Faculty and Staff Art Show Turns 25

Thursday, October 10, 2013

On a foggy Monday last week, the City Lights Room was transformed once again into a magical space for art at the UCSF 25th Anniversary Faculty and Staff Art show and sale. The misty void outside the window provided the perfect backdrop for the paintings, photographs and mobiles, and Brazilian jazz.

This annual gala is the signature event of the Visual Arts Club at UCSF, according to president Sharon Freeman, who helped organize the evening. “It’s really amazing to see the talent of our co-workers; it’s amazing to see what they’re doing in their non-work hours. There are so many talented people here.”

The art show featured works by 65 UCSF faculty, staff, residents and fellows. Some pieces were not for sale, and of those that were, the prices ranged from $30 to $4,000. This year was the 25th annual event, so a certain pride and excitement marked the gathering. A collection of flyers from many of the past events was also on display.

“Our mission is aligned with the campus’ mission to create a culture of inclusion and pride.  It’s especially important to create a community around visual art and give people an opportunity to express their non-work identity,” Freeman said. 

The event was sponsored by Campus Life Services Arts and Events, headed by the affable Pilar Deer, the program coordinator, who gave a short speech welcoming everyone and also had some photography of her own on display.

The food and wine certainly raised the party to a more elegant level, and the soundscape was greatly enhanced by the tantalizing acoustic melodies of Grupo Falso Baiano, a Brazilian jazz quartet that plays every year for the show. 

Historically, this was the Visual Arts Club’s only happening each year, but in the last few years, it has been organizing other events to fill out the calendar, including a subsidized trip to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

“Twenty-five people came out on a Saturday,” said Freeman.  “We had a docent tour, it was a lot of fun.” The next event will be the Pop-up Art Sale in early December, location and time to be announced, which will feature usable art like jewelry and other smaller objects.

To find out more, check out the club’s Facebook page (facebook.com/pages/Visual-Arts-Club-at-UCSF).

“I would love to see more art events on campus,” said Baharak Amanzadeh, a professor at the School of Dentistry, who had a painting on display, a mysterious pastel/acrylic piece depicting birds in a green forest. “My ideal is to have the walls of the school become a space for art exhibition featuring the art of rotating artists.  It would improve the patient experience as well.”