A very fun, action-packed weekend!
Friday Night:
I met up with my friend Glen to catch up after several months of both having very busy schedules. We met up at my exhibition Spring at Ampersand International Arts and then headed over to Glen's new pad -- a beautiful apartment in Bernal Heights -- to have a glass of wine and chat. From there we stopped in at the Wild Side West bar to have a beer and shoot the shit more. It was a good taste of home (Montana). Next was a 180 degree turn to a private reception & smorgas bord at the Swedish American Hall (near the Castro) for Bridging The Baltic, a reception for the Art Exhibit: Four Nordic Artists Reform Popular Culture's Imagery of Masculine and Feminine with Photography, Video and Film in BENT: Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Scandinavian Art, at the Fine Arts Gallery, San Francisco State University.
The event was very swanky with men in tuxedos and women in evening gowns (Glen and I were definately underdressed for the soiree). The food and drink was great -- lots of fish, breads, and cheeses, plenty of champagne and an ice sculpture pouring vodka. The program was even better -- with performances by the SFSU Chamber Singers singing choral works from Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Estonia; and several works by Edvard Grieg with violinsit Jassen Todorov, and pianist William Corbett-Jones. We chatted with Mark Johnson, who hosted the event, and was dressed in a pant suit that looked like a combination of Swedish superhero and race car driver.
Saturday:
Return of the Lagaso-Goldbergs Tea Party
Sadly, this was just a visit -- but great to see my close friends Trisha, David, and their adorable son Primo, who moved from the Bay Area to Hawaii a year ago. The Tea Party was hosted by friends Sue and Barb and was a really nice get-together and opportunity to spend time with many of my favorite peeps.
Several of the folks who were there will be featured in an exhibition at The Contemporary Museum in Honolulu in May: Trisha Lagaso, Jennifer Wofford, Eliza Barrios, and Mike Arcega! It should be an amazing show and I'm hoping to make it out for the opening.
Sunday:
Tenth Annual Chilly D Video Festival
This is my favorite annual video fest -- I've been to five of them now. It's produced by my friend Dwayne Marsh (amazing photographer -- as well as a social and economic justice policy analyst!). It's definately progressed over the years. The first year I went -- in 1998 -- I wasn't sure what to expect. Dwayne was living in my neighborhood at the time (Nob Hill SF) and just a block away in a big old brick apartment building. The promotion of it (even then) made it sound like a pretty big event (I figured he must have a large space with big screen tv) -- three full days of scheduled flicks and all. I remember getting there a bit late for my screening and walking into a tiny studio apartment that had a bunk bed in it (oh yeah, and there was the bathroom, that also served as a kitchen) and the place was crammed with folks -- probably 15 -- all looking at a very small screen tv. Well he's since expanded (in every regard) -- he now lives in a big house in Oakland with a HUGE flat screen tv -- and this year I even received my ticket in the mail. It's always a very fun event -- potluck, great films, and every year I meet new and interesting people.
