PopTech and San Francisco friend Brad Nye has been inviting me to his ArtSFest events for years. Primarily based in LA and San Francisco, its rare that I’ve been in town the same day one is being held….and even then, there were always other things to distract me.
I finally made it to an ArtSFest shindig, which is a non-profit that produces an annual arts festival and works year-round with artists, performers, art patrons, arts organizations, civic agencies and businesses to promote the Bay Area art scene and advance its economic potential.
The theme? Hard to say. I found myself surrounded by dark lights, blue light overlay and a back-drop of “MusicMatch Skin-like” images on a screen.
Tonight’s event, with exhibitions by Debra Walker, David DeRosa among others, was held at the Blue Cube on Mason, which is a dingy, seedy pocket of town…..an area where you don’t feel that knives will start flying, but you also don’t feel like wandering around alone or leaving your car unattended for too long.
A tall thin blonde in a long red suede dress entertained us with opera. We were all shocked at the volume that came from such a petite frame. While her voice filled the room, a handful of people moved gracefully to the music.
I did find a fabulous authentic Indian hole in the wall on the corner however and managed to end my evening gorging on a large vegetarian saagwala with raita for $5.95.
Renee Blodgett is the founder of We Blog the World. The site combines the magic of an online culture and travel magazine with a global blog network and has contributors from every continent in the world. Having lived in 10 countries and explored nearly 80, she is an avid traveler, and a lover, observer and participant in cultural diversity.
She is also the CEO and founder of Magic Sauce Media, a new media services consultancy focused on viral marketing, social media, branding, events and PR. For over 20 years, she has helped companies from 12 countries get traction in the market. Known for her global and organic approach to product and corporate launches, Renee practices what she pitches and as an active user of social media, she helps clients navigate digital waters from around the world. Renee has been blogging for over 16 years and regularly writes on her personal blog Down the Avenue, Huffington Post, BlogHer, We Blog the World and other sites. She was ranked #12 Social Media Influencer by Forbes Magazine and is listed as a new media influencer and game changer on various sites and books on the new media revolution. In 2013, she was listed as the 6th most influential woman in social media by Forbes Magazine on a Top 20 List.
Her passion for art, storytelling and photography led to the launch of Magic Sauce Photography, which is a visual extension of her writing, the result of which has led to producing six photo books: Galapagos Islands, London, South Africa, Rome, Urbanization and Ecuador.
Renee is also the co-founder of Traveling Geeks, an initiative that brings entrepreneurs, thought leaders, bloggers, creators, curators and influencers to other countries to share and learn from peers, governments, corporations, and the general public in order to educate, share, evaluate, and promote innovative technologies.
