The Luggage Store

Entrance to gallery is not obvious as it looks like a door with stickers on it and gallery is on top floor. We went there for the opening of our aunt’s whole pie exhibit and the place is on the second floor and it is wonderful to see the works of art! I am told that this gallery has been here for many years but the area surrounding it is rather seedy. Not a place to go to at night.

The Luggage Store is currently occupied by Central City Hospitality House and their art programs are run out of the space. This is a great use of a previously vacant location that allows the community to engage with each other and a great non-​profit has the space to improve the area. They display art in the windows if you’re ever walking by.

The Luggage Store is kind of a San Francisco institution, in that it’s one of the earlier supporters of those SF superstar artists. They keep it real, in that they continue to support new artists, and bring a neighborly vibe at the same time. It feels kind of like your corner café, whenever I come to an opening. I like that they dip their toes in the music scene as well. I’ve seen some interesting experimental musicians here, when they do their weekly music nights. Definitely worth checking out, and the mood is always warm, and low on pretension. It’s worth a note they are active in artifying the Tenderloin, which in itself makes me want to give them a big hug. Don’t let the 6^th & Market location deter you.

Support your city arts venue! Hosts numerous visual arts and sound art events, like the Luggage Store New Music Series on Thursday nights! Go there now! Would have been 5 stars, but too many stairs and it’s in a crappy part of town. Love you, anyways!

Ok, if you just so happen to be in the area. .. check this place out. I mean do so unless you just so happen to be unfortunately held up by the police for drugs, public intoxication, or any other various offense you might have committed.
Don’t get me wrong, I do enjoy the Luggage Store Gallery! The shows for the most part are memorable, interesting, and fun to look at, and it is by far one of my favorite galleries in the city. Yet, for some reason every time I go there, I always pass the po-​po up is someones business. Of course, I am just a little girl from the sticks wandering into the big city, so I am not entirely use to the daily street happenings on Market. I only mention all of this, because I do think it adds to the overall appeal of the gallery. What I mean is that the actual act of going to the gallery is like a crazy trek. For me I get off Bart and I start to walk. I go from busy Market to ran down Market, and once I see the police I know I am close. The place is very easy to miss, because usually a crowd of loiterers are hiding the door. (No worries though, because they are usually courteous, and will open the door for you.) But once you get through the door it is like «oh shit» I am not in a gallery, because the stairwell that is there when you enter looks more like a bathroom at a music venue. Every inch of wall is covered in tags. So after you get over the «oh shit,» and you head up the stairs, you are completely relieved, because it is alas a gallery, a very good gallery at that! Thee end.

Darryl and Laurie lovingly open their doors to the public and serve as loving foster parents for generations of local talent. Humble experimental shows at this Market street location have catapulted numerous artists into fame and glory in New York and major museums. While many fund raising socialites are recognized 10x over, the (thankless) contributions that Darryl and Laurie have given the cultural community of the Bay Area cannot be measured in dollars.
Check it out!

I love the Luggage Store for their support of urban alternative artists whose work one may be used to seeing on the street, in a cutty lot, on the side of a bus…
Granting exposure and legitimacy and respect … things we may all take for granted … goes a long way in the community.

It is a beautiful room for the acoustic double bass as long as there is no loud drummer.
They have put decades of work into making situations where tons of artists of all mediums and career stages can get their work done with a minumum of hassle.
As well as hosting great musicians like Cecil Taylor, Joe Mcphee Peter Kowald and many, many others.
Here is my Tu Lan review again (Disclosure I did start the New Music Series but have not been involved for many years)
A good Thursday concept:
SFMOMA, half off after 6 and open until 9, come around the corner to Tu Lan, order something that includes an order of Pork Spring rolls, then walk right around the corner onto Market, go upstairs and check out the Luggage Store New Music Series.

This is really for they currently have on show. Yoon Lee.
Awesome!
Can’t wait to see what they put up next time around.

It’s a great space and they always do shows that use it well. I am getting a little maxed-​out on all the San Francisco cuteness. But in any case it was a good opening with lots of energy.

Great gallery on Market St at 6^th. They host fun openings by local artists, my friends Shawn Gurczack and Dave Richard both just showed. The outside of the gallery has a great piece by Twist and on the side of the roof above them is a piece by the brothers Os Gemeos. So this little gem of an art place has up-​and-​coming artists and famous ones too. Only complaint again is the lack of ventilation.

As their website says, they don’t sell luggage! They do, however, show some great local emerging artists, often as part of a collective series. For example, this Saturday I stopped in with some friends for the Manimal Mania exhibit, a mixture of visual, video and sculpture (personal favorite was the work of David Richard). The space could benefit from some better ventilation, but I personally like the Market and Sixth location, it somehow makes you feel like you’re visiting more than just an art gallery but an art experience.