Case in point: Mirus Gallery's new exhibition, Cyclical Snakes and Infinite Inward, which is doing what independent galleries do best — taking creative risks without needing to justify the spend to a board of supervisors.

Details on the show are still emerging, but the title alone signals the kind of ambitious, conceptual work that Mirus has built its reputation on. The gallery, nestled in San Francisco's art scene, has consistently punched above its weight by curating shows that actually challenge viewers rather than pandering to the grant-application aesthetic that dominates publicly funded art.

And that's really the point worth making here. San Francisco's cultural vitality has always been driven by independent operators — gallery owners, small venue managers, studio collectives — who risk their own capital on creative visions. No line items in a city budget. No oversight committees. No six-figure consulting fees to determine whether something is sufficiently "community-centered."

Mirus Gallery is a reminder that the best things in this city tend to happen when the government stays out of the way. Private galleries open, curate, and either attract an audience or they don't. It's accountability in its purest form: the market decides.

If you're tired of doom-scrolling through headlines about budget deficits and bureaucratic dysfunction, consider spending an afternoon at Cyclical Snakes and Infinite Inward. At the very least, it'll remind you that people in San Francisco are still building things — strange, beautiful, self-funded things — without asking permission first.

Check Mirus Gallery's website for exhibition hours and details.