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Halfway through college, antiquities changed my life. A generous donation sent us art history students to Turkey to study ancient sites in situ. The majority had little experience with antiquities, having studied more recent centuries, and that’s what made the trip all the more special. The seminar left me with memories of Pergamon without Pergamon, a fixation on the role of antiquities in modern identity, and a deep curiosity of the Middle East. I guess I hadn’t finish scratching the itch, because two years later I’d pack my bags and move to Egypt.
So get curious about the ancient, dive into a film festival or two, and be ready for a Fantastico(!) few weekends.
Exhibit Opening: De La Tierra (Of The Earth)
Category: Art (Party)
Date: Friday, May 31st @ 4pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Stanford University Archaeology Center (SUAC)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Step aside, Indiana Jones. Stanford’s archeologists are celebrating ceramicists both ancient and contemporary with De La Tierra: Indigenous Ceramics from West Mexico Transcending Time and Space. Identity, gender, and Indigenous inspiration will all feature in this student-curated showcase, along with Mexican food and music to satisfy a few additional senses.
The exhibit will also address ethical approaches to collecting, a subject in which Professor Jones gets a failing grade.
SF Documentary Festival: Naked Ambition + Steph & the Customers
Category: Film
Date: Friday, May 31st @ 6:30pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Roxie Theater
Price Range: $15
Why I Care: I’m in my one piece era, but that won’t stop me from celebrating the woman who brought bikinis to fame. Bunny Yeager is the subject of Naked Ambition, a film that documents her groundbreaking work as bikini influencer and female photographer of pin-ups. While Hugh Hefner was experimenting with monetizing the female body, Yeager was creating spaces of empowerment and safety for women to feel comfortable in their skin. A second short documentary will explore the role of community in a time of grief, giving you a taste of the variety of screenings on offer.
The festival even includes a documentary on pickleball, which I feel obliged to mention but not condone.
Plastic: Album Release Party
Category: Music
Date: Friday, May 31st @ 6pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Green Apple Books on the Park
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Watching an artist watch their art come to life is a special moment to witness. No different from a gallery opening, release parties are an inflection point where a work is catapulted into the public domain and forced to make its own way in the world. This artist can only hope lovely readers like you will be on the other side to welcome it.
À la public library music festival, this party will be held at a beloved book store, ensuring the vibes won’t spook leather bound books and 10pm bed times.
Gravel & Gold Sweet 16 Party
Category: Fashion & Culinary (Party)
Date: Friday, May 24th @ 6pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Gravel & Gold
Price Range: Free to attend
Why I Care: Um a local artist hub AND pastries? Gravel & Gold is cruising into adulthood as they celebrate 16 years in business, and Good Luck Bakery is along for the ride. Run by pastry chefs from the dearly missed Sister restaurant, Good Luck Bakery will be selling drinks, pastries, and all kinds of carb-y goodness.
Little can stop me from mourning Sister’s guanciale and radicchio pizza, but Good Luck Bakery’s spring pea galette helped heal the wound.
Drag Story Hour
Category: Family Friendly
Date: Saturday, June 1st @ 11am (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: de Young Museum
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Take a break from Bluey and enjoy local storytellers at the de Young. Drag Story Hour is a national organization focused on creative, open spaces through storytelling. Drag Queen Per Sia is back at the de Young by popular demand and takes the mission of exploration and identity to heart through their own work in immigrant stories and self-expression.
Celebrating queer culture without the kiddos? Consider Queer in Oakland’s rooftop dance party this Sunday.
Hitchcock Fest: Vertigo
Category: Film
Date: Monday, May 27th @ 6:30pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Balboa Theater
Price Range: $15
Why I Care: While both my parents appreciate film, my mom is all about psychologically-stimulating old Hollywood. From The Twilight Zone to Gaslight to her all-time favorite All About Eve, her viewing recommendations hold cultural relevance today and make the case for this present day Hitchock festival. Plus, what better place to watch a story about a retired San Francisco detective than San Francisco.
Also realizing as I write that Hitchcock may be why I’m suspicious of birds.
Fantastico! Opening Reception
Category: Art (Party)
Date: Saturday, June 1st @ 10:30am (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Casemore Gallery
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Details on this exhibition are sparse, but this much I know: there will be pancakes. Artist Lindsey White has fashioned an homage to Fantastico, an iconic SF party supply store that closed after 67 years in business. As a 2017 SECA Award recipient who "sees comedians and magicians as kindred spirits”, White is sure to deliver on levity and, I cannot emphasize this enough, pancakes.
Unclear if magic tricks (illusions?) are on the agenda.
Next Drop: Monday, June 3rd