New Langton Arts

New Langton Arts

Company type	Nonprofit
Industry	Arts and culture
Founded	1975
Founder	Judy Moran, Renny Pritikin
Defunct	2009
Headquarters	San Francisco , United States
Area served	San Francisco Bay Area
Key people	Sandra Percival (executive director until 2009), Primo Orpilla (board leader)
Products	Contemporary art exhibitions and programs

New Langton Arts (1975–2009) was a nonprofit arts institution located in San Francisco’s South of Market district, dedicated to contemporary artistic practices. As one of the pioneering alternative art venues in the United States, it played a significant role in showcasing new media and fostering artist participation in organizational governance. Established by Judy Moran and Renny Pritikin, the organization prioritized collaboration with artists to develop and present groundbreaking exhibitions and programs that questioned traditional art conventions while enhancing public engagement.

History

During 1975, San Francisco witnessed a transformation in its art community as emerging artists specializing in performance, installation, video, and interdisciplinary works began forming a cohesive network. Since conventional galleries and museums seldom exhibited these experimental forms, artists and advocates took initiative to establish provisional platforms. Artist Jock Reynolds converted a former coffin manufacturing site at 80 Langton Street into a creative space for this new entity, which eventually relocated to 1246 Folsom Street.

Judy Moran and Renny Pritikin, both foundational figures in the Bay Area arts landscape, guided the organization through its formative years. Subsequent leadership included directors such as Nancy Gonchar, Christiane Robbins, Susan Miller, and Sandra Percival.

Inspired by institutions like New York’s Artists Space and Portland Center for the Visual Arts, the 80 Langton Street Corporation was founded in 1975 as a nonprofit emphasizing artist autonomy and support. Its inaugural exhibition featured a solo video installation by Peter D'Agostino. The founding board comprised Judith Dunham, David Robinson, Ruth Braunstein, and Diana Fuller.

Operating contemporaneously with organizations such as Site/Cite/Sight, La Mamelle, Inc./Art Com, Galeria de la Raza, San Francisco Camerawork, Southern Exposure, and Tom Marioni’s Museum of Conceptual Art, New Langton Arts shared a commitment to artist empowerment and participatory governance. These groups sought to circumvent established art distribution systems.

Artists and exhibitions

The trajectory of New Langton Arts is closely linked to the rise of innovative art forms during the 1970s—including performance and time-based media, video art, installation work, improvised and electronic music, as well as experimental literature. Notable early participants included Barbara Kruger within its literary programming (1977), residencies by Allan Kaprow and Martha Rosler (1980), Charles Ray’s performance installation (1985), and the first U.S. exhibition of Olafur Eliasson (1996). These artists were predominantly under 35 years old at the time and relatively unknown within the Bay Area.

New Langton Arts facilitated solo shows, group installations, and performances featuring prominent figures such as Nam June Paik, Vito Acconci, Chris Burden, Nancy Rubins, Suzanne Lacy, Steve Benson, Tony Oursler, Allen Ruppersberg, Clark Coolidge, Tom Marioni, Chip Lord, Ted Berrigan, Paul DeMarinis, Howard Fried, John Baldessari, Kathy Acker, Kevin Killian, Dodie Bellamy, Eleanor Antin, Joan Jonas, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Lorenzo Thomas, Lynne Tillman, Barrett Watten, Bill Berkson, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Félix González-Torres, Maria Nordman, Alvin Curran, Terry Riley, Pauline Oliveros, Eliane Radigue, Ron Silliman, John Zorn, Steve Reich, Laurie Anderson, Paul McCarthy, Joe Reihsen, Matthieu Laurette, Aaron Young, Sonya Rapoport, Harrell Fletcher, Rigo 23, Felipe Dulzaides, Marc Horowitz, and others.

The organization also curated retrospectives highlighting significant Bay Area artists such as Jim Pomeroy (1999) and Tony Labat (2005). In 2005, New Langton Arts hosted Downtime: Constructing Leisure, which served as the inaugural exhibition for the Curatorial Practice Program at the California College of the Arts.

Public programs

The Performance Writing series featured interdisciplinary literary artists at Langton, showcasing works that examined language through live presentations. Curated by Jocelyn Saidenberg and Brandon Brown, this series received the 2005 “Best of the Bay” accolade from the San Francisco Bay Guardian for being the “Best New Reading Series to Propel Language Beyond the Page.”

An uncertain future

On July 22, 2009, Sandra Percival stepped down from her position as executive director after serving four years. Following this change, the board led by Primo Orpilla halted programming, reduced staff, cut costs, and vacated the gallery and theater located at 1246 Folsom.

Dissolution of NLA

A year afterward, NLA’s website announced the organization’s closure: "Following extensive consideration, the Board of Directors of New Langton Arts (NLA) concluded that dissolution represents the most viable course in light of both immediate and ongoing institutional difficulties. The Board wishes to affirm that this decision does not overshadow the organization’s accomplishments and collaborative endeavors throughout its 34-year history."

The Board evaluated numerous aspects, including NLA’s financial status amid a widespread economic crisis that shuttered many non-profits. In its final phase, NLA introduced strategies aimed at sustaining operations; however, these measures and urgent fundraising appeals fell short. Consequently, NLA left its San Francisco premises at 1246 Folsom Street and released its personnel. The Board is currently finalizing outstanding matters to preserve the organization’s enduring legacy.

External links

• New Langton Arts Website archived at the Internet Archive
• 80 Langton Street performances in Performance Art Anthology: A Source Book of California Performance Art
• Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Pause Still performance, March 24, 1979
• Video Installed 1986 NLA exhibition, Vasulka's archive