Pier Review

San Francisco's Embacadero is punctuated by massive, enclosed piers whose cargo days are long past, with several having been relegated to parking lots.Pier 29 is one: a roomy 100,000-square-feet shed with the Bay at its back.This December it reopens as a host for Art + Water, a tuition-free atelier for Bay Area artists, an idea first conceived more than a decade ago by artist JD Beltran and author Dave Eggers.The premise is simple.Art school can easily cost $100,000 a year (tuition and housing), and graduates typically spend years paying down student loan debt (Beltran was no exception).Art + Water waives tuition entirely and swaps the classroom for the apprenticeship.Its first cohort, 20 emerging artists and 10 mentors, gets free spacious studios.Rigor comes from the mentors, who teach three hours a week and know how art careers are made; they emphasize not only technique but also the professional development skills that six-figure degree programs often skip.Behind them is a bench of more than 100 affiliate artists, on call for workshops, critiques, and inspiration.The building's adaptation is underway, the intention in clear focus.Rolling infrastructure and movable walls will make the pier adaptable to host artist studios, galleries, drop-in teach-ins, and public events and exhibitions.Announced shows range from Boots Riley's sets and films to a retrospective of the Riot Grrrl movement.Beltran is curating a show that will stitch over 200 linear feet of landscapes by more than 150 California artists to form a