Together Alone / Alone Together: Pandemic Porch & Gate Portraits

Despite the separation brought on by the current pandemic, our communities continue to be vibrant.

In the spirit of engaging the community during this time of social distancing and to capture this strange and complex moment in our history, Bolinas Museum partnered with local photographers to take black and white documentary portraits of Bolinas and Stinson community members while sheltering at home during May, June, and July 2020.

We also invited everyone sheltering at home in coastal Marin to participate by submitting their own portraits on their front porches or gates.

Subjects were asked to dress however they liked, masked or not; hold whatever is part of their life in this pandemic, and express themselves as they wished—a porch or gate was not required, but was offered as a way to maintain social distancing and establish a sense of place. We received hundreds of digital submissions, which will be archived here at the museum as a record of this unique moment in our coastal history.

We had planned to mount an exhibition in the galleries to celebrate the project this fall. However, given ongoing Marin County regulations restricting indoor gatherings due to the trajectory of the pandemic, we made a video (see below) with some of the images and are sharing a small selection of more quick prints in our windows for all to enjoy now.  Visit the web gallery for more prints from this project.

There is also a new book available for sale!  Published by Norfolk Press, this 165-page book is a handsomely designed, limited run and features a selection of the more than 250 portraits collected for the project.  (See below for a sample of 10 photos.)

Special thanks to Bolinas Museum Board Member Leah Vermulen Lopez for initiating and coordinating this community project. And of course, our gratitude goes to all the photographers, all who participated.