On View

all
exhibitions
film series
event series

  • Gallery Talks, Lectures & Discussions

    Ongoing

    Artists, curators, scholars, and others share their insights on BAMPFA exhibitions, the arts, and other cultural topics.

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  • Guided Tours

    Ongoing

    Get a deeper look at the artworks on view by joining an expert-led tour.

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  • Full

    Ongoing

    Explore the BAMPFA galleries and discover exciting performances in our dramatic space on the night of each full moon.

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  • Black Life

    Ongoing

    Experience the vitality and range of cultural production in the African diaspora through this exciting, multidisciplinary event series.

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  • Workshops

    Ongoing

    From hands-on art making to storytelling and performance, our workshops will inspire your creativity, engage your senses, and expand your ideas.

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  • Readings

    Ongoing

    Meet the authors of new books and hear poets and other literary lights read their work.

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  • Art laid out for a Five Tables viewing at BAMPFA

    Five Tables

    Ongoing

    Drop by our art study centers on Free First Thursdays for an up-close look at treasures from the BAMPFA collection.

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  • Family Events

    Ongoing

    Hands-on activities, participatory readings, performances, movie matinees, and more events designed for kids and their families.

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  • Movie Matinees for All Ages

    Ongoing

    Treat the family to an afternoon at the movies.

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  • Limited Engagements & Special Screenings

    Ongoing

    Recent releases, restored classics, and special guests grace the Barbro Osher Theater.

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  • Film to Table Dinners at Babette

    Ongoing

    Delectable dinners following screenings of the films that inspired them

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  • Art Wall: Carlos Amorales

    March 27–October 13, 2019

    This new commission draws on multiple histories of Mexican muralism, graffiti, and political protest, while reinforcing the importance of social engagement in the present moment.

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  • Two Taras 18th century Nepalese sculptures

    Divine Women, Divine Wisdom

    June 26, 2019–January 12, 2020

    Art from South Asia and the Himalayan region that celebrates the beauty, fecundity, wisdom, power, and compassion of women within the context of Hindu and Buddhist traditions.

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  • View Finders: Women Cinematographers

    July 12–November 21, 2019

    Showcasing the artistic visions of female cinematographers around the world, this series asks whether there is such a thing as a “female gaze.”

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  • calligraphy by Tetsugen Doko

    Meditation in Motion: Zen Calligraphy from the Stuart Katz Collection

    July 17–October 20, 2019

    The first exhibition at BAMPFA to present the unique art form of Japanese Zen-inspired calligraphy, Meditation in Motion features important works by Chinese Ōbaku monks who immigrated to Japan, as well as writings by Japanese monks who expanded on their examples.

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  • Dennis Feldman: Photographs

    July 31–October 13, 2019

    Photographs from two series, Hollywood Boulevard, 1969–1972 and American Images, demonstrate the artist’s achievements as an affecting social documentarian and explorer of what he calls “a world contained in a frame.”

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  • Abbas Kiarostami: Life as Art

    August 2–December 21, 2019

    Iran’s most influential director, Kiarostami made films that blended fiction and documentary, minimalism and spontaneity, poetic vision and humanist spirit. We present a near-complete retrospective of his work.

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  • Strange

    August 21, 2019–January 19, 2020

    Featuring works from many cultures and time periods that resonate with the spirit of Surrealism, this exhibition explores the improbable, uncanny, mysterious, and miraculous as sources of artistic inspiration.

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  • The San Quentin Project: Nigel Poor and the Men of San Quentin State...

    August 21–November 17, 2019

    Following the evolution of artist Nigel Poor’s collaboration with men incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison, this exhibition features visual documents, photographs from the prison’s archive, and episodes of the award-winning podcast Ear Hustle.

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  • In Focus: Abbas Kiarostami

    August 28–September 25, 2019

    Lecture/Screening Series

    Complementing our Abbas Kiarostami retrospective, special guest lecturers offer varied perspectives on the great Iranian director’s work.

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  • Arts + Design Thursdays @ BAMPFA: Responsible Design from Bits to...

    August 29–November 21, 2019

    This lecture series examines the role of the designer in articulating new methods connecting the conceptual knowledge for asking why with technical skills for asking how.

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  • War and Peace

    September 1–27, 2019

    Back by popular demand! Sergei Bondarchuk’s Academy Award–winning adaptation of Tolstoy’s revered novel was hailed by Roger Ebert as “the definitive epic of all time”; it demands to be seen on the big screen. 

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  • Alternative Visions

    September 4–November 13, 2019

    Our annual series of avant-garde and artist-made films returns with a stellar roster of in-person guests, as well as programs of strange and wonderful surrealist works from around the world.

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  • Arts + Design Mondays @ BAMPFA: Equity and Democracy

    September 9–December 2, 2019

    Join Berkeley Arts + Design and dozens of UC Berkeley campus organizations every Monday as we explore the connections among creative practice, social movements, and the strategic research of our public university.

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  • Berkeley Film Foundation: Celebrating Ten Years of Local Filmmaking

    September 12–October 27, 2019

    The Berkeley Film Foundation is an essential lifeline for East Bay filmmakers. We celebrate BFF’s tenth anniversary with a diverse selection of films—many with makers in person—including two free screenings on BAMPFA’s  outdoor screen.

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  • Out of the Vault: Native American Reelism

    September 12–November 14, 2019

    Drawn from the BAMPFA collection, three programs of films by and about Native Americans explore geographical belonging and dislocation, political and social action, and questions of representation.

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