Fort Mason Art presented Bonnie Ora Sherk: Life Frames Since 1970, the first survey exhibition of the late artist, environmental educator, and landscape planner. The exhibition was curated by Tanya Zimbardo.
Decades ahead of her time, Sherk’s pioneering 1970s San Francisco projects—including Portable Parks I-III (1970, with Howard Levine) and Crossroads Community (The Farm)—laid the foundation for a global movement to reclaim urban spaces. The exhibition presented newly transferred film and video, photographs, collages, works on paper, artist books, and ephemera from performances and site-specific interventions. Early performances included Snow Job (1970), Public Lunch (1971) at the San Francisco Zoo, and Living in the Forest (1973) at de Saisset Museum. The Farm (1974-1987), a multi-arts center and environmental education farm beneath a freeway interchange, inspired San Francisco’s transformation of the site into Potrero del Sol park. Her bicoastal nonprofit A Living Library (established 1981) continues community-oriented environmental projects on Roosevelt Island, NYC, and in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights and OMI/Excelsior neighborhoods.
FMCAC commissioned John Bela’s pop-up community garden Garden To Transform Hatred Into Love in tribute to Sherk’s Portable Parks. Urban Campesinx/Hummingbird Farm conducted free Sunday workshops. A closing symposium on March 9, 2024 featured discussions on Sherk’s relationship to landscape, pedagogy, and artist-led spaces.
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Bonnie Ora Sherk (b. May 18, 1945, New Bedford, MA – d. August 8, 2021, San Francisco) was a visionary artist, landscape architect, and environmental educator. Her multidisciplinary work explored interdependent relationships between humans, animals, and nature. Sherk founded The Farm, situated under a freeway interchange in San Francisco, which she directed from 1974 to 1980. In 1981, Sherk founded Life Frames, Inc., supporting her nonprofit educational work A Living Library (ALL). Currently, active locations of ALL projects are on Roosevelt Island, NYC (2001-present), and in San Francisco at the Bernal Heights Living Library & Think Park Nature Walk (2002-present) and OMI/Excelsior Living Library & Think Park (1998-present).
From January 13, 2024 to March 10, 2025, Fort Mason Art presented Bonnie Ora Sherk: Life Frames Since 1970, the first survey exhibition of the late artist, environmental educator, and landscape planner.
Artist Bonnie Ora Sherk:
ALivingLibrary.org
Curator Tanya Zimbardo:
TanyaZimbardo.com
