Et al.

Et al. Gallery is a San Francisco–based exhibition space shaped by a long-standing commitment to collaboration, experimentation, and cross-disciplinary dialogue. Directed by Jackie Im and Aaron Harbour, the gallery emerged from a curatorial practice rooted in close engagement with artists, writers, performers, and publishers. Founded in 2013 in the basement of Union Cleaners in Chinatown, Et al. quickly established itself as a thoughtful and rigorous platform for contemporary art, favoring intimacy, critical exchange, and material curiosity over spectacle. Its evolution reflects a belief in art as an ongoing conversation rather than a fixed product.

Photography has been a recurring and vital presence within Et al.’s program, often presented in ways that blur boundaries between image-making, publishing, and installation. Rather than isolating photographs as singular objects, the gallery frequently situates photographic works within broader conceptual frameworks—alongside text, ephemera, sound, or performance. This approach foregrounds photography as a tool for inquiry and storytelling, attentive to process, reproduction, and circulation. Exhibitions have highlighted both emerging and established photographers, as well as artists who use photography as one component within a wider practice.

With the opening of its Mission District storefront space in 2017, and later the addition of Et al. books in 2021, the gallery expanded its engagement with photographic culture through printed matter. Photobooks, artist publications, and rare or out-of-print titles form a significant part of the bookstore’s offerings, reinforcing the gallery’s interest in photography’s relationship to publishing and independent distribution. Readings, launches, and informal gatherings further position the space as a meeting point for image-makers, writers, and readers, where photography is discussed as both art and archive.

Although Et al. does not maintain a traditional permanent collection, its sustained exhibition history and deep investment in books create a living repository of photographic ideas. The closure of the Chinatown space in 2024 marked the end of an important chapter, yet the gallery’s Mission location continues to carry forward its ethos—supporting artists with care, embracing experimentation, and fostering meaningful encounters with photography and contemporary art in all their evolving forms.