Berkeley Art Center (BAC) is a nonprofit arts organization, community art space, and gallery founded in 1967 and located at 1275 Walnut Street in Live Oak Park,

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

History

The Berkeley Art Center building was built by the Berkeley Rotary Club, and the Arts and Crafts-style building was designed by architect Robert W. Ratcliff. It was formally named the Berkeley Rotary Art Club. The rotary club donated the space to the city, and it was run by the Berkeley Parks and Recreation Department until 1979 when the Berkeley Art Center Association nonprofit was founded. Many of the exhibits at BAC have referenced issues such as California history, social movements, beauty, identity, equity, and community. The first art exhibition opened on May 7, 1967, with the show ''6 Figure Painters'', curated by Carl Worth and featured

Robert Bechtle Robert Alan Bechtle (May 14, 1932 – September 24, 2020) was an American painter, printmaker, and educator. He lived nearly all his life in the San Francisco Bay Area and whose art was centered on scenes from everyday local life. His paintings ar ...

, Gerald Gooch, Erle Loran, Richard McClean, Boyd Allen, and Jerrold Ballaine. Artists that have shown at BAC include

Chiura Obata was a well-known Japanese-American artist and popular art teacher. A self-described "roughneck", Obata went to the United States in 1903, at age 17. After initially working as an illustrator and commercial decorator, he had a successful career a ...

(1967),

David Huffman David Oliver Huffman (May 10, 1945 – February 27, 1985) was an American actor and producer. Personal life Huffman was born on May 10, 1945, in Berwyn, Illinois, to Clarence and Opal Huffman (née Dippel). Huffman married casting director P ...

(2021), Rodney Ewing (2016), Jamil Hellu (2016), Jan Wurm (2018),

Bill Fontana Bill Fontana (born April 25, 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio) is known internationally for his pioneering experiments in sound art. Life and career Fontana attended the New School for Social Research in New York and studied both music and philosophy. ...

(1985), Mildred Howard (1987),

Taraneh Hemami Taraneh Hemami ( Persian: ) (born 1960, in Tehran, Iran) is an Iranian-born American visual artist, curator, and arts educator based in San Francisco. Her works explore the complex cultural politics of exile through personal and collective, multid ...

(2004), Carlos Villa (1987),

Sylvia Lark Sylvia Lark (1947–1990) was a Native American/ Seneca artist, curator, and educator. She best known as an Abstract expressionist painter and printmaker. Lark lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for many years. Early life and education Lark w ...

(1987),

Joseph Goldyne Joseph R. Goldyne (born 1942), is an American artist, curator, and author. He is known for his monotype prints and drawing and he was one of the co-founders of 3EP Ltd. Press. Biography Joseph Goldyne was born on 20 April 1942 in Chicago, Ill ...

(1987), Kay Sekimachi (2008), Patricio Moreno Toro (1995), among others. Since September 2018, Daniel Nevers is the executive director, he replaced Ann Trinca.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berkeley Art Center Art in the San Francisco Bay Area Art galleries established in 1967 Arts organizations established in 1967 1967 establishments in California Arts organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area Non-profit organizations based in the San Francisco Bay Area Organizations based in Berkeley, California Culture of Berkeley, California

History

See also

References