Summer Social: Queerest Library Ever Curator Talk with Jim Van Buskirk on Tuesday, June 28

Tommy's Place, circa 1952. Grace Miller Papers, LGBTQIA Center, SF Public Library 

ARLIS/NA members and future members are invited --

Please join us on Tuesday, June 28 from 6-8 PM for Queerest.Library.Ever. gallery talk 

with curator Jim Van Buskirk* 

Main Library, San Francisco Public Library

6:00 - 6:45 -- meet in the James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center - 3rd Floor

Exhibition “Hormel at 20” + wine and nibbles mingle

6:45 - 7:45 -- proceed to Jewett Gallery for “Celebrating The Past/Creating The Future” 

with Jim's gallery talk 

Please share and RSVP on the Facebook event 

or RSVP to the Vice Chair Christina Moretta 

Details about the Queerest.Library.Ever. exhibition 

*Jim Van Buskirk is former Chair of the ARLIS/NA Northern California Chapter and founding member of the Gay and Lesbian Interests Round Tables of both California Library Association (CLA) and ARLIS/NA. Some of Jim's publications include Gay by the Bay: A History of Queer Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area (Chronicle Books, 1996) co-authored with Susan Stryker, which was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award and Celluloid San Francisco: The Film Lover’s Guide to Bay Area Movie Locations (Chicago Review Press, 2006) co-authored with Will Shank. 

Birthday party, circa 1960s. Eddie Van Papers, LGBTIA Center, SF Public Library

Lovely Evening Admiring the Jess Murals at the Kael-Basart House

On July 16th, we had the pleasure of touring the Kael-Basart House in Berkeley, home to the only extant murals by the artist Jess. Painted in 1956 for Jess' friend, film critic Pauline Kael, the murals are still remarkably vibrant and inspiring!

Vice-Chair Abby Bridge and youngest chapter member Rex admire the murals

We were welcomed by our extremely generous hosts from the Committee to Preserve the Jess Murals & Kael-Basart House - with wine, food, and live musical accompaniment! The evening began with an introduction to the history of the murals, the house, and its inhabitants over the years, and was followed by a screening of a short documentary about the house, concluding with a tour of the murals.

Hosts Christopher Wagstaff (left) and Carl Schmitz give background and context to the evening

After Kael moved to New York, the home belonged to the Basarts: a composer and a music librarian who operated a small music publishing business out of the house. The legacy of the many artists, poets, musicians, and thinkers who had spent time in the home felt very much alive as we filled the house with talk of the creative "old days" in Berkeley.

Host Carl Schmitz shows off his hand puppet skills

 Many thanks to our hosts, the Committee to Preserve the Jess Murals & Kael-Basart House, for creating such a special evening for our chapter members. And we wish them the best of luck with their important work to make these murals and the history of the house accessible to future generations!

Kitchen floor designed by Harry Jacobus - so beautiful!

NorCal Chapter Welcome Party for ALA Attendees 6/25

If you're planning to go to ALA in San Francisco, please join the ARLIS/NA Northern California Chapter for a welcome party on Thursday, June 25th, 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. at William Stout Architectural Books. Mingle with fellow art librarians and enjoy browsing a nice selection of architectural books over a glass of wine and light snacks.

Our host, William Stout Architectural Books, is just a short walk from the conference site at 804 Montgomery St. (cross street Jackson St.). We hope you can squeeze this event into your conference schedule! Please RSVP to holz.dayna@gmail.com if you plan to attend.

And if you have time on Friday, you won't want to miss a (free!) participatory art-making event at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts with artist/librarian Kate Connell. June 26, 3-7:30 p.m., in the Room for Big Ideas at YBCA (in the Yerba Buena Gardens across from the Moscone Center conference site). Learn more in the June Thinkering Activities link at http://sparkmakers.org/thinkeringschool/  and Room for Big Ideas: Conceiving Place

Welcome to San Francisco!

Fun Day at the Headlands

A few Chapter members made it out to the Headlands Center for the Arts for their Open House on Sunday. What an inspiring trip! All the studios were open, as was the Mess Hall, serving up mac 'n cheese and sweet potato sandwiches. The artists were all around, ready to talk about their work and the experience of living and/or working on site.

Many of the artists displayed the books they were reading that inspired or informed their work. It's like they were waiting for librarians to ask them about the connection between books and art-making... The Headlands Center micro library was closed that day, but perhaps we could get them to open it up if we plan a return visit!

Look for more photos on our facebook page

Summer Social Gathering Aug. 14th

A small but enthusiastic group visited the Estuary Art Attack in Alameda, CA on August 14th. We enjoyed food and drink at the Speisekammer Beer Garden and visited several galleries, including Autobody Fine Art, Forrealism Studios, K Gallery @ Rhythmix. We found a lively and diverse art scene and artworks in many media.