ASHKAN SAHIHI WOMEN OF THE ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCE     NOVEMBER 18 START SOMA MISSION GALLERY     Last year, Ashkan Sahihi photographed the women of the Israel Defense Force.   The resulting series of images has received international acclaim, and START SOMA is very pleased to bring this exhibition to San Francisco.           ADDITIONAL INFORMATION + IMAGES

Ashkan Sahihi Opening Night start soma mission gallery THURSDAY | NOVEMBER 18 | 672 SOUTH VAN NESS AVENUE   kindly email john@STARTsoma.com to request an invitation to the opening - space is VERY limited...

ASHKAN SAHIHI Women of the Israel Defense Force   NOVEMBER + DECEMBER HOTEL DES ARTS   From November 20th, the Women of the IDF art show will be on public display on the main floor of the Hotel des Arts (447 Bush at Grant), where it will remain through the new year. In January, the entire Women of the IDF exhibition moves to the Akureyri Museum in Iceland.   The Hotel des Arts galleries are open daily from 8 am - 8 pm. And are MUCH more convenient than flying to an acclaimed art museum in Iceland!

SF FACES 2.0   DECEMBER 1 SAN FRANCISCO CITY HALL ROTUNDA

Last year, we put on a photography show called SF FACES:   SF Examiner | SF Weekly | Bruce Bellingham | Art Business | FlavorPill | more | view the pictures!   According to last year's press release:   START SOMA and an acclaimed team of the city's top emerging photographers have been capturing images of the ever-changing 'face' of one of the most unique and extraordinary cities in the world. The result is a collection of fifty black and white portraits of some genuine san francisco characters. Billionaires and bohemians. Police officers and firefighters, entrepreneurs and emerging artists. The homeless kid and the street poet. Da Mayor (and the NEW mayor!), the minister, and the AIDS activist. The shopkeeper and the socialite. Maids and moguls, rappers and restaurateurs, politicians and pole dancers...   The show went over pretty well, so we decided to do it again this year!   Same vision. Only bigger. OPENING PREVIEW: wednesday - december 1 | 5:30 - 7:30 pm hosted by Mayor Gavin Newsom! sponsors include ART @ MONS this special preview will feature nearly ONE HUNDRED photographs from the SF FACES 2.0 exhibition - ALL of which will be auctioned off in a silent auction that evening. 20 of the photographs featured in this special preview were taken by Visual Arts students in Larry Rosenberg's photography class at the School of the Arts (SOTA), a public arts high school. Students from all over San Francisco audition and present portfolios in hopes of being accepted to study at SOTA, where classes in Theater, Dance, Music, Media and Visual Arts are taught. 100% of the proceeds from the silent auction will go directly to VISUAL AID, an absolutely stellar local non-profit that encourages artists with life threatening illnesses to continue their creative work. Bring your checkbooks - checks will be made directly to VISUAL AID, and you are encouraged to BID HIGH and BID OFTEN... The entire show opens in January in the HOTEL DES ARTS.   35 of San Francisco's top photographers. Over 300 AMAZING pictures in all.

SF FACES 2.0 opening night preview plus silent auction to benefit VISUAL AID   wednesday | DECEMBER 1 | 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm | San Francisco City Hall Rotunda   NO RSVP is needed - we finally have a venue that is big enough!

PAINTED ROOMS 2.0   DECEMBER 9 HOTEL DES ARTS   This past June, START SOMA launched an art gallery in HOTEL DES ARTS – a boutique 51 room art hotel in the heart of Union Square.   Over the past several months, some of the premier emerging artists in the world have been painting rooms in the Hotel des Arts. Floor to ceiling, and pretty much everything in between – with full autonomy to do whatever they wanted...   In September, we unveiled the first six painted rooms, and the response was pretty positive:       Art Business | San Francisco Examiner | SF STATION | painted rooms 1.0 information + photos   On Thursday, December 9, we will unveil TWELVE additional painted rooms by some absolutely stellar emerging artists:

Brad K. Alder room 211

Brian Barneclo room 300

Tim Gaskin room 407 the madonna room!

Logan Hicks room 307

Terrance Hughes room 212

Jet Martinez room 208

Kelly Ording room 307

Isis Rodriquez room 205

Jimmy Soat room 306

Damon Soule room 206

NEON room 209

Ashkan Sahihi room 203   Celebrities + socialites pay a few thousand dollars for a commissioned portrait by Ashkan Sahihi. This is your chance to have him take YOUR picture – FOR FREE!   Ashkan is one of the featured artists in PAINTED ROOMS 2.0, and he has chosen to transform room 203 of the hotel into a giant photographic collage!   For THREE DAYS, ANYONE can visit the hotel and become, quite literally, part of the exhibition.   Friday, November 19 Saturday, November 20 Sunday, November 21

Ashkan will be taking pictures in room 203 from noon until midnight each day. No appointment is necessary, and we will be photographing folks on a first-come, first-served basis.   Ashkan Sahihi's room is sponsored by our friends at Fuji Film.   So stop by and get your picture taken + help create some NEW ART!

PAINTED ROOMS 2.0 opening night THURSDAY | DECEMBER 9 | 6 pm - 11 pm | 447 BUSH at GRANT   kindly email info@STARTsoma.com to be added to the guestlist - space is VERY limited...

all 18 of the painted rooms are available for production (photography, film & video), and day rates are available.

AFTER IMAGE new art by David DeRosa opening november 2004 in the       START SOMA mission gallery

David DeRosa Commissioned Portraits... make great holiday gifts!   David DeRosa is a top-notch talent who had the first public exhibition of his paintings at START SOMA earlier this year.   His work resonated. He quit his day job and has been painting around the clock ever since...   Over the past months, David has completed commissioned portraits in his signature after image style for a whole host of decidedly interesting characters...

Perhaps someone YOU know would like one?   We have a limited number of commissioned portrait sittings available in time for holiday delivery...   Interested in learning more? Kindly contact info@STARTsoma.com.

hotel des arts + holiday shopping?   San Francisco's very own art hotel is FILLED with HUNDREDS of works of original art by the same artists who created painted rooms over the past months.   FIVE floors of amazing NEW ART from some decidedly talented emerging artists....   AND IT IS ALL FOR SALE!   Featured artists include:   Tim Gaskin | Sam Flores | Kelly Tunstall | Logan Hicks Brian Barneclo | Jimmy Soats | Jet Martinez | Vulcan David DeRosa | Damon Soule | Brad K. Alder | NEON Kelly Ording | Terrance Hughes | APEX | Josh Feldman Isis Rodriquez | Sandro Tchikovani | Ashkan Sahihi   prices range from $50 to $2500, with most of the art available for less than $1000...   The Hotel des Arts is open EVERY DAY for your art shopping enjoyment...     HOTEL DES ARTS | 447 BUSH at GRANT

Film Arts Festival Screening - THIS FRIDAY! Roxie Cinema | 16th + Valencia FRIDAY: november 12 at 9:15 pm advance tickets - only $10!

Quality of Life is a local independent film that has been receiving rave reviews:   * extraordinary - Berlin International Film Festival Jury * streetwise honesty...powerful - Seattle Post Intelligencer * authentic-looking glimpse into an exotic world - Variety   And check out the FEATURE STORY in Tuesday's Chronicle!   Shot on location in San Francisco's Mission District, this narrative feature film sheds light on a clandestine graffiti subculture, highlighting one artist's personal struggle for identity, acceptance, and recognition.   The film premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year, where it was a hit with audiences AND critics.

This is the FIRST public screening of the film in San Francisco, and given the Roxie's location in the heart of San Francisco's Mission (where the film was shot + edited - including a scene filmed AT the Roxie!), this promises to be a very special evening...   Every year for two decades, the Film Arts Festival has presented audiences with the extraordinary works of Northern California's top independent filmmakers.   Quality of Life premiers on November 12, the opening night of this year's Film Arts Festival.   Join START SOMA at the screening AND at the afterparty, hosted by our friends at ELIXIR (16th + Guerrero) immediately following the film...

We also have some FREE tickets if you are interested in becoming an investor in the film! ;-)

If you'd rather not receive future e-mails from us, simply click: UNSUBSCRIBE   Want to invite someone else to attend this show? Forward this email to a friend!   Thank you! info@STARTsoma.com