Gordon Parks and the argument of his life at BAMPFA
Gordon Parks's mother told him, "A white boy can do it, you can do it. Don’t come home with any excuses." This true American renaissance man took her at her word.
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Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive
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At BAMPFA: Retrospective of surrealist and abstractionist Charles Howard
The artist was raised in Berkeley. His father was John Galen Howard. So it's fitting the show is at the city's art museum.
A ritual for Theresa Hak Kyung Cha at BAMPFA
Though Theresa Hak Kyung Cha spent her formative years in Berkeley, the innovative Korean-American artist is most often associated with New York City. It’s where she made an indelible impression as a polyglot writer in the early 1980s, and where her life was so cruelly cut short by a depraved rapist.
The It List: Five things to do in Berkeley this weekend
FILMS ABOUT COURAGE AND THE OUTDOORS – Yeti is a manufacturer of ice chests, drinkware, T-shirt, caps and other gear. It also produces a roving mini-film festival of movies highlighting courageousness and the outdoors. On Friday, Sept. 16, Yeti will present “Stories from the Wild Film Tour” at Freight & Salvage. Tickets for the evening cost $10 and include beer, BBQ, and a raffle ticket, with all of the money going directly to American Rivers. According to Gear Junkie, the films include Charged, “which shows the incredible survival story of chef and outdoorsman Eduardo Garcia.” Cosmo documents the story of a fishing guide in the remote waters of the Seychelles. Doors open at 6:00 p.m.; films begin at 7:00 p.m. (more…)
The It List: Five things to do in Berkeley this weekend
UBUNTU THEATER PROJECT Oakland’s Ubuntu Theater Project is coming to Berkeley with the third show in its inaugural season, the Pulitzer Prize-winning I Am My Own Wife by Doug Wright. The play opens on Saturday March 5 in a cozy, historic Berkeley home whose original ballroom has been converted into a theater space. The contemporary classic is based on Wright’s fascination with Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a transgender person who survived Nazi Germany and Stasi surveillance in East Berlin. Von Mahlsdorf’s story is a celebration of courage, resilience and of self-preserving compromises. The play speaks to the complexity of survival when one’s most intimate home — the body — is the source of persecution. Ubuntu’s co-artistic director William Hodgson plays all 40 characters in the play. The play runs through March 20 at Haba Na Haba House, 1936 Thousand Oaks Blvd, Berkeley 94707. For tickets ($15-35 online; pay-what-you-can at the door) and information, call 510-646 1126 or visit www.ubuntutheaterproject.com. (more…)
Lights, camera, action: Time to shine for film at BAMPFA
The last coat of paint has been applied, the fixtures are all in place, and the hard hats have departed: it’s time to celebrate the re-opening of BAMPFA’s film programming. Yours truly managed to get a sneak peek of what’s in store for Bay Area cinéastes, and I can happily report that we’re all in for quite a treat.
BAMPFA’s inaugural exhibition, ‘Architecture of Life,’ is an eloquent survey
BAMPFA’s new building is an absolute winner. The 82,000-square-foot home catapults Berkeley’s visual art scene into prominence — comparable to many larger, richer and better established West Coast institutions. It handsomely repurposes the former 1930s WPA UC printing plant building. Affixed to it is a brightly clad steel tube-like section that houses the new 232-seat Barbro Osher Theater, where films from its impressive archive of over 300,000 items will be regularly screened. There is also a 33-seat screening room and two film viewing booths available by appointment.
The It List: Five things to do in Berkeley this weekend
OPENING OF BAMPFA In case you hadn’t heard, Berkeley has a newly housed museum, and it opens to the public on Sunday, starting at 11 a.m., with a great big, 12-hour long Open House. Get a first look at the inaugural exhibition, “Architecture of Life,” and drop in to the Pacific Film Archive’s first purpose-built cinema. Check out the beautiful stepped seating by Paul Discoe, complete with cushion designs by artist Barry Mcgee. There will also be DJs spinning music, dancers, weavers weaving, and other impromptu happenings throughout the building, organized by artist David Wilson. Admission is free, but, given how popular it is likely to be, timed-ticked reservations are recommended. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door. Visit BAMPFA for more details. (more…)
New BAMPFA ready to open Sunday in downtown Berkeley
The countdown is nearly over. The new home of the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, plum in the heart of downtown Berkeley, will throw open its doors to the public with a big open house on Sunday, Jan. 31, starting at 11 a.m.
BAMPFA builds temporary tent for its opening gala
Many readers have been in touch with Berkeleyside asking about the strange big “structure” being erected on UC Berkeley property at Oxford Street.
Master craftsman, Zen priest Paul Discoe puts his touch on new Berkeley Art Museum
By Kathleen Maclay / Berkeley News
Best dishes and drinks of 2015: The chefs’ picks
Looking for inspiration on where to eat and drink in the East Bay? Check out these top picks by some of the area's best chefs.
Downtown Berkeley launches new marketing campaign
Downtown Berkeley Association is hanging 85 colorful double banners from downtown Berkeley’s lampposts to launch a new branding campaign, “Meet Me Downtown.” The campaign is being led by the DBA with five partners, the new Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, the new UC Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Freight & Salvage and Visit Berkeley.
