SFAA Spotlight | Metaphors of Recent Times

Join us for our June Spotlight Talk, featuring a conversation on the exhibition Metaphors of Recent Times with exhibiting artists Anni Löppönen (BFA 2010) and Lance Shields (BFA 1992), moderated by curator Beth Davila Waldman (BFA 2005). Together, they will explore the intersection of personal, political, and cultural narratives within their work.

Anni Löppönen is a Finnish photographer whose work explores themes of resilience, identity, and the passage of time. Through visual storytelling, she examines both personal and collective experiences, creating images that evoke introspection and emotional depth. Her practice often delves into the nuances of memory, transformation, and the human condition, using photography as a medium to navigate and reflect on these themes. Löppönen’s work has been exhibited internationally, resonating with audiences through its poetic and contemplative approach.

Lance Shields is a San Francisco-based design director, product designer, and photographer with over two decades of experience in design and strategy. He holds a BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and an MBA from McGill University. Throughout his career, he has led creative teams at global agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and his own design firm, working with brands such as Adobe, Red Bull, Visa, Zipcar, and ADP. His work has earned multiple accolades, including Webby, W3, and Davey Awards. As a photographer, Shields explores themes of urban life, human interaction, and visual storytelling, blending his design sensibilities with a keen photographic eye.

About the Curator

Beth Davila Waldman is an independent curator and artist. Initially co-curating exhibitions as one of the founding members of the artist collective SpaceCraft at the CELLspace Art Gallery, she launched her first independent project in 2017 with “Manual Digital” at Space 151 Gallery in San Francisco. In 2021, Waldman organized video public art projects in partnership with SFAI. Waldman’s community-based practice includes developing workshops in partnership with SF Artists Alumni, ArtSpan, RootDivision, Pacific Felt Factory, ArtBias, and stART Up Art Fair,

Resulting from an artist residency at 18th Street Arts Center in 2020, Waldman found invigorating frameworks in Los Angeles for curation initially at Brand Library and Arts Center co-curating with Lawrence Gipe with the exhibition “Mapping The Sublime: Reframing Landscape in the 21st Century”. The next year, Waldman curated an exhibition "The 36th Parallel" at Track 16 in the DTLA Bendix Building. Establishing herself on the east side with a studio at KeyStone Art Space, she curated two person show “Maternal Waters” with Oakland based Katie Murken at Micke Tong’s IdolWild Gallery which was inside Keystone Art Space. During the fall of 2024, studio mate Naomi White and Waldman co-curated “Landscapes of Illusions and Possibilities | Maps, Materials & the Lens” with guest artist Alicia Piller featured at The Keystone Gallery. Waldman is a Board Member of San Francisco Bay Area based PhotoAlliance, founded by Linda Connor, and a member of the Los Angeles based Curatorial Collective Monte Vista Projects.

Image credit banner: PhotoAlliance

SFAA Spotlight is a monthly online talk series featuring an SFAI alum on the first Monday of the month at 10 AM PT. Talks are recorded and available on our YouTube channel. Through these conversations, artists explore themes of community, connection, and artistic practice.

A special thank you to all our donors who make this program possible.