Who we are
The Secret Alley and The Galallery are independent, volunteer-run art spaces in San Francisco dedicated to showcasing local emerging artists. Last year, we hosted a range of exhibitions, including a zine fair, an immersive installation built from scratch, fundraisers for local nonprofits and more.
We’re here to ask for $15,000 so we can build a dedicated office for our expanding team, and to offer more to the community by creating an artist-in-residence program, in a city where it’s increasingly less affordable to be an artist.
But it won’t be just any studio space—it will be designed as a creative extension of the Secret Alley. The Secret Alley is a creative workspace with studios, nestled within a cinematic environment, where artists meet and collaborate with other like-minded weirdos. Walking into the space is like walking into different times in San Francisco’s history—ranging from a film noir private investigator’s office to a 1960’s pawn shop. The new extension will add 670 square feet to the Secret Alley set with multiple, brand new themed installations. Like the rest of the Secret Alley, the designs for this project will be meticulously researched and based on San Francisco history. With these new spaces, we’ll be able to invite more artists and makers to experiment and create with us in The Secret Alley.
Our Past Projects
The Galallery started organically in the lobby of the Secret Alley for friends to show their work publicly. But since then, the Galallery has grown into its own organization and continued to produce larger and larger shows and installations. The Galallery has collaborated with the Secret Alley and artists to create ambitious, immersive environments before. Some installations include:
A secret members-only arcade lost in time
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An interactive, haunted conservatory with magical "living" plants
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A Halloween installation of 150 papier-mache pumpkins and a 10 foot animatronic demon
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How your donations will help us:
We don’t want to give away our exact plans (which will be revealed at our opening party!), but we can tell you that it involves:
- New environmental installations steeped in San Francisco history
- Designing creative studios that can host an artist-in-residence program
- Installing custom visual effects to create a unique environment
- Putting in enough tiny details to make our space a truly immersive experience
With your help, we can create an installation that will allow us to share a little piece of the magic of The Secret Alley with underground art lovers in San Francisco, and hopefully inspire the next generation of unruly creative weirdos.
Other Ways You Can Support The Secret Alley
- Help us spread the word about our fundraising campaign.
- Post the link on social media or tell your friends you think might be into what we’re up to.
- Become a member of our secret arcade Zaggo’s Pizza, visit The Galallery, tune into BFF.fm, and support the artists that make up our art collective!
Interested in helping out with future projects at The Secret Alley? Get in touch at info@thesecretalley.com
Long live independent arts in San Francisco!
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