Historic and Contemporary Stories
of California’s Farm Workers
Told in Two Exhibitions

Horace Bristol, Tom Joad, 1938, from The Grapes of Wrath Portfolio, © Horace Bristol, Courtesy of the Estate of Horace Bristol and Katrina Doerner Photographs, Brooklyn, NY

Rick Nahmias,
Early Morning Grapes, Porterville
© 2005 Rick Nahmias/ www.rcnphoto.com

The Migrant Project: Contemporary California Farm Workers / El Proyecto Migratorio: Campesinos Contemporáneos de California - Photographs and Text by Rick Nahmias

• Exhibition: The Migrant Project is an in-depth photojournalistic portrait detailing the daily lives and struggles of today's California migrant farm workers. It was shot across the state, from Sacramento to the border at Calexico by photographer Rick Nahmias as he traveled to over fifty rural communities, photographing their people and recording their stories. The resulting forty image exhibition puts a human face to this hidden yet proud segment of our society. This exhibition is translated into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking visitors. Sponsored by California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc.; Center for Latino Policy Research; The Kurz Family Foundation, and Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.
  September 16 – December 31, 2006
  Main Library, Lower Level, Jewett Gallery
  100 Larkin Street
• Opening Program and Panel Discussion
  Photographer Rick Nahmias gives an overview of the exhibition followed by a panel discussion on current migrant worker issues with Jose Padilla, executive director of California Rural Legal Assistance (CRLA); Martha Guzman, legislative advocate for CRLA Foundation; Kurt Organista of UC Berkeley; and Jesus Lopez, community leader. Moderated by Scott Shafer of KQED’s “California Report.” Co-presented by California Rural Legal Assistance and Facing History and Ourselves.
  Sunday, September 17, 1:00 – 3:00 PM.
  Main Library, Lower Level, Koret Auditorium,
  100 Larkin Street
  

Horace Bristol, Car and Tent with Stove, 1938, from The Grapes of Wrath Portfolio, © Horace Bristol, Courtesy of the Estate of Horace Bristol and Katrina Doerner Photographs, Brooklyn, NY

A Journey Shared: Photographs by Horace Bristol/Un Viaje Compartido: Fotografías por Horace Bristol

• Exhibition: A Journey Shared captures the essence of migratory farm life in California during the Great Depression. The thirty-seven prints featured in this exhibition were taken by Horace Bristol, a Time/LIFE staff photographer. A shared interest in documenting the plight of migrant farm workers led Bristol and novelist John Steinbeck to travel together through California’s Central Valley in the winter of 1937-1938. During this journey they interviewed and photographed people who became inspiration for characters in Steinbeck's novel, The Grapes of Wrath. This exhibition is translated into Spanish for our Spanish-speaking visitors. The exhibition was organized by the National Steinbeck Center. Sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.
  September 16 – December 31, 2006
  Main Library, Sixth Floor, Skylight Gallery
  100 Larkin Street
• Discussion: A Journey Shared: Horace Bristol & John Steinbeck
  John Steinbeck scholar Susan Shillinglaw and Karen Sinsheimer, curator for Horace Bristol, discuss the collaboration between Steinbeck and Bristol when they documented migrant workers in California during the Great Depression. The workers Bristol photographed and Steinbeck interviewed became inspiration for characters in The Grapes of Wrath.
  Thursday, September 28, 6:30pm – 7:30pm
  Main Library, Lower Level, Koret Auditorium,
  100 Larkin Street
  

Related Programs

• Migrant Writers Program - Heyday Books publisher Malcolm Margolin moderates a discussion with writers Gerald Haslam, author of Workin' Man Blues, Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz, author of Red Dirt: Growing up Okie, Francisco Jimenez, author of The Circuit, and Rose Castillo Guilbault: author of Farmworker’s Daughter: Growing Up Mexican in America. Each author will read from their books and talk about how the farm worker experience has influenced their work.
  Thursday, October 26, 6:00pm.
  Main Library, Koret Auditorium,
  100 Larkin Street
• One City: One Book San Francisco Reads - Citywide Book Club
  The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea. Programs and discussion groups in English and Spanish. For complete program listings: http://www.sfpl.org/news/ocob/onecity.htm
  September – November, 2006
  
• Luis Alberto Urrea in Conversation with Oscar Villalon - Join us for a special evening featuring an in-depth conversation between Urrea and San Francisco Chronicle book editor Oscar Villalon about The Hummingbird’s Daughter and Urrea’s other books, including The Devil’s Highway: A True Story. Booksigning to follow.
  Thursday, October 11, 6:30pm.
  Main Library, Lower Level, Koret Auditorium,
  100 Larkin Street