Final Days and Finishing Touches

One full year after the closing of the museum's building on Bancroft, the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive is reopening this week in its brand new home in downtown Berkeley. Surrounded by the restaurants that Berkeley is known for, in view of UC Berkeley campus, and just a few blocks away from the Downtown Berkeley BART station, the Berkeley Art Museum and the Pacific Film Archive is poised to take its place as not only one of the best and most unique parts of UC Berkeley, but also as a serious Bay Area museum, contending with similar institutions in Oakland and San Francisco with its impressive collection and gorgeous, state-of-the-art facility.

The museum's new home is resplendent, with a curving steel shell around the PFA's new theater and a crisp white coat of paint on the museum itself. The museum is announced by two steel signs, one of which lies lengthwise across the building on Center Street and reads 'Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive,' and the other of which reads 'BAMPFA' in bold lettering, announcing the building on Oxford Street; the building hardly needs an introduction, however, standing out among downtown Berkeley's eclectic building styles with its modern, innovative, and elegant design.

The building itself, designed by design studio Diller Scofidio + Renfro, is a work of art, but that's just the beginning; within the museum itself is housed a wealth of art objects, ranging from an impressive collection of modern and contemporary pieces to a huge variety of East Asian art objects made centuries ago. The museum's collection is as diverse as UC Berkeley, the university which it caters to and represents, and there is something in the new building for everyone to enjoy, whether they have a pre-existing knowledge of art or not. Some of the museum's permanent collection will be on view at the museum's opening; however, the opening exhibition, curated by BAMPFA Director (and previous MATRIX Curator) Larry Rinder and named The Architecture of Life, also draws from and displays works from museums and private collections around the country. The exhibition, impressive in its scope, explores how architecture and the concept of building connect to all aspects of our lives, drawing on all varieties of art, from navigational charts from the Marshall Islands to modern paintings to explore this theme. Even the building itself ties into this theme with its sustainable design practices and features.

So when do you get to check it out? This Friday, January 29th from 8-11 PM, the BAMPFA Student Committee is hosting an exclusive student preview of the new building. With In Space: BAMPFA Student Opening Party, the Student Committee invites UC Berkeley students into their new campus museum before it opens to the public, and it's going to be a PARTY—in addition to exploring the beautiful new space and the Architecture of Life exhibition, students can enjoy refreshments, tunes spun by a student DJ, a photo booth, and a game room, and are invited to participate in both a collaborative art activity and installation and a photo-based scavenger hunt for a chance to win gift cards to local businesses. We can't wait to celebrate with the UC Berkeley campus – meet me at the museum!

-- Emily Szasz, Co-Chair, BAMPFA SC