Just minutes across the bridge, a teeming world of art waits to be explored; a surprisingly good place to start is in a former bread factory.
Bread & Salt, which opened its doors in the former Cramer and Weber bakery around ten years ago, is a one stop shop for art lovers. As an event space and art gallery in close proximity to a variety of delicious Barrio Logan food options, it makes the perfect recipe for a fun and interesting evening of venturing off-island.
Located at the corner of Julian Ave. and Dewey St., the 45,000 square-foot brick building hosts performances and other live events as well as on-site artists’ studios and sometimes many art installations at once. Several independent non-profit and educational entities call Bread & Salt spaces home as well. When a main exhibition is open, normal gallery hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm. Special “Art Crawl” events take place on the second Saturday night of each month from 6 to 8 pm, while the upcoming February 12 Art Crawl coincides with the gallery’s reopening and new exhibition event from 5 to 8 pm.
Beginning that evening, artist Irma Sofia Poeter will showcase her new solo exhibition, “New Man: A Woman’s Gaze” at the gallery until April 24. The textile exhibition will center around 15 new pieces created during the pandemic; they will focus around the central theme of what new ideas of masculinity might look like through a woman’s eyes. Herself a multidisciplinary Mexican-American artist, Poeter aims for her work to promote the reevaluation of textiles and sewing as high art as well as a more collective, equitable future.
If textile art sounds like an interesting medium to explore, Bread & Salt can certainly deliver more of the same for the curious visitor. According to Ricardo Galvan, artist-in-residence at the gallery during 2021, the work the gallery showcases spans paintings, drawings, sculptures, ceramics, photography and video; each visit yields something different.
As an artist familiar with the community, Galvan describes what he thinks makes Bread & Salt so unique. “The people who run the space are artists themselves so they have an eye for talent, and are more than willing to give opportunities to artists they see potential in. It’s one of the few, if only, places in San Diego to see a lot of art from those who live in the area,” he says. Galvan also says he is glad Bread & Salt has been able to maintain a strong and continuing presence in San Diego’s art scene even after many art spaces have closed down over the course of the pandemic.
Coronado art lovers looking for an adventure – or a unique idea for a Valentine’s Day weekend activity – can find information for the February 12 event and other gallery happenings to keep an eye on at breadandsaltsandiego.com.
