News/Research

Berkeley and the new SFMOMA — partners in art and public engagement

26 May, 2016

Berkeley and the new SFMOMA — partners in art and public engagement

Kate Mattingly, a BCNM Designated Emphasis student, wrote about the relationship between the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and UC Berkeley as SFMOMA reopened its doors. In her article, Kate details some of the people from UCB who have played "pivotal roles in SFMOMA's projects and plans," including BCNM faculty members Shannon Jackson and Nicholas De Monchaux.

From the article:

When the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) opens its doors to the public next week, it will be the largest modern and contemporary art museum in the United States and the largest museum in Northern California. As impressive as these statistics are, they don’t include the numerous ways that the museum is much more than a physical building. Or the ways that UC Berkeley’s faculty, students, and alumni play pivotal roles in SFMOMA’s projects and plans.

The bonds between these two institutions are deep and ongoing, from SFMOMA Director Neal Benezra, who is a Berkeley alum, to Professor Emerita Squeak Carnwath, whose work is in the museum’s permanent collection. Collaborations between Berkeley and SFMOMA take the form of exhibitions, catalogues, conferences, publications and internships.

While Berkeley’s campus is a physical resource, the school’s contributions to this cultural landscape extend far beyond its perimeter. As Jackson says, “Berkeley’s impact, relationships and influence on a wider ecology of arts organizations is so much larger than the footprint of our campus.”

Read the article and more from Berkeley News here.