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We Interrupt This [Broadcast]
A screening of Bay Area experimental television, free opera music, a dance-filled Chinatown pride procession, and Charlie Chaplin
Middle-school Devon yearned for cable and the Disney Channel inside jokes that came with it. In the days before Instagram doled out entire White Lotus seasons, missing Lizzie Maguire just meant missing Lizzie Maguire. My parents said our cable-less life had something to do with focusing on our studies, but the math didn’t add up: we had seven video game consoles. I guess brain rot finds a way.
Go off the broadcasting grid with 1960’s experimental TV, learn about Oakland’s first urban Native child development center, and enjoy a double opening at the ICA SF.
Secession from the Broadcast: SF Experimental Television
Category: Film
Date: Sunday, May 18th @ 6:30pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Gray Area (SF)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Counter culture was the blood of 1960’s San Francisco, so it’s no surprise The Brady Bunch left Bay Area creatives wanting. The Dilexi Series and National Center for Experiments in Television were born out of a need to break with traditional media and give artists the spotlight on SF’s public television station KQED. Gray Area is showcasing three works from these initiatives thanks to the archives of media theorist Gene Youngblood. While of no (known) relation, Youngblood spent his career advocating for the arts and decentralization of media, allowing the nonprofit to pull together this screening of avant-garde television. We’ll count that as a general Youngblood legacy win.
Artist Talk, Performance, & Workshop | Coloring Couture
Category: Fashion & Art
Date: Thursday, May 15th @ 5pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Asian Art Museum (SF)
Price Range: $20 (includes museum entry)
Why I Care: Oakland-born Colleen Quen is a fashion couturier whose work encompasses watercolor, paper folding, and even math. Quen’s art form has taken her to both the local and televised stage: in addition to costume designing for SF’s Alonzo King Lines Ballet, Quen was once a guest designer on America’s Next Top Model. The artist is spending the evening at the Asian Art Museum discussing her thirty year creative career, transforming paper-cut patterns into wearable designs, and teaching visitors how to create their own art. Who knows, if you play your cards right, maybe she’ll put in a good word with Heidi and Tim.
Film Screening & Panel | The School - The Legacy of Hintil Ku'u Ca
Category: Film
Date: Sunday, May 18th @ 1pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Oakland Museum of California (East Bay)
Price Range: $5+
Why I Care: Child development center Hintil Ku'u Ca was born out of indigenous activism. The 1969-1971 occupation of Alcatraz Island unified Native Americans from various tribes and inspired a sense of ownership in educating their communities. Once tribal members returned to Oakland, the island’s “Big Rock School” transformed into the still active Hintil Ku'u Ca school. The documentary being screened at OMCA, The School, explores the school’s legacy and is “a testament to resilience, culture, and history.” The proceeding panel discussion will include students, teachers, and community organizers that have been a part of Hintil Ku'u Ca’s history.
Opening Reception | stay, take your time, my love
Category: Art
Date: Thursday, May 15th @ 7pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: ICA SF (SF)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Downtime before a hot pot dinner gave me the opportunity to hear artist David Antonio Cruz speak back in December. ICA SF assistant curator extraordinaire Megan Smith brought me along for an impromptu meet and greet with Cruz, where he discussed his upcoming ICA SF exhibition on chosen family and gratitude for the Bay Area queer community. Cruz’s exhibition, stay, take your time, my love, will open alongside Masako Miki’s Midnight March, both of which will bring color, life, and joy to downtown San Francisco.
Concert | SoundCheck
Category: Music
Date: Saturday, May 17th @ 1:30pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Saint Joseph’s Arts Society (SF)
Price Range: Free (RSVP Required)
Why I Care: The San Francisco Opera Orchestra is making moves to Saint Joseph’s Arts Society for a community pop-up performance. The change in location isn’t the only shake-up: attendees will be encouraged to move throughout the space and hear the performance in spaces throughout Saint Joseph’s. And as someone that may or may not have fallen prey to a cat nap around hour 3 of an opera (which reflects poorly on me, not the opera!), I’m not mad about some movement.
Can’t make it into SF? Check out the Prometheus Symphony Orchestra’s free performance on the 18th.
Charlie Chaplin Days | Weekend Celebration
Category: Film
Date: Friday, May 16th @ 7pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum (East Bay)
Why I Care: After 8 hours on Zoom, who really needs sound in their movie? The Niles Film Museum is handing the stage over to cinema’s favorite little tramp: Charlie Chaplin. The weekend of screenings and field trips coincides with three anniversaries, including the 110th anniversary of Chaplin’s films co-produced right here in East Bay with the Niles Essanay studio.
Need a proper screen break? Hop on a historic train ride through Niles Canyon in between films.
Chinatown Pride 2025: We are Immortal! 華埠驕傲2025: 我們不朽!
Category: Dance & Fashion
Date: Saturday, May 24th @ 6pm (Add to Google Calendar)
Location: Edge on the Square (SF)
Price Range: Free
Why I Care: Slay your way through Chinatown as part of the 2nd Annual Chinatown Pride Festival, honoring the resistance and unwavering presence of queer and trans identity in the historic neighborhood. The Gay Asian Pacific Alliance (GAPA) and AAPI Drag Troupe Rice Rockettes will kick off at Edge on the Square with a community caravan that includes education on queer landmarks, dance lessons, and a runway show at Portsmouth Square Pedestrian Bridge. And be on the lookout for some fun merch.
Next Drop: Monday, May 26th
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