A NOTE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR |
The Bolinas Museum is excited to present three summer exhibitions—opening on June 11 and running through August 6—that are both national and hyper-local in focus and speak powerfully to pressing questions that confront our shared world.
The main gallery will feature recent works by Helina Metaferia, who trains her artistic eye on the history of social justice activism of women of color. Her vibrant collages and videos tell compelling stories of struggle, perseverance, and collective engagement. Through participatory workshops across the country, Metaferia facilitates female activists in the process of collecting archival documentation of protest movements. She then employs collage, performance, and video to create pieces that celebrate and amplify these women and their activism. From her solo exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston earlier this year to her joint performance for the Afro-Atlantic show currently at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, Metaferia has received much-deserved critical attention for giving voice to these timely issues. We are honored to have her solo exhibition at the Bolinas Museum this summer.
The Coastal Marin Artists Gallery and the Photography Gallery will highlight the art and activism of two Bolinas locals, Ole Schell and Elizabeth Weber. They have both dedicated their creative pursuits to bringing awareness to the decline of the Western Monarch butterfly. Schell, a filmmaker, and farmer, has created a Monarch butterfly sanctuary on his family ranch in Bolinas, collaborating with prominent local and national organizations, including the Point Reyes National Seashore, SPAWN, and Xerces. The Coastal Marin Artists Gallery exhibition is a collection of art, film, history, and science that all connect to the urgent mission Schell is undertaking at the sanctuary. In the Photography Gallery, Weber’s striking and elegiac photographs ask us to see the Monarch butterfly and its habitat with fresh eyes. Through their multifaceted approach to this issue, Schell and Weber invite us to pause and reflect on this beautiful species and what we can do collectively to help stop its decline.
In curating these three shows, I saw an opportunity to combine the concerns of artists from inside and outside our local community who are jointly grappling with some of the biggest issues of our time: social justice and climate change. In the contemplative space of the museum, we have the opportunity to reflect on the often surprising ways in which issues that are seemingly unrelated and distant from one another may, in fact, be meaningfully intertwined.
All my best,
Louisa Gloger
Executive Director
Photo by Leah Vermulen.
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
ON VIEW THROUGH SUNDAY, JUNE 5
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COASTAL MARIN ARTISTS GALLERY
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Images left to right: FARIBA BOGZARAN, Third Script: Light in Light (detail), 2021, 40 x 30 inches, courtesy of the artist; IDO YOSHIMOTO, Uncle Burt’s Tree, 2022, Eastern Black Walnut, Vacaville, Latitude 38.359075 / Longitude -122.001571, 31 x 2.5 inches, courtesy of the artist; and STEVEN BROCK, Leaving Yangon Station (detail), 2015, archival inkjet print, 9 x 13 inches, courtesy of the artist.
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UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS
JUNE 11 - AUGUST 6
OPENING RECEPTION SATURDAY, JUNE 11
2 PM TALKS · 3 - 5 PM RECEPTION
FREE AND OPEN TO ALL
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HELINA METAFERIA, Headdress 34, 2022, mixed media collage, 42 x 42 inches framed (approx.), courtesy of the artist.
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MAIN GALLERY
Curated by Louisa Gloger
In this multifaceted exhibition, Helina Metaferia draws from her interdisciplinary practice to emphasize narratives centered on social justice. Her process, rooted in the archives and history of activism in the United States, is simultaneously focused on contemporary BIPOC women, all of whom are directly involved with the artist through performance-as-protest workshops. Her work brings to the forefront untold, or unheralded, stories. Featuring a diverse range of media, including collage, tapestry, and video, All Put Together reminds us that progress, or the labor in pushing for progress, is never linear.
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Ole Schell photo by Luke Harrington, 2021. |
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COASTAL MARIN ARTISTS GALLERY
Curated by Louisa Gloger
Award-winning filmmaker, director, and farmer Ole Schell grew up in Bolinas on his father’s Niman/Schell Ranch, where the annual arrival of thousands of Western Monarch butterflies was a dependable autumn phenomenon. The alarming decline in this butterfly population has moved Schell to establish a Western Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary on his land in Bolinas. With extensive research, partnership with specialists, and creative vision, Schell has developed a sanctuary to support the butterflies and inform and inspire the public.
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ELIZABETH WEBER, Coronado Monarch Preserve, Goleta, California (detail), 2021, 19 x 24 inches, courtesy of the artist.
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PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY
Curated by Louisa Gloger
An independent documentary photographer, Elizabeth Weber is an environmental advocate who focuses her photography on issues related to both nature’s degradation and healing. This exhibition presents Weber’s photographs of Monarch butterflies created using an experimental process of printing in black and white on vellum paper and applying gold leaf. This process creates an aesthetic of fragility, referencing the fragility of both the Monarch’s habitat and existence.
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Bolinas Community Mural 2022, photo by Elia Haworth. |
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HISTORY ROOM
The History of the Bolinas Community Mural Project
Curated by Elia Haworth
June 11 - August 6
The iconic mural on the side of the Bolinas Market has a vibrant history of community collaboration. In this exhibit, Harriet Kossman, artist, educator, and Director of the Bolinas Mural Project, shares the history and iterations of the mural through lively photos and documents that show residents of all ages and backgrounds working together to create the public art that still brightens downtown Bolinas today.
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COURTYARD RECEPTION
Saturday, June 11
2 PM Talks
3 - 5 PM Reception
Free and Open to All
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Join us as we celebrate the opening of four new exhibitions (see above).
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GALLERY TOUR
Thursday, June 30, 4 - 5 PM
Free and Open to All
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Join founder and owner of Praise Shadows Art Gallery, Yng-Ru Chen, as she leads an exhibition tour of Helina Metaferia: All Put Together. Chen will share her insights into Metaferia’s process of creating the headdress collages, tapestry, and more, that celebrate the work of BIPOC activists using archival materials from Boston’s activism history, sourced from Harvard University and Northeastern University libraries. As the founder of Praise Shadows Art Gallery, a hybrid space for emerging and mid-career international artists, Chen strives to uplift underrepresented voices in the arts community. She will also discuss Metaferia’s upcoming inclusion in an exhibition at ICA San Francisco.
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PANEL DISCUSSION
Saturday, July 9, 4 - 5 PM
Free and Open to All
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SAVE THE DATE
30th Annual Benefit Art Auction
August 20 - September 11
September 10, Last Call Cocktail Party
September 11, Auction Closes
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Mark your calendar for our 30th Annual Benefit Art Auction! We're excited to present this beloved auction online and in the galleries with diverse artworks, offers, and experiences |
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The mission of Bolinas Museum is to collect, preserve, and exhibit the art and history of coastal Marin and present exhibitions and events that provide cultural enrichment and inspiration to our community and visitors alike. |
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MUSEUM HOURS
Friday 1–5 PM, Saturday–Sunday 12–5 PM
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