunately have to echo the sentiment of Marilyn J below – at the end of the night Lori was very different from the sweet and warm women of our initial interactions – she was very rude to a number of our guests, clearly anxious when it was time to start wrapping things up and yes, we’d have to agree that her tone and body language in general was very unwelcome. While Lori was never directly rude to us, at least 5 of our guests commented to us after the event that Lori had snapped or yelled at them! She cut off people in the middle of conversations to say something snarky to the effect of «would love to stay here all night while you debate the merits of what cupcake flavor that is, but you need to help your friends clean up, it’s time to go». Completely unprofessional and unnecessary (especially to loved ones at our engagement party). Full disclosure, my fiancé and I were running behind with wrapping up and per the usual at parties people wanted to continue drinking and mingling after the end of the event, but it’s never acceptable to be rude and controlling with guests — any issues Lori had should have been brought to us, and us only and it was not her place to reprimand our guests.
I’d say for anyone considering booking an event at this space, be aware that Lori is very protective of her space (which isn’t necessarily a bad thing), but that can lead to overly aggressive and rude behavior at the end of the night or towards guests who don’t follow the rules to a T. If you have professional catering and bar staff (we did not to keep things on budget), then I would definitely suggest using the space — having professional staff would have created a barrier between Lori and our guests and limited interaction and diminished a lot of issues (which to be fair we aren’t professional party planners so there were a few issues). If you are not going to have professional bar and catering staff on-​hand, I’d be sure to really get an understanding with Lori in terms of guest communication. Don’t let what could be a great experience be dampened by having guests feel upset.

Our organization held a holiday party here and we had a top notch experience. If you are looking for an open space for an event or party I recommend to try a. Muse Gallery.
Lori was a gem from the pre-​planning to the end and worked with us to make our event a success! I’m hoping to hold more events here in the future!
Thanks Lori!

I recently hosted a dinner/​lecture event and it could not have gone any better. Lori was fantastic to deal with over email as well as the evening of the event. She worked with me to make sure everything and everyone was perfect. Thank you Lori for help making the event be a success!

We rented out a. Muse for my daughters Bat Mitzvah party. It was a magnificent success. The space is perfect. It held well a crowd of 75 that at one point swelled to about 150. Lori was a pleasure to work with and was enormously helpful. We could not have done it without her. I could not recommend more highly.

We had a baby shower here last night. The host was extremely rude and anxious when it was time to start wrapping things up. She became extremely controlling and her tone and body language was over the top! This is my daughter’s first baby. It was supposed to be a joyous occasion. She ruined the mood. Many guests were upset with her. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS SPACE TO ANYONE!!!

a. Muse was the absolute perfect space for a recent event I hosted. I was working within a tight budget and struggling to find any feasible location for a small group event when I stumbled upon a. Muse gallery. Not only is the space absolutely gorgeous (in a simple, understated way, with amazing natural light — and awesome art, naturally), but you get Lori as an added bonus! Her event planning skills helped me stay under budget and turned a small gathering into a much more impressive looking event than I had originally expected would be possible. She was extremely responsive, easy to work with, and creative. My event was smooth, start to finish, and I would not hesitate to host another event at a. Muse in the future!

aMuse turned out to be the perfect space for my book release event. Lori provided the catering and it was delicious. She was a joy to work with, giving great party planning advice and making the event shine. Great style and taste coupled with deep attention to detail too!

As a Bay Area artist looking for a venue to showcase an exhibition, I was turned on to a. Muse gallery by another artist friend. What a gift! I am so happy I discovered this gem of a space and its charming owner, Lori. I curated a collage show titled Hybrid for the gallery that featured the work of Ken Graves, John Hundt, Catie O’Leary, and myself, Vanessa Woods. The exhibition space is lovely and easily accommodated the 40 pieces in the show. There is wonderful lighting, beautiful white walls, and the right square footage to feel big but still intimate.
Lori is a delight to work with! She responded very promptly to my endless emails, was fantastic at generating publicity for the show, and created a wonderful ambience for the exhibition’s opening and closing, including beautiful spreads of wine and cheese, live music and a continually warm and inviting atmosphere. Lori is flexible, charming kind, and has excellent taste in art. The revolving art shows at a. Muse, continue to surprise and inspire me. I feel so lucky to have discovered this unconventional, cultural resource and highly recommend it for events, exhibitions and art viewing! Would add extra stars if I could!

I have helped host 2 events at a. Muse and they have both been huge successes. The space is beautiful, the owner extremely nice and competent — overall an excellent gallery and event location, I would strongly recommend it for any event.

Gem of a venue. Stumbled upon it one day and fell instantly in love with the space. Decided to host an event there for 100 people with live music and small bites for a fundraiser. Lori had everything we needed from lighting, a small prep area, great acoustics and an open space. It was a lovely evening and the photos from the event turned out great.
Highly recommend for events for 100 people or less. You can really transform the gallery to fit your needs and it reflects a side of San Francisco that isn’t seen as much anymore.
Will definitely work with a. Muse again in the future.

We held an event at A. Muse a couple weeks back and had a very positive experience working with Lori. She’s very helpful and knowledgeable about events and has everything you need to throw a great party.
All our guests had an amazing time and commented that the space was beautiful. We brought our own food and Lori’s kitchen was perfect for prepping, heating, and serving everything that we had brought along.
Can’t say enough good things about Lori and A. Muse Gallery!

Came here for a birthday party. It was a good space for the amount of people, and seemed to have the necessary effects: place for food, music, and a mini food-​prep area. That said, can’t speak to the art, as there wasn’t a _​ton_​of it.
Looks like a wee hole in the wall from the outside, so keep your eye out for the address when you’re parking/​walking up to it.
Pretty sure someone lives there, too, from the products in the bathroom. Curious about how that’s working out.
The good: cool space for a party.
The bad: didn’t have much personality.

This review is long overdue. thank you for helping me throw an awesome 40^th birthday party, Lori!
I was hit with the pre 40 blues mid last year and decided that a small but awesome birthday party would help to turn my mood around. I wanted a chill but tasteful space for a good party. My parents are old (mid 70s, early 80s), and I also wanted a space where they could hear toasts /​speeches. Plus party planning help and great food. Without spending $ 125 a head. Good luck!
Lori Shantzis, a. muse’s owner, was wonderful. She told me everything that I’d need for the party, where I could save $ (i.e., buy dishes and flatware instead of renting), helped me to develop the party menu and think of creative ways to save $ again on food, did almost all the food and equipment pick-​ups and drop-​offs, prepped and served the night of, managed the other server /​bartender /​dishwasher, and made the a. muse space available, which looked incredible. Other reviews have described the space, so I won’t.
We had an amazing party and got tons of compliments. My fiancé said that it’s the best party he’s ever been to, and the guy is not the type to make that stuff up.
I will say that being really organized and clear about division of labor helped. I sent Lori a spreadsheet of things that needed to be done, and we worked from that. For folks don’t have tons of time to spend party planning, I would absolutely recommend Lori. I’m guessing that I spent about 40 hours total on the party, from invites to prep the day of to picking up stuff after. Lori was incredibly in reducing my time spent and in making the planning and the party low stress.

I hosted a surprise birthday party for my husband’s 40^th birthday at a. MUSE gallery this past weekend. Lori was a pleasure to work with– extremely responsive to the millions of questions I sent along. She allowed us to decorate the open floor plan and even has a piano that we used for entertainment. She’s flexible, accommodating, reliable and shared her catering wares (serving platters, etc) with our caterer which made for an enjoyable dining experience. I highly recommend using her space to anyone hosting an event!

My company rented the gallery to give a presentation to potential investors. Not only was the place big, airy, comfortable and pleasant, our contact, Lori, was completely relaxed. I immediately sensed there would be no hassles and that kind of confidence can really make a difference! We were invited to use any little housewares and expendables that we needed. It was like we had a friend on our side who wanted us to succeed.
Nice.

Our company just held a workshop in the gallery and it was perfect!
The space was warm, versatile and bright. The owner Lori Shantzis was very flexible and accommodating. Since she is a caterer, she provided lunch for the group and kept coffee and beverages prepped for us all day. This was incredibly helpful and convenient.
I cannot say enough good things about Lori or her amazing environment. I highly recommend her Gallery and her catering services and look forward to our next event with her.

This is an awesome venue. The space is open and bright, with a pleasant warmth. A fantastic event space for groups up to 40 or 50, but would be great for smaller groups too.
I dont think there’s a better location for a better price in San Francisco.
Parking is only available on the street, but it’s plentiful, especially in the evenings.

I have hosted three events here — all which have been successful.
Lori was amenable to our events and listened to our needs. In addition, she has an exceptional eye for art which means only bringing the best artists into her space. We’ll definitely be back once another event opportunity presents itself.

I attended a solo art exhibit here by Trinh Mai to benefit the Angor Children’s Hospital in Cambodia. The space was elegant and the lighting perfect. Lori Shantzi coordinated the event, and acted as a charming and articulate hostess. The second floor location gave a special élan. Lori also used her seemingly endless list of contacts to bring a caterer with overflowing trays of Cambodian fare to a center buffet. Well done.

I found this place, because I had walked to Calumet from Guerrero and 24^th Street. There was a sandwich board with some news about a photo show at 11:00am and it was 10:55, so I decided to check it out.
The show was called 11 Folios. Many of the photogs were there setting up including a photographer called Silvana di Franco. Really beautiful work, but it was not my plan to buy art. However, she had these cool little matted prints for $ 5 and I bought one of Pere Lachaise. Even better, I only had a Muni passport, $ 4 and a dollar in change and she only took the $ 4. How cool is that?
This gallery feels like a special place and I would be curious to see what else it shows.