After Dark: ExtraOrdinary

With BEAK

Jordan Glenn’s BEAK is a percussion-heavy ensemble that blurs the line between dynamic, energetic grooves and chaos. Formed in 2014 in Oakland with the mission to explore large group spontaneous composition, BEAK has become fertile ground for compositional and sonic experimentation. The power of this dynamic ensemble is guided by Glenn’s curious baton, moving in and out of composed and improvised material via his personal language of hand gestures. Recently, Glenn’s ensemble joined forces with instrument inventor and junkyard maven, Sudhu Tewari. The results have inspired new pieces that bring together traditional instruments and new ones made of bundt cake pans, golf balls, steel tubing, and chalkboard stands.

Instagram: @wienerkids

With Karina Hammoud

Learn about Recology’s Artist in Residence Program! Since 1990, Recology has provided artists across disciplines with time, space, and reusable resources to create artworks that focus on perspectives from the Bay Area. During their residency, these artists have access to studio spaces at the San Francisco Recycling and Transfer Center, where they’re encouraged to source materials throughout the 47-acre recycling facility. The residency culminates in a public exhibition to promote the intersection of creation, reuse, and recycling. Hear from Education Specialist Karina Hammoud on this unique program, and meet some artists who have been part of the residency.

Karina Hammoud is the Education Specialist at the Recology San Francisco Environmental Learning Center. Karina provides accessible education and knowledge of resource conservation and recovery systems to the public through immersive tours and engaging off-site programming to encourage people of all ages to think critically about the materials they consume and discard. She also supports the Recology Artist in Residence Program. 

With SCRAP

Stuffed animals are the ultimate comfort object, and many of us save them for decades or pass them on to the next generation. They are soft talismans that can be enjoyed and appreciated by curious makers of all ages. What if you could make your own? In this walk-up workshop, participants will learn different approaches to making a stuffed animal that are accessible to all. Don’t sew? No problem! We can teach you how, or we can show you the magic of using a glue gun. Come ready to play with fabric scraps, buttons, foam, and patterns!

SCRAP is a nonprofit founded in 1976 and based in San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood. At the intersection of the environment, art, and arts education, SCRAP is a Bay Area resource for makers of all ages, and everyone who values access to creative experiences. Their mission is to put the materials and methods of art-making in reach of everyone. Their passion is creative reuse—turning everyday objects into beautiful projects that fuel the human spirit and bolster environmental awareness.

With Ellie Vanderlip

Repurpose vintage 16mm film through scratching, painting, and puncturing in this hands-on workshop with filmmaker Ellie Vanderlip. Participants will learn additive and subtractive methods of creation while taking inspiration from projected examples. Each participant creates their own film loop to add to the collection or take home. Film and art materials will be provided. This open workshop is crafted for both those who are new to these processes and those who are interested in deeper exploration.

Ellie Vanderlip is a San Francisco–based filmmaker who creates diary films and found footage manipulations. Her latest work includes 16mm investigations on the intersections of infrastructure, climate change, and misogyny, as well as films about memory and identity connected to land as a "Californian." 

With Ramekon O’Arwisters

Sit back, relax, and crochet! Get in touch with your creativity by participating in an open and communal crochet jam. No hooks or yarn required, but you might make something new with your friends—and friends-to-be—using free-form fabric scraps.

Ramekon O’Arwisters is a San Francisco–based artist and a recipient of the Artadia Award, the Eureka Fellowship, and two San Francisco Arts Commission Individual Artist Grants. He has exhibited at the Luggage Store in San Francisco and the Kato Gallery in Tokyo, Japan. Ramekon was inspired to launch Crochet Jam by childhood memories of making quilts with his grandmother.

With Sudhu Tewari

Meander through a garden of wind-powered sound sculptures by artist Sudhu Tewari. You’ll discover several instruments that convert wind energy into acoustic energy and make sounds created by changes in atmospheric pressure. Take a meditative moment and listen to music composed by the wind.

Sudhu Tewari is an electroacoustic composer, improviser, and tinkerer in sound, kinetic, and interactive art. He has performed improvised music in various configurations with the likes of Fred Frith, Cenk Ergun, Mark Bartscher, Tadashi Usami, Gunda Gottschalk, Eric Glick Rieman, and Shelley Burgon.

Created by Eric Schmidt

An iconic car is reimagined as a vehicle of the future. Step inside a pedal-powered “car” and truly feel how much power automobiles require. The Use Less Car is crafted from a 1971 VW Bug that has been fitted to operate without fossil fuel or electricity. Instead, the driver and passenger must pedal with all their might to propel the 900-pound car into motion. In creating this car, which moves at a “uselessly” slow speed, Eric Schmidt invites us to reflect on how much energy—energy that ultimately has deep impacts on the environment—is expended in the operation of a regular car.

With Bryan Day

Ball Chain Xylophone, 2022
Ball Tilt 2, 2022
Tumbling Debris, 2019
Strange Distractor, 2024

Tune in to the sounds of these surprising sculptures created by inventor and sound artist Bryan Day. Tonight, Bryan is sharing some of his autonomous, semi-autonomous, and unconventionally played musical instruments and sound objects.

Bryan Day is a sound artist, musical instrument inventor, and conceptual artist based in San Pablo, CA. Using scavenged electronics, repurposed mechanical components, and amplified materials, he reimagines them into constructivist sound sculptures. He has built over a hundred sound object devices and has performed, taught workshops, and built sound installations across Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

Come celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rolling Through the Bay with artist Scott Weaver, who has been painstakingly constructing this replica of the city of San Francisco out of toothpicks since 1974. Ping-pong balls wind their way through the model, bringing visitors along to famous sites in the city.

With the Explainers

Tinker with delightful “exhiblets”—mini-Exploratorium exhibits built from low-cost materials by Community Science Workshops. You might get inspired to bring an exhiblet back to your neighborhood!

Visit the pop-up workshop for DIY building and art-making activities. Get your hands and brain busy with the fun possibilities of everyday stuff such as fabric, cardboard, and electronics.