Located in San Francisco’s Mission District, Southern Exposure is a 34 year-old, non-profit, artist-run organization dedicated to presenting diverse, innovative, contemporary art, arts education, and related programs and events in an accessible environment. Southern Exposure reaches out to diverse audiences and serves as a forum and resource center to provide extraordinary support to the Bay Area's arts and educational communities. Activities range from exhibitions of local, regional, and international visual artists’ work, education programs, lectures, panel discussions, and performances. Southern Exposure is dedicated to giving artists—whether they are exhibiting, curating, teaching, or learning—an opportunity to realize ideas for projects that may not otherwise find support.

Gallery Exhibitions
Featuring solo, thematic, and juried exhibitions, Southern Exposure offers emerging artists the opportunity to work in formats and contexts that extend and challenge their artistic development and exposure to new audiences. Known for their consistent high quality, Southern Exposure’s exhibitions are pivotal in many artists’ careers. Southern Exposure’s exhibitions are developed by an artist-run Curatorial Committee made up of a rotating group of ten artists and staff.

Public Art
Southern Exposure’s public art programs seek to commission and present new work by emerging artists that intervenes and interacts in the social and political spheres beyond the space of gallery. SoEx supports and encourages these practices as few venues support emerging artists working in the public. The recently completed, acclaimed yearlong series, SoEx Off-Site, commissioned eight public art projects and related programs investigating artists’ strategies for exploring and mapping public space

Artists Resources
In recent years, SoEx has actively worked to increase the services we provide for artists. In 2007, SoEx launched the Alternative Exposure Grant Program, a major new initiative that offers nearly $50,000 in grants to local artists and groups working in the visual arts annually. Other resources include the SoExchange: Professional Development Workshop series, teaching opportunities and more.

Publications
Southern Exposure publications provide the public with access programs, stimulates dialogue and engagement with artwork, and encourages critical writing about the arts.

Public Programs and Events
Lectures, workshops, performances, artists' talks, screenings, educational programs, experiences and symposia create a forum on contemporary aesthetic, sociopolitical and cultural issues. Through their inter-disciplinary nature, Southern Exposure's events bring topical issues to a broader audience.