National Bitter Melon Council

Special Project with the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts

Oct 31, 2008–Jan 11, 2009

salt: Adjective - (of speech) painful or bitter; "salt scorn"- Shakespeare; "a salt apology"

A Salt Apology invited the community and public to participate in salting South of Market (SOMA) in San Francisco, CA, i.e. curing/preserving, reducing the bitterness of, or "apologizing for" the bitter places in the neighborhood that have arisen over the years. The project created access to unnoticed spaces where the roots of bitter emotions exist for those who are both familiar and unfamiliar with this urban neighborhood’s recent history of displacement and development. the NBMC collaborated with the South of Market Community Action Network (SOMCAN) and the ENACT Youth Committee on this project created for the exhibition The Gatherers.

The project consisted two components (performance workshop + gallery installation)

These hand-made saltshakers were used to identify sites of bitterness through the action of salting (walking tour with SOMCAN youth). Each saltshaker is labeled with a bitter site in SOMA. Audience members were invited to create their own tour of SOMA using the map and instruction provided in the gallery. This project continued to evolve through the participation of the audience and members of the South of Market community.

A Salt Apology is an interpretation of “bitterness” where the emotional metaphors of “salt” and “bitter” coincide and become poignant/pungent -- reflecting on the past, present, and future of the neighborhood.

The Gatherers brought together a diverse group of practitioners who combine art with cultural activism to explore questions of how we ensure sustainability for our growing urban populations. Since our relationship with nature varies so much from one culture or locale to the next, The Gatherers provided an opportunity to explore not only the differences, but also the similarities, of their attempts to green our urban spaces. In doing so, it touches upon a broad range of interlinking matters, from environmental issues to urban spatial justice, through interactive programs, urban interventions and public dialogue.

The Gatherers: Greening Our Urban Spheres was a group exhibition co-curated by Berin Golonu and Veronica Wiman, and artists and artist collectives in the exhibition include: Fallen Fruit, Amy Franceschini with Wilson Diaz, The National Bitter Melon Council, Oda Projesi, Marjetica Potrc, Public Matters, Ted Purves and Susanne Cockrell, Rebar, roomservices and Åsa Sonjasdotter.