Opening Reception
Saturday, August 2, 2025
Exhibition Dates
July 23 – August 30, 2025
Location
Minnesota Street Project, Atrium & Media Room, 1275 Minnesota Street, San Francisco, CA
Admission is free and open to the public, all ages welcome, wheelchair accessible.
The Recology San Francisco Artist in Residence (AIR) Program is thrilled to announce a special partnership with Minnesota Street Project (MSP) to commemorate the AIR Program’s 35th anniversary. In keeping with past anniversary celebrations, this milestone exhibition, Art/Education/Community – 35 Years at Recology AIR, will include work by Recology artists-in-residence from the past five years, along with a screening of videos and films from various years highlighting the continued impact and evolution of one of the Bay Area’s most beloved and enduring programs.
Partnering with Minnesota Street Project, an esteemed hub for contemporary art and a vital force in San Francisco’s creative community, represents a significant opportunity for Recology AIR. Presenting this work at MSP underscores the importance of the artists’ voices and the shared commitment between Recology and MSP to foster community engagement, creativity, and cultural dialogue.
Founded in 1990, the Recology AIR Program is a pioneering art and education initiative that supports Bay Area artists while promoting environmental sustainability. As part of the Recology Sustainability Education Program, the four-month residency provides artists with access to studio space, a stipend, and, most notably, materials recovered from the Public Reuse and Recycling Area at the company’s transfer station. This immersive experience encourages artists to reimagine waste as a resource, fostering creative exploration while deepening public understanding of sustainability.
Over the past 35 years, the program has hosted more than 160 professional artists and 55 student artists from local colleges and universities. These artists, emerging, mid-career, and established, have worked across a wide range of disciplines, including painting, sculpture, video, photography, installation, performance, and new media. While their individual approaches and themes have varied widely, a shared thread runs through their work: an exploration of environmental responsibility, material consumption, and the possibilities of transformation through reuse.
The AIR Program plays a vital role in Recology’s mission to conserve natural resources and reduce waste. Artists not only create work using reclaimed materials but also engage thousands of visitors annually through public tours, exhibitions, and educational programming, sparking dialogue around sustainability and inspiring a more mindful relationship with the things we throw away.
This collaboration with Minnesota Street Project marks an exciting moment to honor the legacy of the program, celebrate the creativity it has fostered, and spotlight the powerful role of art in building a more sustainable future.