Yesterday, I attended a block party on Addison Street below Oxford, celebrating the topping out of the new Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive building of University of California, Berkeley, in the ceremony traditionally held when the last beam is put in place.
According to the press release, the new BAM/PFA is "designed by renowned architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro, integrates a repurposed building, the former UC Berkeley printing plant, at the corner of Oxford and Center Streets, with a dramatic new structure. Opening in early 2016, the new building will anchor Berkeley's downtown Arts District, engaging diverse audiences in groundbreaking art, film, performance, and education programs."
It was a fun event and people was entertained by lively music, provided by Mission Delirium, a fourteen-piece party brass band:
There was also a spontaneous dance courtesy of a most talented toddler:
The best part of the celebration was signing the beam - all the people present were invited to sign the beam with permanent markers - a courtesy doesn't often extend to common folks, and yesterday the people were truly inspired and left many interesting "signatures" on the steel beam:
Finally, the steel beam was ready to go up:
Cannot wait to see the new building in 2016!
Other Related posts on Art · 文化 · Kunst:
- Casualty of the Economy - Berkeley Art Museum's new building by Toyo Ito
- Lovely Sight at Berkeley Art Museum (BAM)
- Getting Ready for Barry McGee at Berkeley Art Museum
- In Berkeley Art Museum, California
- Recent Exhibitions at Berkeley Art Museum
- Silke Otto-Knapp at Berkeley Art Museum
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How come you did not invite the people that used to work there?
ReplyDeleteHello, Gary:
ReplyDeleteI am not the organizer of the event, but a participant. It was open to the entire public; however, it would be nice it an individual invitation had been sent to the people that used to work there.