Meet SLATE’s New Gallery Manager

We asked Simone Ophelia Gage to sit down and tell us a bit about herself.

What are you most looking forward to in your new role at SLATE?

I’m absolutely thrilled to join SLATE and to work with living artists here in the Bay Area. Oakland has been my home for the past thirteen years, and I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to support and collaborate with artists in my own community. Coming from the fine art museum world, I’m especially excited to step into this next chapter in a contemporary art gallery setting, where I can engage more directly with artists and the evolving conversations shaping their work today.

Can you tell us a little about where you were born and grew up?

I am very proud to say that I was born and raised in Sacramento, California. When I first moved to Berkeley as a teenager, I often heard my classmates dismiss Sacramento as dreadfully boring—the kind of city you blow through on your way to Tahoe without stopping for anything more than to fill your gas tank. However, I love Sacramento deeply—not only for its sleepy, small town feel, or how you can easily ride your bike to a friend's house, to the bar, or to the river—but for its vibrant art and music scene. It's easy to miss if you don't know where to look, but if you take the time to notice, you'll see it is an incredibly special place for community, creativity, and artistic innovation.

You have been working around the Bay Area art scene for about nine years now. How would you describe the culture and community around contemporary art here?

The art scene here is deep, brilliant, and shaped by a wide spectrum of lived experiences that reflect the Bay Area’s extraordinary diversity. Each city feels like its own universe, and even within them, neighborhoods operate as microcosms of cross-cultural exchange that collectively define the Bay's creative identity. What makes it especially dynamic is the interplay between long-standing, generational communities and transplants who bring their own aesthetics and histories, creating a constant layering of influence. Historically, Oakland and San Francisco have been home to some of the West Coast’s most influential art schools, which have helped sustain a strong culture of arts education and experimentation. I’m always struck by how different each art show can feel—whether in a formal gallery, a DIY venue, or someone’s living room—shaped entirely by the artist’s background and the themes they choose to explore. That range is what makes the contemporary art culture here feel alive, urgent, and deeply personal.

SLATE Contemporary Gallery and Art Consulting
5510 College Ave

Simone Ophelia Gage