For The New Eagle Creek Saloon, artist Sadie Barnette reimagined her father’s bar, the first black-owned gay bar in San Francisco. From 1990 to 1993 Rodney Barnette operated the Eagle Creek Saloon, a family-run business that served a multiracial gay community marginalized by the racist profiling practices of San Francisco’s bar scene at that time. Barnette’s project was twofold: to re-present and archive the Eagle Creek Saloon via her own vernacular aesthetic, and to host a queer social space where former clientele of the Saloon, guest bartenders, and DJs can participate in ongoing acts of resistance, celebration, activism, and community building. Commissioned by The Lab, Barnette’s installation was activated with a series of free events and culminated as a float in the SF PRIDE Parade on June 30, 2019. Barnette will speak with Dena Beard, director of The Lab, on the process of bringing this project to life.

For more information, visit artsdesign.berkeley.edu.