Meet Me At Our Spot: Demo.Spot

If any of our SF readers find themselves in Sac Town, or decide they want an excuse to go, I want to hook you up with one of the coolest spots I’ve been to in the City of Trees. Demo Art & Books (demo.spot on IG) is a Sacramento-based “multipurpose space for experimentation,”. I initially thought it was an art bookstore, which it is, but it is also an independently owned art gallery, event space, radio station, and occasional host to underground raves. As you enter the space, you’ll find its bookstore front and center, stocked with curated books on fine art, design, photography, typography, fashion, and more. They also carry local artists’ zines, poetry, essays on social movements, and so much more. Its gallery space hosts monthly exhibitions, events, and art classes taught by local artists as well.

I was introduced to Demo by my beloved friend Meg, and we were both in awe of their wide variety of reads I ended up buying two editions of a zine called Spillll, made by a collective of 4 ESEA (East / Southeast Asian) queer women creatives based in London. The zines are inspired by conversations around their own dining table on food, feminism, queerness, language and women, violence, feasting, and include personal recipes, comics, and essays. I’ve been so inspired and obsessed with what they’re doing, since I’ve also been hyperfixated on the intersections between language and violence, particularly toward women. If you’re interested, you can find them @spillll.studio on Instagram. Meg ended up with books on logos and anarchist design.

We also found out that they have a radio station called DEMO RADIO, an online radio station that hosts both visiting and local DJs and artists. They go live pretty frequently and stream straight from DEMO, behind a glass screen right by all the books. Radio reruns can be found on their website for listening any time.

To the right of the store is the gallery space, which Meg and I ended up returning to only a few weeks later for a figure drawing class. It was perfect timing for both of us, because we had just talked about getting back into sketching and reconnecting with creative impulses, regardless of how long we hadn’t done it, or our anxiety about how “good” we are. The class featured a live model at the center of the room, and was led by Esther Wang, the founder of DEMO. She was really kind and encouraging, and the series of quick-time drawings she led helped us get in front of our fear and just do it. The class was packed and everyone was locked in on sketching the model as he moved from pose to pose, pencils rapidly scratching against paper.

DEMO posts calendars of all the art classes and events they’re hosting on their website and Instagram, with classes in pottery, figure drawing, riso printing, and more! I’ve been dying to go to a riso printing class, and it’s being hosted by a local artist whose style I really adore. Risograph printing is kind of like digital screenprinting, done in layers with eco-friendly ink! The zines made by Spillll are done in riso and you can see how the medium produces a distinguishably vibrant aesthetic. Demo is run solely by independent creatives and host a bunch of insanely cool events, so make sure to check 'em out and support them if you’re ever in the area!