Stairwell’s is a collaborative social practice project led by San Francisco visual artists Carey Lin and Gabriel Gilder with programs throughout the Bay Area and beyond. Part curatorial platform, part experimental art practice, Stairwell’s facilitates interactive experiences to challenge familiar understandings of place and create new opportunities to engage with the everyday.

Programs can take the form of temporary exhibitions in stairs, group walking tours exploring stairs in public spaces, publications and more. To-date, Stairwell’s has produced 8 exhibitions with 14 artists in 6 different stairwells, led over 20 unique Field Trips with 13 Guest Field Trip leaders, created 8 publications with content from 14 writers, and attended artist residencies in 3 states. Recent highlights include co-curating YBCA’s Bay Area Now 7 triennial, presenting work at the Open Engagement conference for socially engaged art, and commissioned public programs for Headlands Center for the Arts, Southern Exposure, KQED, and Intersection for the Arts.

An ever-evolving project, Stairwell’s fosters temporary communities of curious and engaged individuals, providing opportunities for connections and changes in perspective.

Stairwell’s was co-founded in 2011 by Carey Lin and Sarah Hotchkiss and is currently led by Carey Lin and Gabriel Gilder (2017–present). For more info, view Stairwell’s CV.

Co-Founder/Director:
Carey Lin

Chief Collaborator:
Gabriel Gilder

Former Stairwell’s Contributors:

Guest Field Trip Leaders:
Elizabeth Bernstein, Arash Fayez, Gabriel Gilder, Carrie Hott, Kari Marboe, Stacy Martin, Collin McKelvey, Em Meine, Spot the Octopus, Lauren Taylor, Mark Taylor, and Raheleh Minoosh Zomorodinia

Exhibition Artists:
Seth Curcio, Aaron Finnis, Emily Gable, Maggie Haas, Amy M. Ho, Carrie Hott, Matt Kennedy, Noah Krell, Collin McKelvey, Christine M. Peterson, Mike Rothfeld, Emma Spertus, Dan Swindel, and Calder Yates

Takeaway Publication Writers:
Marion Anthonisen, Tom Comitta, Michael Flannery, Emily Gable, Dana Goldberg, Kayla Graham, Aaron Harbour & Jackie Im, Sarah Hotchkiss, Carey Lin, Susannah Magers, Stacy Martin, Michael Rothfeld, Zoë Taleporos, and Taylor Wiles

Blog Contributors:
Joy Drury Cox, Emily Gable, Sarah Hotchkiss, Carrie Hott, Philip Leers, Cara Levine, Carey Lin, Jane Long, Hillary Wiedemann, and Tanya Zimbardo

Photography, Videography and Audio Production:
Nicholas Almquist, Gabriel Gilder, Susanne Huth, Graham Holoch, Catherine McElhone, Kate Rhoades, Matt Shapiro, Phoebe Tooke, Nathan Watson, and Raheleh Minoosh Zomorodinia