BEAVER BAUER: FROM STREET TO STAGE Retrospective to Open at San Francisco Public Library

The San Francisco Public Library will present Beaver Bauer: From Street to Stage, a retrospective celebrating more than five decades of work by theatrical Costume Designer and artist Debra "Beaver" Bauer. The exhibition opens November 5, 2026, and runs through April 11, 2027, in the library's Jewett Gallery and Koret Lobby.

The exhibition will feature original costume renderings, performance photography, video documentation, costumes, props, and new installations exploring Bauer's contributions to theater and the San Francisco arts community.

Bauer began her career with the experimental Angels of Light Free Theater, an influential San Francisco counterculture troupe known for its extravagant theatrical productions during the 1970s. Working alongside artists including Hibiscus, Rodney Price, and Martin Wong, she developed a distinctive visual style that would inform her subsequent career in costume design.

Her work has appeared in productions at American Conservatory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Magic Theatre, Theatre of Yugen, and Teatro ZinZanni, among numerous other companies. She also designed costumes for Brian Boitano's televised skating spectaculars.

Among the exhibition's highlights is The Bus Queen's Gazette – MUNI Portraits Series, a collection of drawings depicting strangers Bauer encountered while riding San Francisco's #22-Fillmore bus. The exhibition will also feature An Arboretum of Dreams, an immersive installation commemorating members of the theater community lost to HIV/AIDS.

"Theater is an ancient magic of transformation," Bauer said in her artistic statement. "My style is awash with curiosity, humor, wonder, irony, a smidge of poetry and a pinch of spiritual vulgarity."

The exhibition is co-curated by Mark Johnson, Trisha Lagaso Goldberg, and Theo B. Lau in collaboration with the San Francisco Public Library exhibition team.

An opening reception will take place Thursday, November 5, at 5 p.m., with light refreshments. Additional public programs and panel discussions are planned in conjunction with the exhibition.