What is the BAMPFA Student Committee?
The BAMPFA Student Committee (SC) is the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive’s way of involving UC Berkeley students in museum events. From planning and executing events, like Cinespin and student-led workshops, to writing blog posts on seasonal favorites, the BAMPFA SC does it all! The SC meets on Wednesday evenings every week from 7:15-8:15 at the BAMPFA.
How I Got Involved
In the first couple weeks of my first semester at Cal, I tried to stop by the booths of as many tabling clubs on Sproul Plaza as possible, and did not come by BAMPFA SC’s at all. However, in the time that I spent walking around, I came across a “Posters and Pizza” flyer advertising an event that BAMPFA was hosting to welcome students to the BAMPFA community. After securing my Hayao Miyazaki poster and a slice of pizza, I strolled around the museum, speaking to some student workers in passing. One of these employees happened to be one of the co-chairs of the SC. That night, I decided to apply.
The application was quite simple—a few statements of interest, some personal information for contact purposes, and your choice of which subcommittee you’d like to be a part of. A piece of my heart is forever reserved for zines and their making, so I opted for the zine committee, but there’s also Art Curatorial, Blog, Film, Marketing, Socials, and Web.
I was soon emailed with my acceptance, and I’ve spent most Wednesday evenings since talking zines in the BAMPFA’s art studio.
Sophia Limencelli-Herwick, a history of art and English double-major, also began in the zine subcommittee and continued on to be vice-chair and eventually co-chair. She “got involved with the SC when [she] was a freshman. [She] looked up arts-related clubs on CalLink and was initially drawn to the creativity of zine!”
Attendees of Sophia Limoncelli-Herwick’s “Linocut Stamps” Workshop working away! Photo by Lily Belcher.
Subcommittees
Read on for a brief overview of what the subcommittees do! If you’re interested in joining BAMPFA SC, this will give you a better look at your options.
Art Curatorial: This subcommittee leads museum and gallery tours, as well as doing career chats with art professionals. Additionally, being the bridge between the BAMPFA and the SC, they look for emerging student artists to showcase at BAMFest, an annual event in the spring.
Blog: The BAMPFA SC Blog shares opinions and experiences of the student committee, including seasonal media picks and pieces submitted to the subcommittee from all over Cal (you can submit your work online, too).
Film: Selects movies from the BAMPFA’s current series to recommend to Cal students! Their current picks can be found on this page. They work with the museum’s film department to plan film-related events as well. If you’re a film nerd or interested in the various film resources that BAMPFA offers, visit our blog on a visit to the BAMPFA and head to the section about the Film Library.
Marketing: Spreads information about the SC and events they create. This can mostly be seen on their Instagram, @bampfasc.
Socials: Creates events for subcommittee members to meet and mingle at! During the fall semester, they hosted a Halloween Social, Fall Opening, and craft night among other things.
Web: Designs, maintains, and personalizes the BAMPFA SC website. Everything you see on their beautiful site was entirely student- organized, and wonderfully reflects the color and zeal of the SC as a whole.
Zine: I’m was member of the Zine Subcommittee, so I’m most familiar with their work. Zine Subcommittee uploads to their issuu, where you can access past zines of all different mediums—collage, watercolor, poetry, and anything else these creatives dream up! Besides this, all members of the subcommittee (and artists outside of the club as well!) are encouraged to submit to a large semesterly zine with a theme that is chosen by the team. Past themes have ranged from “Chairs” to “Do you ever feel like you’re being watched?”
Members of the Zine Subcommittee (including me in the top right!) work on cutting and folding the October mini zine—“Trick or Treat”—and the last themed zine—“Chairs Chairs Chairs.” Photo by Lily Belcher.
So what?
In my time on the BAMPFA SC, I’ve met more artists and creatives than I can count, talked about more art than ever before, and gotten close with some of the most interesting people I think I’ll ever know. I’m a firm believer of the fact that art brings people together, so if you’re looking for a community like that, the BAMPFA SC might just be the place for you.
A Note on Community
Coming to you straight from the leadership of the BAMPFA SC, Sophia’s “favorite thing about leading the SC is being able to get students more involved with the programs, events, and opportunities that the museum has. There is so much available within BAMPFA that most UC Berkeley students don’t even realize is there as a resource. It’s exciting when students are able to engage in conversation about works that are accessible to us right there at the museum. It’s not often that most people get to absorb and examine artworks together in-person, so it’s very rewarding to be able to do that through the student committee.”
If you’d like to know more about the resources the BAMPFA offers, check out Museum Visit: BAMPFA.
Milana Berhe, Class of 2028, is majoring in astrophysics and political science and minoring in creative writing.
Want More?
- Learn why students join clubs at Berkeley.
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