About the CenterOur Mission

Berkeley Art Center (BAC) serves the diverse and creative community of Berkeley, through the presentation of visual art exhibitions and related programs relevant to its unique community.

Exhibitions
& Programs

Berkeley Art Center hosts a variety of visual art exhibitions and related programs for its membership and the general public. Recent exhibitions have included: Metaphysical Abstraction: Contemporary Approaches to Spiritual Practice; Process & Place: The Transformative Potential of Artist Residencies; and COLLECT, the center's bi-annual fundraiser and art auction featuring the work of nearly 75 local artists. Exhibitions serving members and a wider group of regional artists include the annual juried exhibition, Juried@BAC, now in its 27th year; East Bay Open Studios Preview Exhibition @ Berkeley Art Center in conjunction with Pro Arts, and the center's annual Members’ Showcase, a non-juried exhibition including work in all media from Berkeley Art Center members. Related programs have included the center's widely praised Artist Lecture Series (this past year including Robert Bechtle, Tom Marioni, Kara Maria and Lulu Stanley), artists’ talks and walk-throughs, panel discussions, Visual Thinking Strategies workshops and other educational opportunities appropriate to the exhibitions on view.

News and Reviews

SquareCylinder.com — July 11, 2010
Local Treasures @ Berkeley Art Center

by David M. Roth

"Pairings of big-name artists, especially those of disparate sensibility, are always fraught propositions. One always wonders how and why such combinations appear and what the connections might be..."

East Bay Express — July 7, 2010
Work Life:
The Berkeley Art Center honors six eminent East Bay artists

by DeWitt Cheng

"Robert Brady, Squeak Carnwath, Jim Melchert, Katherine Sherwood, Livia Stein, and Gale Wagner are respected, established artists and teachers, so aficionados may recognize their works in Local Treasures..."

Contra Costa Times — July 1, 2010
Conversations with artists help "Treasures" shine

by Jennifer Modenessi

"GAZING AT sculptor Gale Wagner's delicate airplanes dangling from the wood beams of the Berkeley Art Center, I was both fascinated and intrigued..."

SFGate — June 3, 2010
East Bay Open Studios: Artists open doors to public

by Danielle Samaniego

"It's essentially a chance to view more than 450 artists' studios..."

Art Ltd. Magazine — May 2010
east bay open studios: doors wide open

by DeWitt Cheng

"While Art Murmur has brought new attention and larger audiences to Oakland, there are many artists, galleries, nonprofit venues and arts organizations—not Murmur-affiliated, for geographical or other reasons..."

East Bay Express — March 17, 2010
Genius Loci:
Former artists-in-residence compare experiences in Berkeley

by DeWitt Cheng

The old idea of a presiding spirit of place, or genius loci, seems pleasantly anachronistic in our brave, new, wired world, just as the idea of regional art styles...

CCC Preschool News — February 6, 2010
Looking at Art

Last month, Back Yarders enjoyed a field trip to the Berkeley Art Center in Live Oak Park, a short walk down the street from CCC...

PROARTS — January, 2010
PRO ARTS East Bay Open Studios Preview Exhibition Collaboration with Berkeley Art Center and Richmond Art Center
(PDF)
East Bay Open Studios connects the public with over 400 artists in 14 cities in the East Bay. Pro Arts produces this annual event that runs Saturday and Sunday, June 5 -6 & 12 - 13, 2010...

 

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Board and Staff

Board of Directors 2010
Peter Silen, President
Eugenie Candau, Vice President
Elliot Halpern, Tresurer
Alan Bern
Sheldon Greene
Susan Roth
David Snippen

Major Contributors

As a private, non-profit organization supported in part by the City of Berkeley, the Berkeley Art Center would like to thank the major contributors that make our exhibitions and programs possible:

Alameda County Arts Commission,    ARTSFUND Grants Program
Paule Anglim
Anonymous
City of Berkeley
City of Berkeley Civic Arts Commission
Open Circle Foundation
W A Gerbode Foundation
Zellerbach Family Foundation

 

Friends CampaignAlso, a big thank you to our 2009 Friends Campaign donors, click here for list of contributors»

Contact Us

Berkeley Art Center
1275 Walnut Street
Berkeley, CA, 94709
(510) 644-6893 phone
(510) 644-0343 fax
info [at] berkeleyartcenter.org



We would like to thank our program sponsor:

Trumer Pils Berkeley

Trumer

 

History

Designed by Robert Ratcliff Architects in 1967, the Berkeley Art Center was built by the Rotary Club as a gift to the City of Berkeley, and was instituted as a city program until BAC adopted its private, non-profit status in the late 70s. A beautiful arts and crafts-style structure in Live Oak Park, North Berkeley with an outdoor reception area, BAC has established itself as leading local gallery presenting the work of talented regional artists in diverse media.

Exhibitions
& Programs

Berkeley Art Center hosts a variety of visual art exhibitions and related programs for its membership and the general public. Recent exhibitions have included: Metaphysical Abstraction: Contemporary Approaches to Spiritual Practice; Process & Place: The Transformative Potential of Artist Residencies; and COLLECT, the center's bi-annual fundraiser and art auction featuring the work of nearly 75 local artists. Exhibitions serving members and a wider group of regional artists include the annual juried exhibition, Juried@BAC, now in its 27th year; East Bay Open Studios Preview Exhibition @ Berkeley Art Center in conjunction with Pro Arts, and the center's annual Members’ Showcase, a non-juried exhibition including work in all media from Berkeley Art Center members. Related programs have included the center's widely praised Artist Lecture Series (this past year including Robert Bechtle, Tom Marioni, Kara Maria and Lulu Stanley), artists’ talks and walk-throughs, panel discussions, Visual Thinking Strategies workshops and other educational opportunities appropriate to the exhibitions on view.

Audience

Berkeley Art Center’s audience serves and represents the diversity of the city and region in which it operates, and includes the active participation of over 10,000 individuals on an annual basis. As a fully handicapped-accessible facility, Berkeley Art Center is also accessible to a large section of the senior and disabled population. Artists comprise a significant part of BAC’s audience: in 2008, over 250 artist members displayed work in the center’s annual Members Showcase exhibition, from which three were chosen for a small group show, and BAC received 750 artist entries for its Annual National Juried Exhibition. Nearly 600 student artists from Berkeley public schools, K-12, displayed their work in the 2009 Youth Arts Festival. Young people benefit from participation in the Youth Arts Festival and from special, youth-oriented programs, as well as through internship and volunteer opportunities.

Collaborations
& Partnerships

Berkeley Art Center works with a wide variety of local organizations and agencies to strengthen its programming and advocate for the arts. Recently, these have included Berkeley Cultural Trust, Berkeley Convention and Visitors Bureau, Berkeley Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Berkeley Association, Kala Art Institute, Pro Arts, Poetry Flash, the Alameda County Arts Commission, and JFK University’s Museum Studies Department, as well as many others.