Out There :: Cultural Best!

Behold the 2017 Besties, the B.A.R. 's LGBTQ Best of the Bay awards. Here are the results in nine Arts & Culture categories. Congratulations to all the winners and also-rans!

Best Art Museum

SFMOMA

About SFMOMA, which reopened triumphantly last year after a three-year hiatus, arts writer Sura Wood wrote in the B.A.R. in December, "The annual 'hats off' goes to Senior Curator of Painting and Sculpture Gary Garrels, an accessible, erudite curator whose Herculean efforts and superior instincts lent panache to SFMOMA's beautifully executed, post-renovation installations."

Runners-up, in alphabetical order, were the Asian Art Museum, Contemporary Jewish Museum, de Young Museum , GLBT History Museum, Legion of Honor, Museum of Craft & Design, Museum of the African Diaspora, Oakland Museum of California, San Jose Museum of Art, and Walt Disney Family Museum.

Best Ballet Company

San Francisco Ballet

About the San Francisco Ballet's Frankenstein (a co-production with London's Royal Ballet), dance writer Paul Parish wrote in the B.A.R. in February, "I kept hearing the lines of Blake 's poem, 'I'll be like him, and he will then love me.' The whole audience, 3,000 people, rose to their feet and cheered like mad. The best thing is that the dancers have given themselves to the project completely. The dancers made the show, as so often they do. What a great ensemble-repertory company they are."

"What an honor to be chosen best ballet company in this year's B.A.R. Readers' Survey! We appreciate the support of the LGBTQ community and the B.A.R., and look forward to sharing many more exciting performances." - SFB executive director Glenn McCoy.

Runners-up were Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Ballet San Jose, Diablo Ballet, Oakland Ballet, Post: ballet, and Smuin Ballet.

Best Classical Venue

Davies Symphony Hall

About the San Francisco Symphony , music writer Philip Campbell wrote in the B.A.R. in February, "The best part of the program was the transcendent performance of the Brahms Symphony No. 3 that concluded [Conductor Laureate Herbert Blomstedt's] visit. Dividing the richly textured strings paid off, and watching the conductor energetically shaping them from a chair on the podium added exceptional beauty and tangible emotion to the experience."

"I am delighted that Davies Symphony Hall is chosen by readers of the B.A.R. as the Best Classical Venue for 2017! We love this city and our community, and it's a tremendous honor to serve and share our love of music with the people of San Francisco in this wonderful venue." - SFS executive director Brent Assink.

Runners-up were Herbst Theatre, Veterans Building, War Memorial Opera House, Old First Church, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Best Large Live Music Venue

The Fillmore

About The Fillmore, music editor Jessie Schiewe wrote for SF Weekly this month that when impresario Bill Graham rented it in the mid-1960s, he changed its programming from R&B to rock-n-roll. "During that period, many of the biggest musicians from the 60s made tour stops at the Fillmore, including the Velvet Underground, Nico, The Doors , Santana, Led Zeppelin, The Byrds, Janis Joplin and Jefferson Airplane."

Runners-up were The Chapel, Great American Music Hall, Masonic Hall, Regency Center, The Warfield, and Slim's.

Best Modern Dance Company

ODC/Dance

About ODC/Dance Company dance correspondent Allan Ulrich wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle last week, "What elevates 'Blink of an Eye' is [co-artistic director KT ] Nelson's facility for altering stage space before you're even aware of it. Then, she really knows her dancers' styles and temperaments."

Runners-up were AXIS Dance Company, Jess Curtis/Gravity, Joe Goode Performance Group, Katie Faulkner/little seismic, Keith Hennessy/Circo Zero and Sean Dorsey Dance.

Best Nature or Science Museum

California Academy of Sciences

About the California Academy of Sciences, Fodor's travel guide wrote, "Dramatically designed by Renzo Piano, it's an eco-friendly, energy-efficient adventure in biodiversity and green architecture. The roof's large mounds and hills mirror the local topography, and Piano's audacious design completes the dramatic transformation of the park's Music Concourse."

"The Academy is thrilled to accept this Bestie, a win that represents the inclusive spirit we're so proud to foster. We're truly at our best when we reflect the vibrant Bay Area community we serve. Three cheers for our amazing staff, members, NightLife regulars, and science-loving community partners who help make this a safe, fun place for everybody. To our LGBTQ staff and community supporters: we'll never stop working to make inclusivity the norm." - CAS executive director Dr. Jon Foley.

Runners-ups were the Exploratorium , San Francisco Botanical Gardens , and the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers.

Best Small Live Music Venue

Martuni's

About Martuni's, journalist Joe Eskenazi wrote for the SF Weekly in 2012, "Nowhere else in this city can customers breathe the same air as incognito Broadway actors, local theater folk, and the glorified shower singers of San Francisco, all accompanied by a professional pianist, and all for the price of a beverage."

Runners-up were The New Parish, Thee Parkside, Rickshaw Stop, El Rio , and San Francisco Eagle.

Best Theatre Company

American Conservatory Theater

About A.C.T.'s production of The Unfortunates at the Strand Theater, theatre writer Richard Dodds wrote in the B.A.R. last March, "It takes us on a unique journey into one man's private hell that, in a most unexpected fashion, can also find ways to joyous manifestation."

"It's a great honor for A.C.T. to be recognized by the LBGTQ community! It means a great deal to all of us to have close and ongoing ties with one of the most creative and compassionate communities in the Bay Area. From everyone at A.C.T., our deepest gratitude!" - A.C.T. artistic director Carey Perloff.

Runners-up were Aurora Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, New Conservatory Theatre Center, Ray of Light Theatre, Theatre Rhinoceros, SHN, and Curran Theater.

Best Choral Group

San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus

About San Francisco Gay Men Chorus' "Babes in Joyland: Dreaming of a Pink Christmas" at the Nourse Theater, arts writer David-Elijah Nahmod wrote in the B.A.R. in December, "SFGMC spread some much-needed holiday cheer when 'Babes in Joyland' played to a packed house at the Nourse Theater. Much of the evening had a strong gay sensibility. Instead of dreaming of a White Christmas, the Chorus sang of a Pink Christmas. There was a bevy of adorable elves, and a chorus line of can-can-dancing Santas."

"I feel like an Oscar winner with so many people to thank. The play-off music is looming! The Bay Area is one of the premier choral music centers of the United States, and a gay mecca. Put all that together and we have wonderful art being made by many LGBTQ groups. I'll accept this on their behalf and say a huge thank you to the B.A.R. for having the category, and to all of our patrons, who allow us to continue changing our little corner of the world. It is especially meaningful as we will begin our 40th Anniversary this summer!" - SFGMC artistic director Dr. Timothy Seelig.

Runners-up were Chanticleer, East Bay Gay Men's Chorus, Lesbian/Gay Chorus of SF, and Rainbow Women's Chorus.

Personal Best

The Besties are certainly the Besties in all the best ways. Also, Out There's always felt one's idea of the "best" in Arts & Culture, i.e., one's "aesthetics," is a personal thing. You know, like a personal vintage. When we go around town on our days off, which we consider the Best Days of the Week (footnote #1), we use the Best Means of Urban Locomotion (2). We start off in the city's Best Neighborhood (3) because, duh, it's where we live. We might stop in the Best Neighborhood Cafe (4) for a double espresso; then, when we feel the caffeine really kick in, head out for the Best Waterfront Walk (5). Having worked up an appetite, we drop into our favorite haunts in Little Saigon, including the Best Pho parlor (6) and Best Watch Repair (7) for a new black leather strap. It's upkeep for our black-dial Best Wristwatch (8).

That could only mean it's high time for cultural activity. We enjoy a concert from the Best Orchestra (9), an opera from the Best Opera Company (10) or ballet from the Best Ballet Company (11); or maybe a screening at the Best Art-Film House (12). A Best Nightcap (13). Then it's time to go home for the Best Domestic Activity (14)!

Footnotes: 1. W. & Th., 2. Walking, 3. Civic Center/Hayes Valley , 4. Tie: Cafe La Vie , La Boulange, 5. Aquatic Park pier over the hill to Fort Mason Center, 6. Pho 2000, 7. Quoc Loug Jewelry, 8. Tommy Hilfiger , 9. San Francisco Symphony , 10. San Francisco Opera , 11. San Francisco Ballet , 12. Landmark Embarcadero Cinemas , 13. Tanq 10 gin on the rocks. 14. Sleep.