Between joyful Pride celebrations, gallery reopenings, film festivals and so much more, San Francisco — and the entire Bay Area — feels full of life again. Check out the array of arts and culture offerings this week and plan accordingly for the last few days of spring as things will surely heat up once summer starts later this month.
Learn about the undeniable influence of Asian culture in America
Artist and curator Astria Suparak presents “Asian Futures, Without Asians,” an online discussion from the CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts that focuses on how Asian culture has often been exploited, decontextualized and misrepresented. Suparak offers insight into why certain cultural touchstones have largely been excluded from the Western narrative. The lecture will feature visual examples from American pop culture references, including movies and TV shows from the last several decades.
Thursday, June 10, 5 p.m.
Info: wattis.org/view?id=1200
See one-of-a-kind works from local student filmmakers
Beginning June 10, Stanford Live and the MFA in Documentary Film Program present Stanford Under the Stars: Movie Nights at Frost. The weekly series will feature a selection of movies that feature either former Stanford students in leading roles or filming locations at the campus and other Northern California locations. This week’s free event at Frost Amphitheater will include a handful of short films from first year students in Stanford’s MFA in Documentary Film Program, including Maxwell Mueller’s Strange Bedfellows, in which two older puppeteers prompt the filmmaker to analyze his romantic relationships.
Thursday, June 10, 8 p.m.
Info: live.stanford.edu
Bid on hot-ticket items for a good cause
Don’t miss the last two days of the San Francisco Historical Society’s Phoenix Rising SIlent Auction. Dedicated to celebrating the City’s post-pandemic reawakening, the auction features big-ticket items, including 10 five-star travel adventures for two, a luxury vacation at a private home in Palm Desert, and a signed Tom Brady football jersey. The online event kicked off on June 5 and closes June 11 at 5 p.m., so be sure to register ASAP.
Now through Friday, June 11 at 5 p.m.
Info: sfhistory.org/event/sfhs-virtual-auction/
Celebrate Pride with two iconic film screenings at Oracle Park
Pride Month is in full swing, and for the first time ever, attendees can enjoy two SF Pride Movie Nights at Oracle Park. The special events commemorating San Francisco’s 51st annual Pride celebration will feature live and virtual entertainment, popcorn, special appearances, and of course, great movies. On Friday, June 11, guests can enjoy In the Heights, and on Saturday, June 12, attendees can take in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. both nights, and all ticket proceeds benefit San Francisco Pride.
Friday, June 11, and Saturday, June 12, at 6:30 p.m.
Info: sfpride.org/movienight
Witness the power of resilience through dance
The renowned Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater ensemble presents a video program rooted in the power and resilience of live performance. In this Cal Performances at Home presentation, the troupe will showcase the world premiere of resident choreographer Jamar Roberts’ Holding Space, a piece that deals with the complexities of our current time. The program also includes a new film commemorating the 50th anniversary of Alvin Ailey’s Cry and his signature work, Revelations.
Thursday, June 10, 7 p.m.
Info: calperformances.org/events/2020-21/dance/alvin-ailey-american-dance-theater/
Attend a history-making film festival celebrating the LGBTQ+ community
Frameline, the longest-running and largest showcase of queer film, is celebrating Pride in a major way with Frameline45: The San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, running June 10–27. Expected to be the most attended and longest festival in Frameline history, this year’s event will feature a mix of in-person and online offerings. Attendees will have access to 134 total titles from 30 countries around the world, and in addition to 50 virtual film screenings, there will be a series of special live viewings at the Castro and Roxie Theaters.
Thursday, June 10, through Sunday, June 27.
Info: frameline.org/festival
Take a performance-driven tour of San Francisco’s queer history
Continue the Pride celebration with the opening of OUT of Site: Haight-Ashbury, a “performance-driven queer history tour” of San Francisco, starring award-winning stage, television and film actor Tina D’Elia. Audiences will be taken on a journey through D’Elia’s performance of two key figures in the City’s counterculture movement of the 60s and 70s — lesbian business owner Peggy Caserta and flower-child icon George Harris III, aka Hibiscus.
Saturday, June 12 through Sunday, July 25. Saturdays and Sundays at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.; and Friday, June 18 at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.; no shows on June 19 or July 3 – 4.
Info: eyezen.org/oos-haight
Get to know the history of your favorite fashion piece
It’s one of the most iconic wardrobe staples, but how much do any of us really know about the history of blue jeans? In this virtual talk from the Contemporary Jewish Museum, fashion historian Ya’ara Keydar will detail the true story of denim’s rise to fame. Blue Gold: Jeans, Indigo, and Haute Couture is a Zoom lecture focused on the enduring legacy of the iconic fashion items and their role in our culture.
Sunday, June 13, 10 a.m.
Info: thecjm.org/programs/891
Appreciate the beauty that emerged from a year in isolation
San Francisco’s Eleanor Harwood Gallery presents The Space We Take, the gallery’s seventh solo show with artist Paul Wackers. The pieces in the exhibition were created during the pandemic and represent domestic life during lockdown in New York City. Wackers received his MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and has collaborated with the gallery for the last 15 years. The works here, created in isolation, are meant to reflect his personal reckoning with the isolation of the pandemic and the emotional human relationship to domestic space.
Through July 10.
Info: eleanorharwood.com/exhibitions/26-paul-wackers-the-space-we-take/works/
Hear how these queer mystery writers approach the art of their genre
The NorCal Chapter of Mystery Writers of America presents a panel discussion featuring five acclaimed queer mystery writers, discussing their special genre and the special meaning it holds for each of them. Michael Neva moderates the talk between Cheryl A. Head, Greg Herren, Dharma Kelleher and P. J. Vernon. Among other topics, the writers will touch on how they create their fictional protagonists, their literary inspirations, and how their LGBTQ+ identities inform their work.
Tuesday, June 15, 7 p.m.
Info: bit.ly/MysteryPanel06-15-21
