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FROM THE ARCHIVES: 1960s & 70s Driftwood Cabins in

FROM THE ARCHIVES: 1960s & 70s Driftwood Cabins in Bolinas

No matter where you plan to spend the holidays—we hope you can gather with friends and family under the roof of a place you love.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a small community of like-minded individuals came together in Bolinas to build their very own driftwood homes on RCA Beach. All of the shelters were strikingly original and often downright marvelous. With new building materials washing up on the shore every day, these mavericks built homes that were deeply informed by chance finds and the whims of the weather. As so many locals know, structures built upon the ocean’s coastlines are ephemeral by nature—these driftwood houses were even more so. Consequently, there are very few historic images documenting their short-lived tenure. So we were thrilled to find a small stash of color photos of these rarely seen driftwood shelters in the Bolinas Museum History Archives!

This week, in particular, we’d also like to honor the Indigenous Coast Miwok people, who were the first in the history of handmade shelters to build homes made from redwood timber and bark along these coastlines. In coastal Marin, the Coast Miwok were the earliest builders of sustainable handmade shelters. Snug houses were made of layers of tule mats over round bent branch frames or slabs of redwood bark over conical frames.

If you’d like to learn more about people who decided to create different households, reimagining a way of life in a more conscious relation with the environment, come see our current Main Gallery exhibition curated by Joseph Becker—”Lloyd Kahn: There Are Walls That Want to Prowl," on view through December 29. Pioneer, renegade, optimist, publisher, editor, photographer, carpenter, self-taught architect, doyen of the DIY movement, and Bolinas resident @lloyd.kahn has worn many hats throughout his lifelong architectural quest. This exhibition focuses on his iconic counterculture Shelter Publications.

Images: Driftwood Houses at RCA Beach, 1970, C-Prints, Bolinas Museum History Archives, 2000.43

#bolinas #bolinashistory #driftwood #sustainableliving #beachlife #beachvibes

“Lloyd Kahn: There Are Walls That Want To Prowl,

“Lloyd Kahn: There Are Walls That Want To Prowl," curated by Joseph Becker, Curator of Architecture and Design, SFMOMA, is on view in the Main Gallery through December 29. Pioneer, renegade, optimist, publisher, editor, photographer, carpenter, self-taught architect, and doyen of the DIY movement, Lloyd Kahn has worn many hats throughout his lifelong architectural quest. Kahn was the original editor of the Shelter section of the “Whole Earth Catalog” and the founding editor-in-chief of Shelter Publications, Inc. These compendiums were instrumental in an era of radical independence and sustainable “de-growth” thinking. Kahn’s personal approach and guidebooks have influenced builders and homesteaders worldwide, functioning as comprehensive resources for intrepid self-builders.

This exhibition, inspired by a line from Richard Brautigan’s 1968 poem “Let’s Voyage Into The New American House,” focuses on Kahn’s iconic counterculture publications, including “Domebook One” (1970), Domebook 2 (1971) and “Shelter” (1973). The various models presented in these books are crucial reminders and provocations of alternatives to conventional forms of building and living. They tell beautiful tales of the people who decided to create different households, reimagining a way of life in a more conscious relation with the environment, liberated from capital and its alienating production methods. The installation was first presented at the Venice Architecture Biennale in 2021 by Berlin-based curator Lukas Feireiss and Geneva-based architect Leopold Banchini, who published an accompanying publication, Shelter Cookbook, which complements the presentation.

Come in and browse various Shelter Publications in the gallery, view architectural models, and experience a short video. Mark your calendar for an artist talk with Lloyd Kahn on Saturday, December 7, at 3 p.m. Be sure to visit the other exhibitions, “Kathy Bustamante: Thinking With My Hands,” "Jenny Sampson: Skaters,” and a new selection of works in our permanent collection. Museum hours are Friday, 1 - 5 pm, and Saturday - Sunday, 12 - 5 pm; admission is free.

Learn more about our exhibitions and programs at the link in bio. ⬆️

Saturday, November 16: Opening Reception for New E

Saturday, November 16: Opening Reception for New Exhibitions
3-4 pm Artist/Curator Talks, 4-5 pm Reception
Free and Open to All

LLOYD KAHN: THERE ARE WALLS THAT WANT TO PROWL
Curated by Joseph Becker, Curator of Architecture and Design, SFMOMA

Lloyd Kahn, a pioneer in architecture and publishing, has influenced self-builders and homesteaders globally. As the original editor of the Shelter section of the “Whole Earth Catalog” and founding editor-in-chief of Shelter Publications, Kahn’s work embodies a radical independence and sustainable “de-growth” ethos. His guidebooks have empowered individuals to build self-sufficient homes and lifestyles, fostering alternatives to mainstream architecture. This exhibition highlights Kahn’s counterculture publications, celebrating a conscious, eco-friendly way of life. Initially shown at the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale, the installation was curated by Lukas Feireiss and Leopold Banchini.

KATHY BUSTAMANTE: THINKING WITH MY HANDS
Curated by Elia Haworth

This delightful exhibition invites you into Bolinas artist and educator Kathy Bustamante’s world of small, witty ceramic characters, each expressing a distinct attitude. She works with mid-range temperature clay, stains and glazes, and an electric kiln. During her 38 years teaching ceramics to nearly every student of two generations at Bolinas-Stinson School, she also nurtured boundless imagination and creative confidence in her students.

JENNY SAMPSON: SKATERS
Curated by Louisa Gloger & Marialidia Marcotulli

Photographer Jenny Sampson captures the spirit of West Coast skater culture through the tintype process. Often viewed as rebellious and resilient, Sampson’s intimate portraits of skaters celebrate their determination. Raised in San Francisco, Sampson earned a B.A. in psychobiology at Pitzer College before focusing on photography. She teaches darkroom photography and contributes to WithitGirl, among other roles. Her monographs “Skaters” and “Skater Girls” were published by Daylight Books, and “A History of Photography” by Rolls and Tubes Collective.

Learn more at the link in the bio. ⬆️ Image captions in comments. ⬇️

It's the last weekend to see our current exhibitio

It's the last weekend to see our current exhibitions. Swing by today until 5 p.m., or Saturday through Sunday from 12 to 5 p.m. Admission is always free!

Main Gallery / Wayne Campbell: Residuum

Coastal Marin Artists Gallery / Harriet Kossman: Bead by Bead

Photography Gallery / Altered Earth: Rosie Clements, Terri Loewenthal, Damien Maloney, Gabriel Esteban Molina, Eric Ruby, and Aubrey Trinnaman · Curated by Noelle Hiam

In the History Room: Getting Here From There is on view through December 29.

Bolinas Community Center is hosting a moving and b

Bolinas Community Center is hosting a moving and beautiful Día de Los Muertos altar. At this time, when the veil is thin between physical and spiritual realms, a group of locals led by Mirta fills the space with special oferendas (offerings), honoring ancestors and the dearly departed. Aztecs, the indigenous people who inhabited Mexico in the 14th to 16th centuries, started this tradition, and it is related to the goddess Mictecacihuatl, also known as the “Lady of the Dead.” Photos of the deceased are surrounded by food and objects intended to provide comfort in their journey on the other side. Brightly painted skulls and renditions of skeletons carrying on their activities as in life convey a playful connection to the spirit world. Decorated sugar skulls symbolize the sweetness of life. The distinct aroma of marigolds and copal is believed to attract souls to the altar. The intricately cut paper flags, Papel Picado, are meant to allow the spirits to flow through them. It all comes together in a beautiful and vibrant display—a lovely way to pay tribute to those who have gone before us.

Image: Día de Los Muertos altar at the Bolinas Community Center. Photo by Elia Haworth.

#diadelosmuertos

Altered Earth curated by Noelle Hiam is on view in

Altered Earth curated by Noelle Hiam is on view in the Photography Gallery through November 10. Museum hours are Friday 1 - 5 pm, and Saturday - Sunday, 12 - 5 pm. Admission is always free.

Artists: Rosie Clements, Terri Loewenthal, Damien Maloney, Gabriel Esteban Molina, Eric Ruby, and Aubrey Trinnaman

This group exhibition features work by contemporary photographers in dialogue with a dynamic natural world. It highlights the surreal in our realities, makes us question our position in time and place, and captures the world-bridging power and beauty of spaceship Earth. With altered landscapes, ethereal light, and overlays of digital and analog techniques and manipulations, the artists present a vision that is at once familiar and foreign. A new visual language emerges to ask us how we want to proceed. With it, we can imagine a nature-based utopian present that is ancient and futuristic, rooted and reaching, and simultaneously celebratory and yearning.

These artists work with various photographic mediums and techniques, including incorporating natural materials to manipulate two-dimensional works, photo sculpture, scanography, and collage. Together, these selected pieces awaken and expand our photographic imaginations.

Images:
AUBREY TRINNAMAN, Snow Woman, 2022, Color photograph, alt, mixed media, 20 x 24 inches, courtesy of the artist.
ERIC RUBY, Agate Beach, 2022, Archival Pigment Print, fabric, 20x24 inches, courtesy of the artist.
ROSIE CLEMENTS, Eucalyptus at Sunrise, 2020, Archival pigment print, 24 x 36 inches (framed), courtesy of the artist.

#ContemporaryPhotography #SurrealLandscapes #SpaceshipEarth #VisualLanguage #PhotoSculpture #EtherealLight #AlteredRealities #AnalogArt #PhotoCollage #Scanography

We are excited to announce that Executive Director

We are excited to announce that Executive Director Louisa Gloger is taking the helm at the Headlands Center for the Arts. During her nearly three years here, she brought so much to Bolinas Museum, including building capacity by increasing staff, engaging new donors, securing a grant to support educational outreach, enhancing our permanent collection with high-quality, contemporary acquisitions, and partnering with organizations such as MoAD San Francisco, YBCA, and Stanford. Gloger's keen eye and deep connections to the Bay Area arts community resulted in fresh and relevant exhibitions; curatorial highlights include "Helina Metaferia: All Put Together" and "Arleene Correa Valencia: Llévanos Contigo / Take Us With You." While she will be missed, we are excited to see what she will accomplish in her next endeavor and know that she will remain connected to the museum and the Bolinas community.

Gloger spent her formative years in Bolinas. Inspired early on by the flourishing arts program at the Bolinas-Stinson School, she graduated from Williams College with a B.A. in Art History. She worked at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and Berggruen Gallery in San Francisco, and she founded a cancer awareness non-profit and a fine art consulting business, among other pursuits. Gloger is passionate about art and education and serves on the board of the Smithsonian's Archives of American Art.

Leah Vermulen, Board of Directors President, will temporarily assume a paid operational role as Director of Operations. During this time, Board Vice President Marialidia Marcotulli will step in as Interim President of the Board to ensure continued governance and leadership. We are grateful for their dedication and commitment to supporting our organization during this transition. The board remains fully aligned with our mission.

Please visit the link in the bio to learn more about the open Executive Director position. ⬆️

Artist Spotlight: Harriet Kossman Bolinas artist

Artist Spotlight: Harriet Kossman

Bolinas artist, educator, and community activist, Harriet Kossman has dedicated her life to nurturing arts education locally and with nationwide leadership. Her creativity is expressed in many mediums, such as painting, printmaking, collage, and assemblage. The Bolinas Museum’s current exhibition, "Harriet Kossman: Bead by Bead," is an astonishing collection of her meticulously bead-encrusted cups and saucers. She delights in transforming ordinary vintage cups and saucers into extraordinary artwork using tweezers, white glue, beads, and inspired patience.

Kossman earned her MFA at the University of Miami, then moved to Bolinas, where, in 1972, she co-founded the still Bolinas-Stinson School’s award-winning Art Shops Program and taught nearly every student of two generations. She has also involved hundreds of community members in projects such as the iconic mural on the side of Bolinas Market.

Kossman’s passion for education led to her national prominence as a multi-award-winning art educator. She led the organization statewide and nationally and was selected as the lead art teacher for the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. Yet, through all this, she has always found time to continue her artistic practice.

When did art come into your life?
Art has always been in my life, as far back as I can remember. My parents were “makers.” I grew up in a home where there were always projects going on.

What role does community play in your art practice?
I have lived in Bolinas for decades; this richly creative community understands the value the arts play in nourishing our lives.

What artwork inspires you?
Pablo Picasso's, how he gathered new ideas and incorporated them into his art, fearless and unafraid to break boundaries set by the art world.

What is a lesson you’ve learned?
Here’s a poem that I carry with me:
"Do all the good you can
By all the means you can
In all the ways you can
In all the places you can
To all the people you can
As long as ever you can"
-John Wesley, 1700’s

The life lesson is simple: be kind and be creative.

Image captions in comments. ⬇️ Full text in bio link. ⬆️

Saturday, October 12, 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM Helina Me

Saturday, October 12, 11:30 AM - 1:30 PM
Helina Metaferia: The Willing
Museum of the African Diaspora
685 Mission St (at 3rd)
San Francisco, CA 94105
Free Admission · Register at link ⬆️

Interdisciplinary artist Helina Metaferia will perform a new iteration of “The Willing.” This live performance activates several of her sculptures in her solo exhibition, “What We Carry To Set Ourselves Free,” on view at MoAD through March 2. Metaferia will engage in song, movement, and text during the performance while leading a procession throughout the museum and nearby landmarks, including Yerba Buena Gardens and the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. This is a culmination of Metaferia’s one-year research in Bay Area protest archives, with community engagement across several institutions. She will be joined by Bay Area collaborators, including musical guests and former participants of her “By Way of Revolution” workshop, a performance-as-protest gathering for BIPOC femmes, which occurred earlier this year. The performance will be followed by a conversation about the performance and correlating exhibition between Metaferia and Louisa Gloger, executive director of Bolinas Museum.

Metaferia’s process, rooted in the archives and history of activism in the US, is simultaneously focused on contemporary BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) women directly involved with the artist through performance-as-protest workshops. Her work reminds us that progress, or the labor of pushing for progress, is never linear. It is power, and it is vulnerability. It is failure, and it is success. Metaferia received her MFA from SMFA at Tufts and attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. Recent solo exhibitions include the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; Praise Shadows Gallery, Boston, MA; and Bolinas Museum. She is an Assistant Professor at Brown University.

In conjunction with this event, Metaferia’s “Headdress 71,” recently acquired by Bolinas Museum in honor of Louisa Gloger, is on view in our Permanent Collection Gallery. Stanford University is exhibiting “Headdress 73,” featuring Bolinas Museum staff member Kayla Hansen.

Captions ⬇️

On View: September 21 - November 10 Wayne Campbell

On View: September 21 - November 10
Wayne Campbell: Residuum
Curated by Elia Haworth

Wayne Campbell’s art installations are memorable for their conceptual eloquence and sophisticated use of materials. This exhibition features diverse works constructed in steel and glass, which explore and interpret stories, memories, and ideas that have percolated in Campbell’s mind for years. This exhibition explores his residuum—that which remains or where bedrock weathers and enriches the soil. One of the installations on view is suspended from the ceiling and seen through a mirror placed beneath it; another is a revisitation of his creation "Swept Up"—comprised of floating steel bamboo and laser-cut steel panels that share his father’s harrowing experience as a prisoner of war.

Campbell is an artist of many talents: architectural draftsman, fine furniture maker, sculptor, installation expert, and curator. He is also a mountain climber and instructor, mountain rescue leader, a pioneer in climbing wall design, and a business owner. Campbell is also well known for his work as a fabricator and master rigger for Zaccho Dance Theater, where his design expertise allows dancers to perform off the side of buildings or suspended from the ceiling of venues such as Grace Cathedral. His sculptures, paintings, and conceptual art pieces have been shown in New York, San Francisco, Oakland, and Washington, D.C.

Be sure to join us on Saturday, October 19, at 3 pm for an exhibition walkthrough with Wayne Campbell. Learn more about exhibitions and events at the link in bio. ⬆️

Image: WAYNE CAMPBELL, "Balancing House," Steel, gold paint, handmade hemp rope, cypress wood, dovetail box, mirrored tiles, 2024, courtesy of the artist.

#Installation #Sculpture #ZacchoDanceTheatre #AerialPerformance #RockClimbing #ClimbingWall

Join us for this free and fascinating event on Sat

Join us for this free and fascinating event on Saturday, September 28, at 3 pm. Kevin Opstedal, author of the new "Dreaming as One: Poetry, Poets, and Community in Bolinas, CA, from 1967-1980" (fmsbw, June 2024), will be in conversation with editor, critic, and ethicist Steve Heilig. Bolinas has a long and vibrant history as a haven for poets and writers seeking an alternative lifestyle and creative environment away from urban centers. In "Dreaming as One," Opstedal tells the story of the unique poetic community that lived and worked in Bolinas from 1967 to 1980. Opstedal’s narrative, enriched with photos of and interviews with many of those featured, captures the spirit of rebellion, experimentation, and communal living that characterized their ethos, activism, and artistic commitment. The book features Joanne Kyger, Lew Welch, Philip Whalen, Robert Creeley, Tom Clark, Bill Berkson, and Robert Duncan, among many others.

#AuthorTalk
#KevinOpstedal
#DreamingAsOne
#BolinasPoets
#PoetryCommunity
#Bolinas1967to1980
#PoetryAndRebellion
#SteveHeiligConversation
#AlternativeLiving
#CreativeRevolution
#BolinasWriters
#LiteraryHistory
#PoeticActivism
#CounterculturePoetry
#JoanneKyger
#LewWelch
#PhilipWhalen
#RobertCreeley
#TomClark
#BillBerkson
#RobertDuncan

Please join us for an opening reception this Satur

Please join us for an opening reception this Saturday at 3 pm to celebrate three new dynamic exhibitions.

MAIN GALLERY
Wayne Campbell: Residuum

Curated by Elia Haworth
Wayne Campbell’s art installations are memorable for their conceptual eloquence and sophisticated use of materials. This exhibition features diverse works constructed in steel and glass. It explores his residuum—that which remains or where bedrock weathers and enriches the soil. One of the installations on view is suspended from the ceiling and seen through a mirror placed beneath it; another is a revisitation of his creation Swept Up—comprised of floating steel bamboo and laser-cut steel panels that share his father’s harrowing experience as a prisoner of war.

COASTAL MARIN ARTISTS GALLERY
Harriet Kossman: Bead By Bead

Curated by Louisa Gloger and Elia Haworth
This exhibition of cups and saucers meticulously hand-encrusted with beads will astonish and delight. Bolinas-based artist Harriet Kossman is fascinated by the challenge of taking something ordinary and completely transforming its meaning by adding elaborate decoration. As an artist and educator, Kossman has been a major force for creativity both in Bolinas and nationally. In the 1970s, she co-founded the Bolinas-Stinson School’s extraordinary Art Shop Program, which continues to garner prestigious awards.

PHOTOGRAPHY GALLERY
Altered Earth: Rosie Clements, Terri Loewenthal, Damien Maloney, Gabriel Esteban Molina, Eric Ruby, and Aubrey Trinnaman

Curated by Noelle Hiam
This group exhibition features work by contemporary photographers in dialogue with a dynamic natural world. It highlights the surreal in the realities that make us question our position in time and place and captures the world-bridging power and beauty of spaceship Earth. With altered landscapes, ethereal light, and overlays of digital and analog techniques and manipulations, the artists present a vision that is at once familiar and foreign.

Captions in comments ⬇️.

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