Last year, 24 photographers gathered during the winter solstice for 24 hours of spontaneous shooting. The assignment was simple: Each photographer was given a different, one-hour time slot and one of 24 San Francisco neighborhoods, chosen at random, to shoot. They were assigned a type of camera with which to shoot—some were to use black-and-white film, others color digital. The result is a candid (no staging or post-processing allowed) look at all the diverse pockets of our city, from Heather Hryciw's images of eucalyptus in the Presidio to Eric Muetterties view of the backstreets of Chinatown at night and Genevieve Shiffrar's shot of a broken window in Japantown. The Project 24 exhibit—created by photographer Paul Lucia and funded by Kickstarter—kicks off during this year's winter solstice on Friday, December 21 at the Academy of Art University before traveling to 4x5 Gallery in the Lower Haight.

If you miss Project 24 this time around, look for another gallery showing this spring (currently slated for May 2013) as well as a forthcoming book designed by participating photographer and Pulitzer Prize finalist Paul Kuroda.

Opening reception: 7 - 9 pm, Fri. 12/21; Academy of Art University, 625 Sutter St., Room 130. Exhibit will be on view at this location on Sat. 12/22 before moving to 4x5 Gallery, 422 Haight St., Wed. 12/26–Tues. 1/8