Community Exposure:
the legacy of Tom Ferentz

When Tom Ferentz started Sixth Street Photography Workshop in 1992, he wasn’t aware that he was quietly laying the foundation for a social arts institution that would occupy the heart and soul of the South of Market (SOMA) neighborhood for decades to come.

Thirty years later, in the spring of 2022, Tom passed away, leaving behind an inspiring body of work that includes a myriad of photo projects, a long list of exhibitions, and countless thankful members impacted by his attention to their creative visions.

Though not comprehensive, the list below details a large swath of Sixth Street Photography Workshop’s movements over time, starting in 2003. From show to show, concept to concept, Tom stimulated the artistic pulse of a community often disregarded or underestimated by the public, and at 6th on 7th Photography Workshop we do our best to honor the grace and dignity he exemplified while promoting equitable access to artistic fulfillment.

Photography in Cohen Alley

April 11 – May 4, 2003

509 Cultural Center and Gallery
509 Ellis Street
San Francisco, CA.

Exhibitions & Projects

Photography In Cohen Alley was the result of a series of photography and portraiture workshops Sixth Street Photography Workshop conducted in San Francisco's newest and most unusual outdoor art space: Cohen Alley. The space was a former bottleneck alley that was transformed by the Luggage Store Gallery into the only gated Alley for Art in the continental United States.

The exhibition used artistic photographic portraiture techniques to make a compelling study of unique individuals residing in the Tenderloin. Photography In Cohen Alley also included images by members of Sixth Street Photography Workshop who met in Cohen Alley every week for nearly a year to practice and teach photography.

Sixth Street Photography Workshop worked for over three years with residents of the Senator Hotel and the surrounding Tenderloin neighborhood to create Tenderloin Portraits. The project involved community members in creating portraits using creative photography techniques and studio lighting. The resulting black and white and color-enhanced photographs were exhibited at Southern Exposure.

During the course of the exhibition, Southern Exposure invited various community groups to participate in on-site photography workshops The resulting images were added to the exhibition. The groups included youth and families from: The Friendship House, McClymonds High School in West Oakland, Youth in Action of the San Francisco Conservation Corps, and the Southern Exposure Youth Advisory Board.

Talking Market Street: If Market Street Could Talk

Friday Oct. 20, 2006

One Bush Street Plaza (at Market)
Projection Begins at 8pm
Friday Oct. 27, 2006
NE. Corner of 6th and Market Streets

San Francisco By Night

May 2007

Red Ink Studios
1035 Market Street, San Francisco

A Mid-Market Area Documentary

October 5-31, 2007

Red Ink Studios
1035 Market Street, San Francisco
Gallery hours: 2 pm -6pm
Thursday through Saturday

Positively Sixth Street: A Retrospective, 1992-2009

January 10 – February 14, 2010

Tuesday, February 9th:
Reception from 10-11 a.m.
Artist panel from 11 a.m.-12 p.m.

Thacher Gallery at University of San Francisco

Night and the City

December 1 - December 30, 2011

Corden|Potts Gallery
49 Geary Street, Suite 410
San Francisco

Opening Reception
December 1, 2011 5:30-7:30PM

Tenderloin Portraits and
On-Site Portrait Studio

January 9 – February 21, 2004

Southern Exposure Gallery
401 Alabama St
San Francisco, CA.

Bayanihan House Portraits

May 15 – 31, 2004

Bayanihan House
88 Sixth Street
San Francisco, CA. 94103

Bayanihan House Portraits began in October 2003, the day residents moved into this newly renovated residential hotel on Sixth Street. Sixth Street Photography Workshop held numerous free portrait sessions in public areas of the building and in resident's rooms. Nancy Deutsch recorded their life stories. An exhibition of the pictures at the hotel opened in May 2004. They have become a centerpiece of our portrait collection and were included in the retrospective, "Stories of the City" at SF City Hall and Main Public Library, April 2005.

Using photographic portraits and personal narratives this exhibition documents the community living in and around several Single Room Occupancy (SRO) hotels in San Francisco. Stories of the City presents a cross section of SRO residents and gives insight into who they are, where they come from, what their lives are like, and their dreams for the future. Drawn from the Workshop’s archives, and including oral histories by Nancy Deutsch, the materials provide a historical look at some of San Francisco’s most disenfranchised residents from 1992 until today. SSPW has a history of involvement at each site.

Fifteen Year Retrospective

China Tour
September 2006
Gallery talks with Artistic Director Tom Ferentz
In cooperation with Fotoyard, China

Arc Gallery
December 1-30, 2006
Chicago, Illinois

Stories of the City Event List

Public Hearing
Saturday, April 2, 2005

Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
“Public Hearing” features recorded life stories of residents from San Francisco’s Single Residence Occupancy Hotels by Oral Historian Nancy Deutsch with a portrait slide show from Sixth Street Photo Workshop’s archive.

Stories of the City

April 2005
SF Main Public Library
Jewlett Gallery
100 Larkin St
San Francisco, CA 94102

Opening Reception at City Hall
April 13, 2005
5:30-7:30pm

Stories of the City: An Inside Look
Artist Presentations
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Main Library, Koret Auditorium
3pm program, Reception to follow

A unique collaboration between adults from the Sixth Street Photography Workshop and youth photographers from Fostering Art.

During June and July 2006 the groups hosted portrait sessions and conducted interviews on street corners along Market Street from Castro Street to the Embarcadero. The project culminated in two outdoor evening slide presentations on buildings along Market Street.

Inspired by photographers Wee Gee (1940s New York) and Brassai (1930s Paris), San Francisco By Night follows their footsteps with atmospheric night photography of San Francisco.

Funded by the Cultural Equity Program of San Francisco Arts Commission.

Originally loosly based in 1940s photography by WeeGee, this project was made possible with a grant from the San Francisco Arts Commision and by David and Jamie Addington

Open for viewing in November and December during
scheduled "Free Portrait Days" to be announced here!

Come to a "Free Portrait Day." See the exhibition, meet Sixth Street Photographers, and receive a complimentary artistic studio portrait.