The City as Archive

As part of Public Knowledge, this monthly series casts SFMOMA as a venue for discussing public issues. Hear from a diverse range of speakers invested in the Bay Area’s urban culture as they examine shared concerns, especially around the meaning, value, and challenges of civic life today. In this first talk, Christina Moretta and Deena Chalabi reflect on the stakes involved in preserving, presenting, and interpreting the visual history of the city.

Participants

Christina Moretta is photo curator at the San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library, a role that also includes serving as archivist, librarian, rights manager, and teacher. Moretta received her MA in history from San Francisco State University in 2008, her MLIS from San Jose State University in 2002, and her BA in history and women’s studies from University of California, Irvine, in 1992.

Deena Chalabi is the Barbara and Stephan Vermut Associate Curator of Public Dialogue at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Her projects and programs explore the meaning of contemporary art and culture, and its impact on public life, emphasizing collaboration and connections between people, places, and ideas, locally and globally. She is the co-curator of the Public Knowledge project.

Public Knowledge is organized by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in partnership with the San Francisco Public Library. The project has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor.