Enriching Human Experience through the Arts
The UNCLE Credit Union Art Gallery at the Bankhead Theater is a contemporary and modern art gallery, utilizing the walls of the lobby of the Bankhead Theater. The gallery specializes in showcasing a diverse range of artists and the arts, curated exhibitions, and special projects of various art collectives from the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. Proceeds from the UNCLE Credit Union Art Gallery supports the art exhibit and visual arts programming at the Bankhead Theater and Bothwell Arts Center, part of the independent, non-profit Livermore Valley Arts.
Violins of Hope
January 31 — February 12, 2023
UNCLE Credit Union Art Gallery
Special Extended Hours!
Daily, 11 am — 6 pm
Free & Open to the Public
Powerful, internationally-recognized exhibit of violins, violas and cellos collected from World War II that were owned and played by Jews before and during the war. Exhibit and concert in collaboration with the East Bay Holocaust Education Center and the Livermore-Amador Symphony.
Docents will be at the exhibit Monday-Thursday from 11am-1pm and Friday-Sunday from 4pm-6pm.
Special Gallery Talks:
Amnon Weinstein has spent the last two decades locating & restoring violins that were played by Jewish musicians during the Holocaust. Amnon dedicates this important work to 400 relatives he never knew. These grandparents, uncles, aunts, & cousins stayed behind in Eastern Europe after Amnon’s parents, Moshe and Golda, immigrated in 1938 to Palestine, where Moshe opened a violin shop. After the war, Moshe learned that his entire family—400 in all—had been murdered during the Holocaust. Amnon maintains his violin workshop in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Amnon’s son, Avshalom, began working with his father in 1998 as a violin-maker and restorer of violins, violas, and cellos of the highest level. Avshalom is trained in the tradition of the Italian Cremonese School of violin-makers & the French school of restoration. Avshalom opened his own workshop in Istanbul in 2009, where he continues the family tradition.
Monday, Feb 6, 11 am
Gallery talk by Rachelle Blaine, on her mother Joyce Venderveen’s violin.
Rachelle Blaine is the daughter of Joyce Vanderveen, now deceased, and one of the owners of the Violins of Hope. Joyce was a childhood friend of Anne Frank, and Rachelle will be showing a video of Joyce telling the story of knowing Anne Frank, and how her own family managed to get out of Amsterdam before the country locked down. Joyce was an accomplished violinist and took her valuable instrument with her when the family managed to get to America. Joyce went on in life to become a prima ballerina and Hollywood actress. She donated her violin in her later years after learning of the Violins of Hope project.
Free & Open to the Public
COMING NEXT:
Bay Area Figurative Exhibit: Emerging from Abstraction
February 14 — April 23, 2023
UNCLE Credit Union Art Gallery
Thursdays — Sundays, 1 pm — 5 pm
Free & Open to the Public
An exhibition that highlights the significance of the Bay Area Figurative Movement. This Movement is considered the first significant North-American art movement to be based on the West Coast: Around the 1950’s, painters from the Bay Area started creating works that were moving away from Abstract Expressionism and reintroducing recognizable subject matter into their painting. Often times, the subjects were figurative and usually painted with the beautiful strong light for which Northern California is known. A second generation of Bay Area Figurative artists emerged following the 1950’s, and the style continues with some artists today.
On display will be artwork from Jerome Carlin (1927-2014) who painted in the Berkeley area starting in the 1970’s. His figurative works embody the Bay Area Figurative style through the use of color and loose representation. Also on display will be works from Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919-2021), beloved Bay Area poet, painter, social activist, and co-founder of City Lights, and a well-known local artist, Oneida Stowe (1944-2005). Stowe was an accomplished Livermore artist and educator who taught art classes at Las Positas College for 15 years. The exhibit will showcase a number of contemporary artists working in the unique style of Bay Area Figurative.
Free & Open to the Public
Coming to the UNCLE Credit Union Art Gallery
Proud Sponsor of
Livermore Valley Arts
Ferment: A Fermented and Distilled-Themed Juried Art Exhibit
Aug 4—Oct 2, 2022
Celebrating the beauty of vines, hops, and fermented drinks. Reception: Saturday, Aug 6 reception 1-3:30 featuring tastings from area wineries and brewers.
Shape, Form, and Color: Modern Expressionism
Oct 5—Dec 4, 2022
An exhibit around the depth and expanse of Surrealism, featuring works by Alexander Calder and Joan Miro.
Off the Wall and Under the Tree
Dec 8, 2022 – Jan 8, 2023
Small artworks for purchase for you to take “off the wall’ and put under the tree.
Beauty and Terror
Jan 12 – Jan 29, 2023
This 18 piece series by Robin Bernstein, is an example of how people will behave under set conditions. Many of these particular pieces refer to lesser-known Holocaust crimes as well as redemptive stories and heroic acts of resistance.
Violins of Hope
Jan 30 – Feb 13, 2023
Powerful, internationally-recognized exhibit of violins, violas and cellos collected from World War II that were owned and played by Jews before and during the war. Exhibit and concert in collaboration with the East Bay Holocaust Education Center and the Livermore-Amador Symphony.
Bay Area Figurative Exhibit
Feb 14 – Apr 23, 2023
A retrospective of the Bay Area Figurative movement and its influence today.
It's Only Rock n' Roll (But I Like It)
Apr 25 – Jul 9, 2023
An exhibit showcasing the art of rock n’roll, featuring guitars, album covers, photography and more.
Buying or Renting Art
Please contact us directly at gallery@livermorearts.org or visit the Bankhead Art Gallery for art that can be purchased or rented for your office, corporate building or business spaces.
