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from the desk of art curatorial  Introduction by Quinlyn Kennel Do you feel sunlight sinking through your skin? The flowers are trying to reach you, too long you’ve been away. Babe, it’s open door season, windows down, music up, full tank of gas, feet on the dash — you’re free to do anything except stay. Align yourself with the rotation but steer clear of the gears – maybe the sandpiper will teach you how to oscillate with the tide. Fistfuls of sand always fall through your hand – maybe the rising sun will tell you it’ll be alright. May Media Recs by Sophia Rheault May Spotify Playlist Some magical and nostalgic songs for May. Add some of your May tunes!! 😄😄😄 🐛🪱 https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3zevkKbwNQMWnNexaKhiNhsi=bf970729de72437f&pt=2562149baa4c4c742fb0ccb37d262bbf May Watchlist: Television  For me, spring is peak “I don’t know what’s happening but I feel everything and time is moving way too fast” season. Rewatching or seeing TV for the first time really makes me tap into that feeling. People falling apart, falling in love, processing trauma, or just trying to get through another Tuesday. I recommend these when you want something messy, emotional, heartfelt, and hopeful. The Last of Us: TV-MA [2023] Drama/Sci-Fi with 2 seasons
May Watchlist: Movies  Whether it’s graduating, moving home for the summer, or just feeling the seasons shift, May is full of quiet endings and fresh starts. For me, these movies capture that bittersweet in-between, stories of change, growth, and figuring things out as you go. I love to watch them when I’m feeling nostalgic, hopeful, or somewhere in between. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
May Bookshelf: Spring Fiction, Things Blooming, Things Beginning  Books for the in-between times: after endings, before arrivals. These stories are about soft starts, second chances, unexpected friendships, and the quiet courage it takes to begin again. Some are more whimsical, some will wreck you, but all of them hold something tender and true, just like spring. How to Read a Book: A Novel (2023) by Monica Wood
May Bookshelf: New Beginning Self-Help Books  Books for when you’re standing at the edge of something, graduating, starting over, or just wondering what now. Some memoir, advice, and poetic reflection, all grounded in the messiness of becoming. Some pieces I’ve read when I’m craving clarity, comfort, or just a reminder that we’re not alone in figuring it all out. How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy (2019) by Jenny Odell
Whatever May means for you, change, rest, movement, or just making it to the end of the semester, I hope one of these stories keeps you company! 😊🌱🌷 Pieces from BAMPFA’s collection related to endings, beginnings, and summer by Anushka Prakash  Indian Summer, Hans Hofmann, 1959, oil on canvas, 60 1/8 x 72 1/4 in. Hans Hofmann’s Indian Summer (1959) bursts with radiant, warm-toned blocks of color that evoke the lingering heat and golden light of late summer. The painting captures that transitional moment when summer refuses to fade, pulsing with both energy and a subtle melancholy. Hofmann’s use of bold brushwork and dynamic contrasts suggests not just a season, but a threshold—between abundance and decline, warmth and the oncoming chill of fall. This sense of a season on the cusp aligns beautifully with the theme of endings and beginnings, where the last blaze of summer becomes a metaphor for both culmination and renewal.  Horse Fair in Summer, Chiryu, Ando Hiroshige, 1833-1834, Full color woodblock printing, 9 1/2 x 14 1/4 in. In Horse Fair in Summer, Chiryu (1833–34), Ando Hiroshige captures a bustling seasonal event along the Tōkaidō road, blending the rhythms of nature with human activity. The print shows horses and handlers gathered under the summer sun, animated by a sense of fleeting motion and impermanence. As a part of Hiroshige’s celebrated Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō series, this work not only marks a literal stop on a journey but also evokes the cyclical nature of travel, trade, and seasonal life. Summer here is not just a backdrop—it’s a moment of intensity and transition, highlighting both the vitality of life and the quiet anticipation of change to come.  Discovery of the New World, Nell Sinton, 1968, Acrylic on canvas, 36 x 30 in. Nell Sinton’s Discovery of the New World (1968) channels the bold, exploratory spirit of beginnings through abstract forms and vivid color. Created during a period of great social change, the work reimagines the mythos of discovery not as a colonial conquest, but as a personal and artistic awakening. The title invites reflection on the complexity of 'new worlds'—whether geographic, psychological, or creative—and how such discoveries mark definitive turning points. The swirling composition and luminous palette suggest motion and emergence, aligning the painting with the theme of beginnings: the moment when unfamiliar possibilities come into view, full of both promise and uncertainty.  The Beginning of the 21st Century, Diptych II, Avery Preesman, 2003, Oil on linen, 9 1/2 x 9 1/2 in. Avery Preesman’s The Beginning of the 21st Century, Diptych II (2003) is a contemplative, minimalist reflection on the passage of time and the quiet tension between past and future. Through restrained gestures and a modest scale, the work resists the grandiosity often associated with century shifts, instead offering a subtle meditation on how beginnings can be introspective, even ambiguous. The diptych format itself reinforces duality—endings and beginnings, old and new—inviting viewers to consider how transitions are rarely clean breaks but layered continuities. In its quietude, the painting embodies the complexity of starting anew in an era marked by uncertainty and transformation. Memories of this semester at BAMPFA by Ava Carlson As spring begins to shift into summer and finals, graduation, and moving out draw ever closer, let’s take a look back at some memorable moments from this semester at BAMPFA. The return of the Masc series The films of “Masc II: Mascs plus Muchachas” were shown from January 17 through February 23. Curated by film historian, writer, and filmmaker Jenni Olson, this series was actually a sequel to last year’s popular “Masc: Trans Men, Butch Dykes, and Gender Nonconforming Heroes in Cinema” series (which was cocurated by Olson and Caden Mark Gardner). One highlight of this year’s program was a sold-out screening of Cheryl Dunye’s “Stranger Inside” that featured a conversation with Dunye herself after the film. A semester of firsts This semester at BAMPFA brought with it Amol K Patil’s first solo exhibition in the US and Tanya Aguiñiga’s first solo exhibition in the Bay Area. Both exhibitions opened on January 18. Patil’s exhibition, “A Forest of Remembrance,” which used painting and sculpture to explore the chawls of Mumbai, was part of BAMPFA’s MATRIX program for contemporary art. Aguiñiga’s installation “Border Fall Height” deals with issues of immigration and is composed of a series of rust prints created with a thirty-foot ladder found near the US-Mexico border. While “A Forest of Remembrance” ended on April 27, you can still come by BAMPFA’s Crane Forum to see “Border Fall Height,” which will be on display until July 13.  A new video installation Sky Hopinka’s “Sunflower Siege Engine” opened on March 12. The video installation deals with past and future Indigenous resistance in the Bay Area. There’s still time to experience Hopinka’s work: “Sunflower Siege Engine” will be on display in BAMPFA’s black box gallery until August 17. Todd Haynes’s visit to BAMPFA The weekend of Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9, acclaimed director Todd Haynes came by BAMPFA to present four of his films as part of the retrospective series “Todd Haynes: Far From Safe.” The sold-out screenings of Safe, Velvet Goldmine, I’m Not There, and Far From Heaven were each followed by a conversation and Q&A with Haynes.  A student film festival On the evening of Friday, April 4, fourteen student filmmakers from across the Bay Area showed their work in the Barbro Osher Theater as part of the annual BAMPFASC Student Film Festival. The festival, which was organized by the BAMPFA Student Committee, included a reception before the showings with film trivia and activities, as well as food and refreshments selected by the filmmakers. After the showings, the filmmakers in attendance spoke about their work and audience members got to fill out a ballot and select their favorites of the films. Another film festival (international this time!) BAMPFA just hosted the 68th San Francisco International Film Festival, the longest running film festival of the Americas. For two weeks, from April 18 to 27, BAMPFA showed interesting new features from all over the world as part of its partnership with SFFILM. Multiple special guests appeared for in-person conversations about their films, which were created in many countries including France, Iran, China, India, Ireland, Panama, South Korea, Japan, Brazil, Palestine, Colombia, and Greece. Spring festivities Just across the street from BAMPFA is Berkeley’s Crescent Lawn, where this year’s BAMFEST was held on Saturday, April 26. From 2 to 5 p.m., the lawn was busy with people enjoying live performances from bands, exhibitions of student artwork, activities such as bracelet making and face painting, and booths operated by local artists selling their wares. The BAMPFA student committee coordinated the event, which, like the student film festival, is annual, so if you missed it this year, come by next year! As mentioned earlier, there’s still time to check out “Border Fall Height” and “Sunflower Siege Engine,” but you can also expect a lot of exciting arts events soon in BAMPFA’s future. Keep reading to learn about upcoming series, exhibitions, and more. Keeping up with art over the summer by Kate Lincoln The semester might be coming to an end, but the fun doesn’t stop here–check out some ways to stay engaged with BAMPFA and the arts over the summer.
Catch it before you leave: Check out the work of UC Berkeley MFA students May 14 - July 27, 2025 BAMPFA will host the 55th annual UC Berkeley MFA Exhibition: The Currents Beneath, showcasing the work of recent graduates of Berkeley’s Masters of Fine Arts program. Featuring six artists–Viviana Martínez Carlos, Priyanka D’Souza, Arianna Khmelniuk, Jasmine Nyende, bryant terry, and Zekarias Musele Thompson–the exhibition will focus on themes of grief, coping, and change. Plus, there will be a special MFA Artists Talk on May 16th, 2025 at 5:30PM, presenting an opportunity to speak to the artists about their work and experiences in the program. At BAMPFA this summer: Visit BAMPFA’s upcoming exhibition on African American quilt-making June 8 - November 30 2025 The museum's exhibition “Routed West: Twentieth-Century African American Quilts in California” traces the art of quilt-making amidst the Second Great Migration from 1940 to 1970. As African Americans fled the oppression of the rural south in search of greater opportunities, quilt-making served as both a functional and sentimental practice, preserving memory and heritage. Marking the westward movement of quilt-making across the United States, this exhibition includes Preview Day on June 7, 2025 from 1-7PM, which grants early access to UC Berkeley students and faculty, and Community Day on June 8, 2025 from 11AM to 7PM, which provides free gallery admission for all. Experience BAMPFA’s Summer film series “In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City” June 6 - July 24, 2025 Inspired by Imogen Sara Smith’s book In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City, the film series will feature film noirs and select color films set in suburban and rural neighborhoods. Highlights include films The Hitch Hiker, Detour, and Desert Fury, with select films screened on 35mm archival prints. The exhibition will also include screenings hosted by film historian David Thomson and film noir expert Eddie Muller, exploring the films’ themes of freedom, autonomy, and escapism. Attend the Lijin Lecture with Dr. Yasufumi Nakamori Saturday, June 14, 2 PM Dr. Yasufumi Nakamori is coming to Berkeley to give an artist talk on artist Martin Wong (1946-1999) and Pre-Modern Art of Asia. An experienced curator, Dr. Nakamori has recently finished a two-year term as Vice President of Arts and Culture of Asia Society and Director of the Asia Society Museum. He will speak on East Asian calligraphy and its influence on Wong, whose painting “Silence” is currently featured in BAMPFA’s “To Exalt the Ephemeral: The (Im)permanent Collection.” In the Bay Area: If you want to get out of Berkeley, or aren’t staying on campus this summer, there still are lots of opportunities to stay involved with the arts. The San Francisco MOMA has free admission every first Thursday of the month, and the Legion of Honor and de Young Museum has free admission every first Tuesday of the month, as well as every Saturday for Bay Area residents. The San Jose Museum of Art also has free admission year round for college students. If you’re going further away for the summer, remember to bring your student ID to your local museums, as many offer student discounts on admission.
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