Local Voices

Join us for the last episode of Season 3 with multidisciplinary artist Lava Thomas. Drawing from her family’s Southern roots and current historical socio-political events,  artist Lava Thomas, centers on ideas that amplify visibility, healing, and empowerment in the face of erasure, trauma, and oppression. 

Hear from Angela Hennessy and Tahirah Rasheed , co-founders of the Bay Area artist collective See Black Womxn. Through art and theory, See Black Womxn, are telling their own stories as well as their communities in order to recognize and affirm the beauty, diversity, and complexity of Black Womxn and their aesthetic traditions.

Hear from Catherine Wagner, a conceptual multidisciplinary artist, whose process emphasizes investigation and deep appreciation for science. Learn more about Wagner’s practice, collaborations, and site-specific installations all across the Bay Area and the world.

Meet Dana King, classical figurative sculptor and creator of many public monuments of Black Bodies in Bronze. King opens up her studio space and shares how sculptures can provide culturally impactful memories and moments of connection.

Hear from Fredrika Newton and Xavier Buck of the Dr. Huey P. Newton Foundation as they speak about the importance and responsibility of preserving the legacy of the Black Panther Party and its founder Dr. Huey P. Newton. Through love, strength and resilience, Fredrika and Xavier share the significance of correcting false narratives and memorializing the party’s historic contributions.

Meet Jilchristina Vest, artist and organizer of the The Women of The Black Panther Party Mural. Learn more about the West Oakland house which became a public art installation honoring and paying homage to the legacy of over 300 women, encouraging every viewer and visitor to #SayHerName.

Public art transforms landscapes, builds our collective memory, and reveals distinctive characteristics of our city through shared experiences that add meaning to our everyday lives. Across the nation, monuments were toppled in protest to demand a reexamination of the narratives in our country's history, demonstrating how public art can be a reflection of our communal values. 

Season 3 of Local Voices engages with critical global conversations of power and representation highlighting Bay Area public spaces and the thoughtful hands redefining them.

Through intimate conversations, we will hear from artists and community leaders who are exploring the ways in which public art sparks dialogue and promotes creative expression as a tool for social change.

Artworks tell multiple stories. Join our museum ambassadors Noelle, Raquel, and Zune as they explore the narratives behind The Crowning of Mirtillo, Birmingham ’63, and the black-figure amphora with lid, from the perspectives of the artists and viewers.

Objects: Birmingham ‘63, Black figure amphora with lid, The Crowning of Mirtillo

How do objects represent wealth, power, and privilege? In this episode, our museum ambassadors Elisabeth, Kaitlin, and Leighanna discuss how objects can become symbols of power and how they influence their communities and followers.

Objects: Saint Francis, Aspiration, Chief’s Chair

Materials used in art can give us clues to the artist’s process, techniques, and ways of thinking. They can also spark our understanding of the artwork. Join our museum ambassadors Elisabeth, Kaitlin, and Leighanna as they discuss how and why various materials are used in three artworks in the Fine Arts Museums’ collections.

Objects: Gift basket, Blood and Meat: Survival for the World, Hot Water Urn

What do you see? What do you feel? Art can make us experience a range of emotions. This is one way that we connect to a work of art. In this episode, join our museum ambassadors Andrea, Ankhilan, and De’Yani as they talk about artworks that bring out strong emotions in viewers.

Objects: Superman, Two Women and a Child

How does visual density affect how you look at an artwork? Join our museum ambassadors Noelle, Raquel, and Zune as they uncover the meaning behind the patterns and embellishments found in Johnny Warangkula Tjupurrula’s Children’s story (water dreaming for two children), Nick Cave’s Soundsuit, and the season sarcophagus.

Objects: Season sarcophagus, Children’s story, Soundsuit

What do your beliefs mean to you? How do objects represent your beliefs? Join our museum ambassadors Andrea, Ankhilan, and De’Yani as they highlight the multiple ways that objects in the Fine Arts Museums’ collections symbolize belief systems from around the world.

Objects: Torso of a God, Hornbill Mask, The Adoration of Magi

The second season of Local Voices features nine Bay Area teens as they reflect and share their own perspectives on objects from the Museums’ permanent collections. Through the themes of Belief, Density, Emotion, Material, Power, and Storytelling, the teens converse with curators, scholars, artists, and community members as well as family and friends to gain new insights and information.

Rio Yañez presents The Great Tortilla Conspiracy, a tortilla printmaking collective, that began their work at the de Young Museum in 2007 and have been silkscreening Frida's image on tortillas ever since. He shares their unique art process and new developments.

Jean Franco, a local Frida Kahlo look-alike actor,  has traveled the world bringing a bit of the beloved artist to every place. We learn about how they were discovered and the journey the likeness to an icon has brought them.

Local actor and comedian Marilet Martinez shares stories of growing up as a Chicana in the Mission District. She also discusses how strong and fearless Latinx women like Frida Kahlo inspired her career.

Astrosagas, local video producer and astrologist, talks about her parent’s journey, love of San Francisco, and Frida Kahlo's influence on art and politics.

Linda Gamino, Associate Director of Ensambles Ballet Folklórico de San Francisco, opens up about her story of a tragic accident that affected her life, and the impact of Frida Kahlo in helping her overcome her disability.

Fernando Escaritz, a local sculptor, has created large size installations inspired by his lived experiences and his love for the Mexican culture. He revisits his childhood in Coayacan and the influence that Frida Kahlo’s home, Casa Azul, had in shaping his craft.

Fernando Escaritz, a local sculptor, has created large size installations inspired by his lived experiences and his love for the Mexican culture. He revisits his childhood in Coayacan and the influence that Frida Kahlo’s home, Casa Azul, had in shaping his craft.

Twin Walls Murals Company (Elaine Chu and Marina Perez-Wong) talk about their 20+ year friendship and the influence of Frida Kahlo and other strong local women artists in their own journey as women in the arts.

Rio Yañez (Host of the series) tells the story of how his father, Rene Yañez, fought to open Frida Kahlo's first gallery show on the West Coast, here in San Francisco.