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Exhibitions at the Library

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Upcoming Exhibitions

Online Exhibitions

Past Exhibitions

For information on how to make a exhibition or program proposal, exhibition policy and guidelines and more,
please contact Exhibitions and Programming

Jewett Gallery and Skylight Gallery

©1997 by Robert Sabuda

The Adventures of Providence Traveler ©2002 Robert Sabuda

Robert Sabuda: Travels in Time and Space features 60 colorful and fanciful illustrations and intricate pop-up books drawn from 11 books. His work demonstrates unparalleled artistry and innovation that are sure to appeal to readers of all ages. Sabuda is widely regarded as the wizard of pop-up book engineering. His first published pop-up was The Christmas Alphabet (1994), followed later by The 12 Days of Christmas (1996), both of which have become best selling holiday classics. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: A Commemorative Pop-up (2000), has been considered his masterpiece. Its linoleum-block print medium adheres to the style of the original W.W. Denslow illustrations, yet the intense visual power of the pop-up is all Sabuda’s. This exhibition was organized by the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature, Abilene, Texas.
Exhibition:  August 31 through November 9, 2008
Main Library, Lower Level, Jewett Gallery
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)

Related Adult Programs:
Flexagons
Tuesday, September 9, 6:30 p.m.
West Portal Branch Library
190 Lenox Way (at Ulloa)

History of Pop-Up Book-making with demonstration
Thursday, October 23, 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Latino Hispanic Community Room,
Main Library, Lower Level,
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)

Complete listing of Robert Sabuda: Travels in Time and Space Children’s Programs

Image representing BookWorks 2008 Exhibition at the Library

BookWorks 2008 - This new exhibition features nearly a hundred contemporary, sometimes sculptural, unique or limited-edition books by members of the Pacific Center for Book Arts. The book arts have a long history--from the first cave drawings, scrolls, illuminated manuscripts and letterpress printing, to more recent forms of visual expression and communication made possible by digital technology. Drawing on past traditions, but free to envision the future, contemporary book artists and craftspeople use a wide range of book forms, materials and techniques to express their concerns as artists and inhabitants of the 21st century. The books on display are distinguished in their design, typography, illustration, hand bookbinding and printing processes and paper. Pacific Center for Book Arts is a member-service organization committed to providing its members opportunities to show their work, socialize with other practitioners of the book arts and learn from their peers. Members include calligraphers, custom binders, printmakers, conservators and many others. For more information, visit www.pcba.info.
Exhibition:  From July 1 through September 26, 2008
Main Library, Sixth Floor, Skylight Gallery

Related Programs: Artist Talks
August 16 and September 13, 2008, 1-3 p.m.
Main Library, 6th Floor, Skylight Gallery,
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)


Other Exhibition Areas in the Library

Image representing Beijing Welcomes You! Exhibition at the Library

Beijing Welcomes You! - In the summer of 2008, Beijing will host the XXIX Olympic Games. This photo exhibit is an open invitation for games participants and visitors to get to know about Chinese history and culture, to experience the glorious celebration of the Olympic spirit in China on an unprecedented scale, to see the tremendous changes that have taken place in this great country and to be touched by its people’s passion and dedication. These works are courtesy of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in San Francisco.
Exhibition:  From July 19, 2008 through September 18, 2008
Main Library, Third Floor, Chinese Center
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)


Digging Deep: Underneath San Francisco Public Library – In honor of the Library’s 125th Anniversary celebration. The current Main Library rests on a Gold Rush era cemetery and the ruins of the old City Hall, destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire. The archaeological remains pulled from the site include some of the everyday and unusual objects that tell the story of the development of the Civic Center and The City’s earliest residents.
Exhibition: Ongoing
First Floor, Grove Street entrance exhibit cases
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)

Complete listing of Earthquake & Fire Centennial Exhibitions and Programs

Photo of Newcomb Ave and Southridge Rd representing Bayview’s Historical Footprints exhibition


Bayview’s Historical Footprints - Photographic exhibition celebrating the diverse history of Bayview Hunter’s Point featuring multimedia oral histories from elders in the community. In collaboration with Bayview Hunter’s Point Neighborhood History Preservation Project.
Exhibition:  Permanent at
Bayview/Anna E. Waden Branch Library
5075 Third Street (at Revere)





San Francisco Bay scenario for sea level rise. Image provided by Bay Conservation and Development Commission.

Global Climate Change and Sea Level Rise in the Bay Area - Through the sea level rise mapping project, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission has identified shoreline areas to be most affected by the sea level rise that include the following areas: San Francisco, San Francisco Airport, the Central and South Bay, Corte Madera/San Rafael and Oakland Airport. These maps are a gift from the San Francisco Department of the Environment. For additional information check the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission website at http://www.bcdc.ca.gov/
Exhibition:  Permanent at
Wallace Stegner Environmental Center,
Main Library, Fifth Floor, Elevator Bank,
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)


Pages Unbound - This exhibition will be a display of the collective talent of the pages from the 3rd floor, sharing different forms of artwork such as photograph, painting, sculpture and so on.
Exhibition:  August 3 through September 29, 2008
Main Library, Lower Level, Café Level Exhibition Case,
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)


Black Irish image representing Resilience:  My Culture, My People, Me! exhibition

*Resilience: My Culture, My People, Me! – As part of the 15th annual AfroSolo Arts Festival, we invited African American artists to explore resilience through their eyes. This exhibit is a mixed media extravaganza illustrating the resilience in our history, our culture and our lives. AfroSolo's mission is to nurture, promote and present African American and African diaspora art and culture through solo performances and the visual and literary arts. Since 1993, AfroSolo has provided a forum to give an authentic voice to the diverse experiences of black people. Through art, AfroSolo brings people of all ethnicities together to explore and share the human spirit that binds us all. For more information, visit http://afrosolo.org/.
Exhibition:  From August 16 through October 16, 2008,
Main Library, Third Floor, African American Center
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)

Related Programs: Meet the Artist
Sunday, August 17, 2008, 2 p.m.
Main Library, Lower Level, Latino/Hispanic Community Meeting Room,
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)

Image representing FBI Turns 100 exhibition

FBI Turns 100 - In July of 1908, Attorney General Charles J. Bonaparte responded to legislation prohibiting the Department of Justice from continuing their long-standing practice of borrowing Treasury Department agents for their investigations by creating a small investigative bureau within the Department of Justice. Over the next century, this 34-agent investigative force would grow into the FBI (with 30,000 employees in 2008). In honor of the FBI's 100th birthday, the Government Information Center has selected some items documents from our collection and the San Francisco Historical Photo Collection that show this evolving government agency at work.
Exhibition:  September 1 through December 1, 2008
Main Library, Fifth Floor, Government Information Center
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)


Image representing 25th Anniversary of the Folsom Street Fair: Dore Alley exhibition

25th Anniversary of the Folsom Street Fair: Dore Alley - This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Folsom Street Fair, the world’s largest leather/fetish event which goes beyond the distinctions of gender and sexual orientation. This exhibit will focus on the Up Your Alley Fair (aka Dore Alley, where the event takes place). Although a younger offshoot of the Folsom Street Fair, Up Your Alley attracts over 12,000 local leatherfolk and few tourists, it is considered a less commercial and very authentic San Francisco event.
Exhibition:  September 1 through October 15, 2008
Main Library, Third Floor, James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)


A Selection of Our Online Exhibitions

Image representing 'Picture This' Online Exhibition

*Picture This: Family Photographs of Everyday San Francisco - This exhibition draws from a collection of photographs shared with the San Francisco Public Library by community members from the Western Addition, Ocean View/Merced/Ingleside (OMI), Mission and Sunset neighborhoods. On Shades of San Francisco Photo Days, library staff, volunteers, and professional photographers copied photos from the family collections of local residents which recorded their daily lives as well as the cultural, historical, and political contributions of these neighborhoods. In this Online Exhibition we share approximately 150 of the photographs from the Shades of San Francisco project. Online Exhibition

Image representing Out at the Library Exhibition

*Out at the Library - Out at the Library celebrates the 10th anniversary of the founding of the Library’s James C. Hormel Gay & Lesbian Center by highlighting its collection and offering a rare look into what an archives is and how it ensures the legacy of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities. From boots worn by cross-dressing Civil War surgeon Dr. Mary Walker to classic LGBT pulp paperbacks to the 1978 appointment book of assassinated City Supervisor Harvey Milk, the objects and stories in Out at the Library offer compelling views of remarkable and ordinary lives. Online Exhibition

Image of Damaged Book from Reversing Vandalism Online Exhibition

*Reversing Vandalism - An exhibition of over 200 original works of art created from books mainly on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender topics, women's issues and HIV/AIDS, that were destroyed by a vandal and withdrawn from the San Francisco Public Library's collection. Artists and concerned individuals from around the country worked to turn the damaged books into works of art. The wide variety of responses to this hate crime vividly demonstrates the transformative power of art.
Online Exhibition

Image from Amusing America Online Exhibition

*Amusing America - The premiere exhibition of the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society, cosponsored by the San Francisco Public Library with support from the California State Library.
Online Exhibition



Image of Project Bandaloop at celebration of Library's 125th Anniversary

Library's 125th Anniversary - Two online historical displays were created as part of the Library's 125th Anniversary celebrations.
The Library Timeline presents a history of the San Francisco Library system from 1877 through the 2004.
The Then & Now Photo Scrapbook features historical and contemporary photographs of the Branch Libraries.

A Selection of Our Upcoming Exhibitions and Shows

Image representing Irreplaceable: Wildlife in a Warming World exhibition

Irreplaceable: Wildlife in a Warming World - Climate change has emerged as one of the most pressing challenges facing the world today. This exhibition communicates global warming’s impact on wildlife, especially highlighting the effect of climate change on endangered species. Scientists predict that global warming will become a leading cause of species extinction over the next several decades. As we work to address the impacts of global warming on humans—rising sea levels, destructive storms, drought—we also need to protect imperiled wildlife from a warming world.
Exhibition:  September 8 through December 31, 2008
Main Library, Fifth Floor, Wallace Stegner Environmental Center
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)


Pride of the Philippine Sea: The Philippine Coral Reef - This exhibition is a display of photographs and other artifacts of the Philippine coral reef considered by many scientists as the world's deepest and most diverse living coral reef. Images of the environmental effects impacting the coral reef and what is being done to conserve this Philippine national treasure will also be featured.
Exhibition:  September 8 through October 30, 2008
Main Library, Third Floor, Filipino American Center
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)


Dorothy Starr: San Francisco’s First Lady of Sheet Music - An exhibition of sheet music from the Library’s Dorothy Starr collection.
Exhibition:  September 13 through December 6, 2008
Main Library, Fourth Floor, Art, Music and Recreation Center
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)


Image representing The Sister Republics: The Swiss Confederation and the United States of America Exhibition

The Sister Republics: The Swiss Confederation and the United States of America - As nations, the United States and Switzerland differ greatly in age, size, population and in their respective roles on the world stage, yet they enjoy historically close ties, common interests, shared traditions and remarkable political similarities as federal unions of independent states with representative democracies. The Sister Republics revives a like-named exhibition conceived in 1991 by Dr. James H. Hutson of the Library of Congress to mark the septicentennial of the Swiss Confederation. Since then, a touring version of the exhibition has appeared in many cities in the U.S. and in Switzerland.
Exhibition:  September 13 through October 12, 2008
Main Library, Sixth Floor Sky Bridge
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)


© Neighborhood Kids Chasing a Photographer, Joseph N. Hoyt, 1971. Image representing Afghanistan 1970-1975: Images From An Era of Peace Exhibition

Afghanistan 1970-1975: Images From An Era of Peace - Striking black and white pre-war 1970s photographs of Afghanistan by Joseph Hoyt depict people of all ages, landscapes and ancient ruins in a poor but culturally and historically rich nation before the start of conflict and turmoil. “The photographs in this collection reveal an Afghanistan very different from the one we hear about today. What we see in these images is not just an Afghanistan at peace, but a people and a country at peace within itself –a remarkable country and its resilient people going about their daily routines,” said Hoyt.
Exhibition:  October 11, 2008-January 18, 2009
Main Library, Sixth Floor Skylight Gallery
100 Larkin Street (at Grove)

Related Programs: One City One Book: West of Kabul, East of New York: An Afghan American Story. For a complete schedule of events, please visit: Complete schedule with more than 20 events, book discussions and related exhibitions
Rebuilding Afghanistan: Literary, Artistic and Cultural Endeavors
Tamim Ansary will moderate this panel discussion about current events in Afghanistan with special guests Mo Qayoumi, president of California State University: East Bay; UC Berkeley professor Wali Ahmadi; photographer Joseph N. Hoyt; and Humaira Ghilzai, president of Afghan Friends Network.
Wednesday, October 15 at 6:30pm
Koret Auditorium, Main Library,
100 Larkin Street at Grove

Thursdays at Noon : Film series on Afghanistan
October 9, 16, 23 and 30
Koret Auditorium, Main Library,
100 Larkin Street at Grove

The Role of Women in Afghanistan
Joseph Hoyt will moderate this panel discussion with special guests that notably include Fariba Nawa, award-winning Afghan-American journalist and Nima Sadati who has created and managed refugee programs for women in Afghanistan and entrepreneurial programs for Afghani women in the East Bay.
Sunday, November 16, 2:30-3:30 pm
Koret Auditorium, Main Library,
100 Larkin Street at Grove

Programs marked with an asterisk (*) are funded by the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library. All programs at the Library are free.


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