La Pocha Nostra's Other Art World opens Sept 12 at Saint Joseph's Arts Society
Louis Malle shoots GP for "In the Pursuit of Happiness", San Diego/Tijuana, 1986.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA.—
This fall, Saint Joseph’s Arts Foundation presents The Other Art World, a bold and expansive exhibition chronicling over four decades of transgressive, transdisciplinary work by Gómez-Peña and his legendary performance art troupe La Pocha Nostra.
Conceived by Founding Artistic Co-Director Guillermo Gómez-Peña and co-curated by Emma Tramposch and La Pocha Nostra with the Saint Joseph’s Arts Foundation, the exhibition brings together a sweeping constellation of photographic “performance-for-the-camera” works, films, sound art, velvet paintings, performabilia, and rare archival material that spans from the artist’s birth to the present day.
Founded in Los Angeles in 1993, La Pocha Nostra is known for its provocative explorations of borders—cultural, geographic, spiritual, and technological—and its creation of large-scale performance rituals rooted in radical pedagogy, ethno-techno aesthetics, and queer spectacle.
Over the decades, the troupe has pioneered and refined the genre of “photo-performance,” a format blending performance art and visual documentation, through carefully staged collaborations with renowned photographers including Antonio Turok, Manuel Vason, RJ Muna, Teresa Correa, Piero Viti, Sarah Stolar, and Herani Hachi, among others.
“This isn’t a retrospective in the traditional sense,” says Gómez-Peña.
“It’s a living archive, a poetic rebellion. We’re activating the sacred and the profane, inviting the audience to enter into a ritual of remembrance and reinvention.”
The exhibition unfolds across the historic interior of Saint Joseph’s Arts Society, with works thoughtfully placed throughout the space to guide viewers through a layered journey, inviting moments of encounter, reflection, and surprise as they navigate different facets of Gómez-Peña and La Pocha Nostra’s living archive. Featured works include large-scale photo-performances, salon-style image clusters, sound installations, intimate reading areas, and time-based media environments. These elements will be activated by live performances during the public opening and special events.
“This exhibition is both an archive and altar,” says Martin Strickland, Director of Saint Joseph’s Arts Foundation. “La Pocha Nostra’s work embodies a fearless commitment to the sacred, the queer, the decolonial. Their legacy is a call to imagine another art world, one rooted in collaboration, confrontation, and collective liberation.”
The exhibition extends La Pocha Nostra’s creative collaboration at Saint Joseph’s, building upon the multi-year partnership between the troupe and the Foundation, with the site serving as a sanctuary for radical performance.
To mark the occasion, Saint Joseph’s will host a dramatic opening celebration on Friday, September 12, from 7:00 to 10:00 PM, featuring appearances by La Pocha Nostra core members and collaborating artists, including a special partnership with this year's Flower Piano Festival musicians. The evening will include a special activation titled The History of Art in 15 Minutes, a roaming, multi-part performance staged throughout the exhibition space. A robust calendar of public programs—including artist salons, ceremonial activations, workshops, and talks—will unfold throughout the run of the exhibition.
As a former church turned nonprofit arts hub, Saint Joseph’s is proud to present The Other Art World during a time when art, identity, and politics are in deep negotiation. In partnership with one of the most influential performance collectives of our time, the Foundation continues its mission to offer sanctuary for radical imagination.
