Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive

Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive Art 🎨 Film 📽️ Happenings
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BAMPFA's "Black Life" program is back with a multimedia performance by Star Amerasu 🤩Join us this Saturday at 5 PM for a...
06/19/2025

BAMPFA's "Black Life" program is back with a multimedia performance by Star Amerasu 🤩

Join us this Saturday at 5 PM for an evening of live singing, dancing, video, and a special TRANSmission from outer space 🚀 The singer-songwriter and transdisciplinary artist's dynamic work pulls from influences like the tenderness of early Björk, q***r and trans history, meme culture, and apocalyptic AI discourse.

➡️ https://bampfa.org/event/black-life-star-amerasu

MFA Spotlight 💖 Viviana Martínez Carlos is an interdisciplinary artist and educator, whose work explores themes of displ...
06/19/2025

MFA Spotlight 💖 Viviana Martínez Carlos is an interdisciplinary artist and educator, whose work explores themes of displacement and environmental colonialism. She uses found materials and photographs to create poetic, layered works.

Her sculptural video installation "Metamorfosis" is currently on view in "Fifty-Fifth Annual UC Berkeley MFA Exhibition: The Currents Beneath." In the piece, metal blinds become a screen on which projected archival images shift in a fan’s subtle breeze—evoking shared dreams, memories, and desires.

The MFA thesis exhibition is on view through July 27 ➡️ https://bampfa.org/program/fifty-fifth-annual-uc-berkeley-mfa-exhibition-currents-beneath

06/14/2025

Celebrate Robert Altman's centennial at BAMPFA this summer 🥳

We're screening a selection of hits from across the filmmaker's wildly productive five decade career, showcasing his trademark sprawling ensemble casts, memorable character acting, and textured dialogue.

📽️ Upcoming Screenings:
Sun / Jun 15 @ 7 PM—M*A*S*H
Thu / Jun 19 @ 7 PM—McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Sun / Jun 22 @ 7 PM—3 Women
Sat / Jun 28 @ 6 PM—Short Cuts
Fri / Jul 4 @ 5 PM—Nashville
Sun / Jul 6 @ 7 PM—That Cold Day in the Park
Sun / Jul 13 @ 7 PM—Images
Wed / Jul 23 @ 7 PM—The Long Goodbye
Sun / Jul 27 @ 7 PM—Come Back to the 5 & Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean
Sat / Aug 2 @ 4 PM—Gosford Park
Sun / Aug 3 @ 6:30 PM—3 Women
Wed / Aug 6 @ 7 PM—The Player
Sun / Aug 10 @ 7 PM—Vincent & Theo
Sat / Aug 16 @ 4 PM—Popeye
Sun / Aug 24 @ 6:30 PM—Nashville
Sat / Aug 30 @ 1 PM—McCabe & Mrs. Miller

🎟️ https://bampfa.org/program/robert-altman-100

Presented in collaboration with the UCLA Film & Television Archive

Bruce Conner's collage films are coming out of the vault!Alive with satire, irony, and rhythm, the experimental filmmake...
06/14/2025

Bruce Conner's collage films are coming out of the vault!

Alive with satire, irony, and rhythm, the experimental filmmaker's work cuts together newsreels, old documentaries, fiction films, cartoons, and countdown leaders to paint a wry, devastating portrait of America.

📽️ Upcoming Screenings:
Sun / Jun 15 @ 5 PM—Films by Bruce Conner: Program 1
Fri / Jun 27 @ 7 PM—Films by Bruce Conner: Program 2

🎟️ https://bampfa.org/program/bruce-conner-films-bampfa-collection

The recent termination of federal grants impacts the ongoing conservation of BAMPFA's collection of 3,000 quilts, over 1...
06/10/2025

The recent termination of federal grants impacts the ongoing conservation of BAMPFA's collection of 3,000 quilts, over 100 of which went on display this past weekend in "Routed West: Twentieth-Century African American Quilts in California."

BAMPFA is committed to finding a way to continue protecting the quilts, but "it's a race against the clock."

Learn more from NPR ➡️ https://www.npr.org/2025/06/06/nx-s1-5406351/quilt-conservation-berkeley

Happy opening day 🥳 Admission to "Routed West" is free all day today, Sunday, June 8.Stop by BAMPFA 11 AM-7 PM and be am...
06/08/2025

Happy opening day 🥳 Admission to "Routed West" is free all day today, Sunday, June 8.

Stop by BAMPFA 11 AM-7 PM and be among the first to see this historic exhibition of African American quilts.

➡️ bampfa.org/quilts or link in bio for more info

"Routed West" opens this weekend! Here's the schedule👇Saturday, June 7, 1–7 PM | Preview Day for BAMPFA members and UC B...
06/05/2025

"Routed West" opens this weekend! Here's the schedule👇

Saturday, June 7, 1–7 PM | Preview Day for BAMPFA members and UC Berkeley students, faculty, and staff.

Sunday, June 8, 11 AM–7 PM | Community Day: Exhibition opens with FREE gallery admission for all!

Sunday, June 8 @ 2:30 PM | Curator's Welcome with BAMPFA Associate Curator and Academic Liaison Elaine Yau.

➡️ https://bampfa.org/program/routed-west

Images:
1. Beauty Ernestine Vaughns: Untitled (Ocean Wave), 1963
2. Sherry Ann Byrd: Untitled (Medallion), 1990
3. Kitty Gladys Jones: Untitled (Square in a Square), before 1970

Want to be the first to hear about upcoming quilt programming (and all the other cool things happening at BAMPFA)? 💌 Sig...
06/05/2025

Want to be the first to hear about upcoming quilt programming (and all the other cool things happening at BAMPFA)? 💌 Sign up for our newsletter at bit.ly/subscribe-bampfa

🎁 Everyone who signs up will be entered for a chance to win a FREE "Routed West" exhibition catalog and a Standard Membership (free gallery admission and discounted film tickets for a whole year!)

05/31/2025

Next weekend! "Routed West: Twentieth-Century African American Quilts in California" opens Sunday, June 8 with a FREE Community Day.

Nearly 100 quilts from the African American Quilt Collection at BAMPFA are going on view for the first time in this historic exhibition.

➡️ https://bampfa.org/program/routed-west

💗 Our summer slate of special screenings has it all: from a beloved classic of le***an cinema, to a French New Wave mast...
05/30/2025

💗 Our summer slate of special screenings has it all: from a beloved classic of le***an cinema, to a French New Wave masterpiece, to a brand new documentary about a Bay Area legend 👇

Sun / Jun 8 @ 7 PM—Vivien’s Wild Ride
Thu / Jun 12 @ 7 PM—The 400 Blows (Introduction by Laura Truffaut!)
Wed / Jun 18 @ 7 PM—Vermiglio
Sat / Jun 21 2 @ 4 PM—Vivien’s Wild Ride
Sat / Jun 28 @ 4 PM—A Photographic Memory
Sun / Jun 29 @ 5 PM—Él
Sun / Jul 6 @ 4:30 PM—Vermiglio
Sun / Jul 20 @ 4:30 PM—A Photographic Memory
Wed / Jul 30 @ 7 PM—Él
Sat / Aug 9 @ 4:30 PM—The 400 Blows
Thu / Aug 14 @ 7 PM—Dragon Inn
Sat / Aug 16 @ 7 PM—Free Outdoor Screening: Desert Hearts

🎟️ https://bampfa.org/program/special-screenings

Images:
1. Donna Deitch: Desert Hearts, 1985
2. François Truffaut: The 400 Blows, 1959
3. Vivien Hillgrove: Vivien’s Wild Ride, 2025

We're exploring textile art from across the world at BAMPFA this summer!Our exhibition of African American quilts opens ...
05/29/2025

We're exploring textile art from across the world at BAMPFA this summer!

Our exhibition of African American quilts opens Sunday, June 8 with a FREE Community Day.

In early August, we're presenting "Drawing with Thread," the first North American survey of Lee ShinJa, featuring the Korean artist’s bold, innovative fiber art from across five decades.

➡️ https://bampfa.org/on-view/exhibitions

Images:
1. Lee ShinJa: Spirit of Mountain, 1999
2. Lee ShinJa: Spirit of Mountain, 1996
3. Lee ShinJa: Unity-78, 1978.
4. Sneak peek! "Routed West" Installation view 🤫

👩‍🎤 Let your inner fashion designer go wild in BAMPFA's Art Lab this weekend.Bring in a garment and—with the help of our...
05/24/2025

👩‍🎤 Let your inner fashion designer go wild in BAMPFA's Art Lab this weekend.

Bring in a garment and—with the help of our collection of fabric markers and fabric scraps, some scissors, and a little hot glue—explore the full expressive potential of your style.

Cat Lauigan and Matt Brownell of Cone Shape Top will be on hand to provide the energy and inspiration to go deep with a live DJ set and a presentation of Cat’s fashion work.

All ages are welcome! ➡️ https://bampfa.org/event/fabric-marker-jam-cone-shape-top

What makes a portrait effective?"Beyond Face Value: Meditations on Portraiture" is our latest Teaching Wall exhibition, ...
05/23/2025

What makes a portrait effective?

"Beyond Face Value: Meditations on Portraiture" is our latest Teaching Wall exhibition, put together by the curators of tomorrow, the members of BAMPFA Student Committee.

The works on view, pulled from BAMPFA's collection, explore the many ways artists—across mediums, time periods, and cultures—have gone beyond a subject's appearance to capture a sitter's individually.

➡️ https://bampfa.org/program/beyond-face-value

👻 We're diving straight into the darkest recesses of the human soul, once our film program returns from its short hiatus...
05/22/2025

👻 We're diving straight into the darkest recesses of the human soul, once our film program returns from its short hiatus on June 6.

Our new film season kicks off with "In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City." All summer long we'll be playing thrillers and mysteries set in some of the spookiest places on earth: suburbia and small towns, on the road, in the desert, and along borderlands.

❗Many programs feature extended introductions and post-screening conversations led by film scholars Imogen Sara Smith, David Thomson, and Eddie Muller.

📽️ Upcoming Screenings:
Fri / Jun 6 @ 7 PM—The Breaking Point
Sat / Jun 7 @ 4:30 PM—The Hitch-Hiker
Sat / Jun 7 @ 7 PM—Desert Fury
Sun / Jun 8 @ 4 PM—Pursued
Sat / Jun 14 @ 7 PM—Shadow of a Doubt
Sat / Jun 21 @ 7 PM—The Reckless Moment
Wed / Jun 25 @ 7 PM—Detour
Wed / Jul 2 @ 7 PM—They Live by Night
Wed / Jul 5 @ 4:30 PM—Leave Her to Heaven
Sat / Jul 12 @ 7 PM—Touch of Evil
Fri / Jul 18 @ 7 PM—Nightmare Alley
Thu / Jul 24 @ 7 PM—The Phenix City Story

🎟️ https://bampfa.org/program/lonely-places-film-noir-beyond-city

The catalog for "Routed West: Twentieth-Century African American Quilts in California" is here—and the exhibition itself...
05/20/2025

The catalog for "Routed West: Twentieth-Century African American Quilts in California" is here—and the exhibition itself isn't far behind!

The first publication dedicated exclusively to historical African American quilts in California, the catalog features essays by scholars, curators, quilt historians, and artists alongside dazzling images of more than 100 quilts. Stop by the BAMPFA Store to get your copy!

"Routed West" opens on June 8 with a Free Community Day Celebration! ➡️ https://bampfa.org/program/routed-west

The seniors on our Visitor Experience team are now UC Berkeley grads 🥹Throughout their time at Cal they've served as the...
05/17/2025

The seniors on our Visitor Experience team are now UC Berkeley grads 🥹

Throughout their time at Cal they've served as the face of BAMPFA—greeting visitors, selling tickets, telling you about everything happening in the museum. We couldn't keep our doors open without our student staff.

To all grads who've worked at the admissions desk, in the galleries and theater, in the BAMPFA store, and across departments, thank you for everything you have given to BAMPFA! Congratulations and best wishes for all your future adventures 🎓🎉

🍜 Artist David Horvitz and chef Leif Hedendal invite you to join them at BAMPFA on Sunday, June 1 for some homemade udon...
05/17/2025

🍜 Artist David Horvitz and chef Leif Hedendal invite you to join them at BAMPFA on Sunday, June 1 for some homemade udon—with a twist!

Participants will be encouraged to slurp their noodles, and the sounds will be processed through microphones to create live sound art works. Horvitz will also use the noodles to create spontaneous sumi ink prints on Japanese paper.

Space is limited to 20 people per session 🎟️ https://bampfa.org/event/teach-your-children-slurp-noodles

Presented in conjunction with "To Exalt the Ephemeral: The (Im)permanent Collection"

🎓🎉Congratulations to the latest graduates of UC Berkeley's Master of Fine Arts program!The "Fifty-Fifth Annual MFA Exhib...
05/14/2025

🎓🎉Congratulations to the latest graduates of UC Berkeley's Master of Fine Arts program!

The "Fifty-Fifth Annual MFA Exhibition: The Currents Beneath" is now on view, featuring the thesis work of Viviana Martínez Carlos, Priyanka D’Souza, Arianna Khmelniuk, Jasmine Nyende, bryant Terry, and Zekarias Musele Thompson.

❗Artists' talks are this Friday, May 16 @ 5:30 PM.

➡️ https://bampfa.org/program/fifty-fifth-annual-uc-berkeley-mfa-exhibition-currents-beneath

🥂 Thank you for coming together to celebrate and support BAMPFA this weekend!We had so much fun honoring Cheryl Dunye an...
05/13/2025

🥂 Thank you for coming together to celebrate and support BAMPFA this weekend!

We had so much fun honoring Cheryl Dunye and Trevor Paglen—two creative visionaries who have left an indelible mark on the world of art and film—with our community of artists, filmmakers, faculty, students, friends and supporters.

We can't do what we do without you all 🫶

[📸 1, 4-9, 11-13, 15: Drew Altizer Photography; 2-3, 10, 14, 16: Kelly Sullivan]

We play all the best movies at BAMPFA (and tickets just went on sale). This summer we're ...🕵️‍♂️ Exploring the dark rec...
05/09/2025

We play all the best movies at BAMPFA (and tickets just went on sale). This summer we're ...

🕵️‍♂️ Exploring the dark recesses of the human soul with a series of film noirs set beyond the city limits

💯 Celebrating the centennial of Robert Altman with a selections from his five decade career, from M*A*S*H to GOSFORD PARK

🎞️ Diving into the BAMPFA collection and the experimental works of Bruce Conner—whose films paint a wry, devastating portrait of America

🚀 Screening all of Andrei Tarkovsky's feature films, unmatched in their visual power and poetic resonance

💴 Kicking off an extended retrospective of Mikio Naruse, who chronicled the lives of ordinary people in mid-century Japan

🌞 Continuing our focus on Swedish cinema with a line up of summer films by some of the countries greatest auteurs, including Ingmar Bergman

☔ Hosting director Tsai Ming-liang and actor Lee Kang-sheng for a presentation of seven of their films, including VIVE L'AMOUR; GOODBYE, DRAGON INN; and STRAY DOGS (and tickets are going fast!)

🎟️ https://bampfa.org/on-view/film-series

We try to keep our schedule less cryptic than a Fluxus score! We have modified hours coming up this month:1. BAMPFA is c...
05/08/2025

We try to keep our schedule less cryptic than a Fluxus score! We have modified hours coming up this month:

1. BAMPFA is closed all day on Saturday, May 10 for our annual Art and Film Benefit.

2. BAMPFA opens late at 1 PM on Sunday, May 11.

3. Galleries close early at 5 PM Wednesday, May 14 through Sunday, May 25.

Image: An event-score from George Brecht's "Water Yam," currently on view in "To Exalt the Ephemeral: The (Im)permanent Collection." Event-scores provided scripts for performance art and were an important part of Fluxus, a movement of experimental and conceptual art.

Fittingly for an exhibition celebrating impermanence and change, "To Exalt the Ephemeral" just got some new additions.On...
05/08/2025

Fittingly for an exhibition celebrating impermanence and change, "To Exalt the Ephemeral" just got some new additions.

One of the new works on view is Joan Snyder's "Pond on Paper." Made with paint, papier-mâché, dirt, and herbs, the piece explores the cyclicality and regenerative potential of both art and nature.

See "Pond on Paper" and more in "To Exalt the Ephemeral: The (Im)permanent Collection" through July 6.

➡️ https://bampfa.org/program/exalt-ephemeral-impermanent-collection

Like many cultural institutions, BAMPFA has been impacted by the recent changes to the Institute for Museum and Library ...
05/05/2025

Like many cultural institutions, BAMPFA has been impacted by the recent changes to the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The federal government has terminated a multiyear IMLS grant supporting the conservation of the African American quilt collection at BAMPFA and an NEA grant supporting our upcoming exhibition of the collection.

This collection came to us in 2019 as a bequest of more than 3,000 quilts—one of the most important gifts in our history.

The federal government may feel that the work we are doing “no longer serves the interest of the United States,” but we strongly believe that these quilts are an important piece of American history and cultural heritage.

In this time of great uncertainty, we will continue to uphold our mission and continue our work, but we can’t do it without you. Here’s how you can help:

▪️Come see “Routed West: Twentieth-Century African American Quilts in California,” which features a selection from this historic collection and opens with a free community day on Sunday, June 8.
▪️Make a donation to BAMPFA or join as a member.
▪️Contact your representatives in support of IMLS and NEA.

Our full statement: https://bampfa.org/news/update-regarding-loss-imls-and-nea-grants-supporting-african-american-quilt-collection-bampfa

Images:
1. Sherry Byrd: Untitled (Medallion), 1990

Darth Vader is one of many famous people who have graced the hallowed halls of BAMPFA.In May 1983, Lucasfilm hosted a be...
05/04/2025

Darth Vader is one of many famous people who have graced the hallowed halls of BAMPFA.

In May 1983, Lucasfilm hosted a benefit screening of THE RETURN OF THE JEDI at UC Berkeley to support the Pacific Film Archive—and the franchise's most famous villain was in attendance. 😈

Just announced 🔥 Film noir series, Andrei Tarkovsky & Robert Altman retrospectives, Tsai Ming-liang in person, and more....
04/29/2025

Just announced 🔥 Film noir series, Andrei Tarkovsky & Robert Altman retrospectives, Tsai Ming-liang in person, and more.

☀️Explore our upcoming summer film season at bampfa.org/film.

Member-exclusive presale starts Wednesday, May 7. Public tickets go on sale on Friday, May 9. Not yet a member? Join today at bampfa.org/member

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2155 Center Street
Berkeley, CA
94704

Opening Hours

Wednesday 11am - 7pm
Thursday 11am - 7pm
Friday 11am - 7pm
Saturday 11am - 7pm
Sunday 11am - 7pm

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