Tony Bravo

San Francisco

Arts and Culture Columnist at San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Chronicle Arts and Culture columnist. He/Him.

Articles

I love the controversy around S.F.’s latest piece of public art

6 days ago | sfchronicle.com | Tony Bravo

The sculpture “R-Evolution,” a 45-foot-tall sculpture of a nude woman by artist Marco Cochrane, faces Market Street after it was unveiled at Embarcadero Plaza in San Francisco on April 10. The sculpture was greeted with a gathering of several hundred spectators and illuminated by a light show after sunset.
Gap's newest collection brings red-carpet inspired styles to the masses

3 weeks ago | sfchronicle.com | Tony Bravo

In one of the ultimate moments of red carpet cool, actress Sharon Stone stole the show during the 1996 Academy Awards when she wore a $22 black Gap mock turtleneck to the ceremony instead of the expected haute couture gown. The turtleneck sold out the next day and remains one of the most talked about moments in the San Francisco company's history.
Heklina was brutally honest. We should be too when we talk about her legacy

3 weeks ago | sfchronicle.com | Tony Bravo

Like many drag queens, Heklina was an inconvenient truth-teller. She was honest about taboos like sex, drugs and mortality in the LGBTQ community for more than four decades. San Francisco drag laureate D'Arcy Drollinger remembers Heklina, who was HIV positive, as among the few queens in the city to tell AIDS jokes in the late 1980s and early '90s as the disease ravaged the community and reshaped its attitudes toward sex.
Crowds rally for Heklina in London, demand justice for late S.F. drag queen

3 weeks ago | sfchronicle.com | Tony Bravo

San Francisco drag queen Peaches Christ led dozens of protesters on a march through central London to call out the Metropolitan Police for what they allege is "homophobic bias" in the ongoing investigation into her friend and drag icon Heklina's death.
New details revealed in death of S.F. drag star Heklina after London police's visit to California

4 weeks ago | sfchronicle.com | Tony Bravo

Police believe San Francisco drag star Heklina had a "lethal amount of drugs" in her system when she was discovered dead two years ago in a rented flat in London, close friends told the Chronicle after speaking to investigators last week. London's Metropolitan Police would not confirm the cause of death when reached for comment by the Chronicle due to the ongoing investigation.
Bloomingdale's closure is end of an era for downtown San Francisco retail

1 month ago | sfchronicle.com | Tony Bravo

As I gazed at the $70,000 Lalique crystal table - marked down from $144,000 - at the final clearance sale at the Bloomingdale's in San Francisco Centre, I reflected on the sad theater of the end days of department stores. These temples of retail are falling rapidly across the country, taking with them the holiday memories, prom shopping and wedding registries that have been part of our lives for generations. Over the last decade, I've been at the final call for several major stores.
A Napa museum is opening in S.F. while reducing staff

1 month ago | sfchronicle.com | Tony Bravo

Following a period of difficulty marked by the selling of 15 pieces from its storied collection, leaders of the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art are refocusing its operational plan to make the organization more financially sustainable. Plans include an expanded emphasis on event rentals and the opening of a new gallery in San Francisco.
How Paul McCartney's stunning photos reveal a different side of fame

1 month ago | sfchronicle.com | Tony Bravo

Imagine being part of the phenomenon that helped create modern celebrity culture. Whether it's the frenzy surrounding Taylor Swift and her Swiftie Nation or the online armies defending K-pop superstar bands like BTS, contemporary pop music fandom always refers back to the original moment: Beatlemania, when bandmates Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr became the most famous men in the world as the Beatles.
JD Vance got booed at the Kennedy Center. His reaction speaks volumes

1 month ago | sfchronicle.com | Tony Bravo

Before the first performance under a newly Trumpified Kennedy Center for the Arts, the audience rang out in a symphony of boos as Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance took their seats.
Budget cuts, layoffs and 'unsafe' conditions

1 month ago | sfchronicle.com | Aidin Vaziri |Tony Bravo

Amid a looming city budget deficit, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco may be making sweeping cuts, including layoffs and reduced operating hours. The proposed measures at FAMSF, which oversees both the de Young Museum and the Legion of Honor, are in response to former Mayor London Breed's instructions for departments to plan for a 15% reduction in general fund allocations as the city faces a significant deficit.