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Bolinas Museum

Name: Bolinas Museum
Address: 48 Wharf Road/PO Box 450, Bolinas, CA, 94924, US
Telephone: +14158680330

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Bolinas Museum

Celebrating 42 Years of Art and History in coastal Marin! Admission is always Free! The Main Gallery offers changing exhibitions of contemporary art and history.

Founded in 1983, the mission of the Bolinas Museum is to collect, preserve, and exhibit the arts and history of Coastal Marin and to present exhibitions and events that provide inspiration and cultural enrichment to residents and visitors. The Bolinas Museum is composed of five galleries as well as the Wintersteen Courtyard. Regional artists are featured in the Coastal Marin Artists Gallery. The H

elene Sturdivant Mayne Photography Gallery presents exhibitions of diverse fine art photography and The Margaret Duncan Greene Gallery exhibits selections from the permanent collection of art from the 1800s to the present. The Floyd Russell Family History Room details the history of the area with photographs, documents and objects from the extensive collections in the Museum’s archive. One wall is reserved for changing displays of regional interest. Several times a year, the museum presents free courtyard concerts and educational gallery talks.

05/11/2026

𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘜𝘯𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤, 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘦 1 brings together an imagined archive of bands and musicians, each with their own histories, recordings, and visual worlds. For this project, artist and musician Sonny Smith () invited artists to create album covers for these fictional acts, and collected fictional accounts of the bands in a zine (on sale for $10 at the museum), blurring the line between music history and storytelling. Here’s an excerpt:

𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧: 𝗕𝗜𝗚 𝗟𝗘𝗚 𝗜𝗗𝗔

Album artwork by Phoebe Helander ( ), Barry McGee, Jeffrey Sincich () and Sonny Smith ()

“Named Big Leg Ida at birth, she lived with a leg-length discrepancy that meant one leg was significantly shorter than the other. She traveled with a small stool, handmade by her father/uncle, inscribed with the line, ‘The past is never dead. It’s not even the past.’

By eleven, she was leading a gang known for arson and burglary. Music came later, after breaking into and burning down a music store.

Ida began writing songs in juvenile hall in the early 1960s. Without access to recording equipment in prison, she relied on notation, recording only during brief stretches of freedom.

In prison, she formed bands, trained as a fighter, handled rattlesnakes, and treated incarceration as part of her process. Her discography unfolded in fragments between sentences.

In 2017, her run came to an end. She died quietly in the backseat of a getaway car after robbing a bookstore that specialized in Braille books for the blind.”

Join us this Sunday, May 17th from 4-7PM for a closing celebration of the show, featuring live performances by Chris Cohen and Rhinestone Sunsets (aka the F**karoos aka Rhinestone Barbarians), with food and wine pop-ups by .earth and . Free and open to all!

05/07/2026

𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘜𝘯𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤, 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘦 1 brings together an imagined archive of bands and musicians, each with their own histories, recordings, and visual worlds. For this project, artist and musician Sonny Smith () invited artists to create album covers for these fictional acts, and collected fictional accounts of the bands in a zine (on sale for $10 at the museum), blurring the line between music history and storytelling. Here’s an excerpt:

𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗛𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧: 𝗔𝗖𝗜𝗗 𝗕𝗨𝗦𝗧 💥
Album artwork by Ben Venom (). Paul Wackers (), and Sarah Smith ()

Bassist Sage Appel, drummer George Horvath, and guitarist Neal Dry met as teenagers in 1968 in Haight-Ashbury, running errands for the Brotherhood of Eternal Love. When Dry discovered the acid they were helping circulate was toxic and unsellable, they abandoned the Acid Triangle and formed a band instead.

During a six-month stretch marked by outrageous L*D consumption, Acid Bust recorded more than seventy-five full-length albums. Every LP was delivered with real L*D soaked into the vinyl.

You had to eat the record to get high. Consequently, almost all were consumed.

What remained resurfaced twenty-five years later, during a drug raid in Bolinas. Alongside cash, weapons, and blotter paper, authorities recovered a small number of surviving records.

The case that followed unraveled just as strangely. Before closing arguments, the lead prosecutor was dosed with L*D. In court, he argued not just for the defendants, but for everything. People, animals, plants, the Earth, the objects of the universe, even the space between them.

The case was thrown out. Their first release after it all: 𝘞𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘯.

Join us May 17th from 4-7 PM for a closing celebration of the show featuring live performances by Chris Cohen and Rhinestone Sunsets (aka the F**karoos aka Rhinestone Barbarians), marking a final gathering around the exhibition.

05/04/2026

Join us this Saturday, May 9 from 12–2PM for a participatory maker workshop inspired by 𝘈 𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴, on view in tandem with 𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘶𝘵 𝘐𝘐𝘐 featuring original montages by Bolinas-based artist Waz Thomas.

Spanning a 25-year correspondence between Thomas and his partner Victor Marchese, 𝘈 𝘙𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘥𝘴 traces their ongoing exchange of hand-made postcards sent each week between Marchese’s apartment in San Francisco’s Castro district and Thomas’s cottage in Bolinas.

What began with commercial, ready-made postcards has evolved into intricate montages built from found imagery, layered with coded messages, weather notes, symbols, and playful naming rituals. Together, these works form an intimate and expansive archive of connection, shaped by repetition, humor, and care. Visitors are invited to respectfully handle and spend time perusing the postcards.

For the workshop, participants are invited to create their own postcards inspired by Thomas’s intuitive and experimental approach. Make one for a mother figure, a friend, yourself, or someone unexpected. Materials will be provided. Free and open to all!

04/24/2026

🌬️FROM THE ARCHIVES: THE SHIPWRECK OF THE R.D. INMAN. ⚓️

Many great ships safely made long and treacherous trips over the Atlantic Ocean, across the Pacific Ocean, or along the West Coast, only to come to a dramatic end on the rugged rocks of Duxbury Reef. The largest shale reef in North America, the reef has long, rocky fingers that extend into the sea and are often hidden by high tide or fog. Here, ships fell victim to powerful winds, unpredictable currents, violent surf, blankets of dense fog, or human error.

In 1907, the new wood-hulled steam schooner R.D. Inman was built on the Oregon coast and launched into service in the Pacific Coast lumber trade. On the evening of March 20, 1909, darkness fell as it left San Francisco Bay under deep overcast skies and a heavy ocean swell. She was bound for Portland. Heading north, Captain A. J. Lancaster saw a fire—an urgent signal from a vessel in distress!

An experienced seaman, he knew the code of the sea was to respond to any vessel in distress, so he headed toward it. But as he drew near, he realized it was not a vessel but a huge bonfire on a Bolinas beach. Before he could retreat, the back of the ship struck the reef and swung inward, breaking the steering gear and rudderpost. Much to the surprise of the people gathered around the bonfire, the R.D. Inman was swept over the reef into a shallow basin near the shore and wedged in rocks. The crew safely left the ship, and the owners collected insurance and abandoned her.

The creditors brought in a salvage crew, and their work attracted sightseers and visitors, including Bolinas photographer Gertrude Southworth. The crew even lifted Southworth and her friend, artist Mary Barber, onto the deck. Parts of the R.D. Inman were still lodged on the reef in 1914, when Southworth photographed the shipwreck of the Polaris nearby on Duxbury Reef.

⭐️To learn more about the fascinating history of Bolinas, join us this Saturday, April 25, at 4PM in the for an exciting slideshow and talk by Elia Haworth!⭐️

𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘴 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘶𝘮 𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴.

04/20/2026

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗬 𝗢𝗙 𝗕𝗢𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗔𝗦
A Slideshow + Talk by Elia Haworth

Saturday, April 25, 4 PM
Bolinas Community Center

Join Bolinas Museum’s Curator of History and Collections, Elia Haworth, for a slideshow presentation of historic images from the early days of Bolinas, the oldest town in coastal Marin.

This presentation explores the fascinating early history of the town through stories, local lore, and surprising, rarely seen images drawn from Haworth’s ongoing research. Learn more about her current history book project and gain a deeper understanding of the people and moments that shaped Bolinas.

Free and open to all!

04/17/2026

🌿 SAVE THE DATE: Spring Benefit 🌿
Sunday, June 7, 4–7PM

If you made it to last year’s sold-out Magik*Magik Garden Gathering, you know just how special it was… If you missed it—this is your moment! ✨

On June 7, join us for an unforgettable golden hour celebration at a stunning lagoon-side property with sweeping views of Mount Tam. Gather with friends, neighbors, and fellow art lovers for an evening of music, live art and dance activations, and a first look at the museum’s upcoming exhibitions and programs. Enjoy seasonal dishes by .earth as the sun sets over the water and raise a glass to the creative community and landscape we all love so dearly.

Bolinas Museum is free to all, always—and your support helps keep it that way.

Tickets go live May 5. We can’t wait to see you there!

•

Slides 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 by 🤍

04/13/2026

𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗧 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗧𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧: 𝗪𝗮𝘇 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀
For decades, Bolinas-based artist and community anchor Waz Thomas has been creating what he refers to as “ironic juxtapositions,” or “Wazzys” —surreal, often humorous montages built from found imagery. Drawing from scientific texts to cultural ephemera, his compositions embrace chance, contradiction, and intuition. Thomas often works late into the night in his cottage studio adjacent to Commonweal, where he has worked since meeting founder Michael Lerner in SF in the early 1980s.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲?
I’ve always wondered why I do the things I do artistically. I suspect many people have artistic ideas and urges, but never act on them. I enjoy the process of making art, whether it’s pottery or printmaking or montage. For the past 27 years I’ve enjoyed the process of montage creation: finding, cutting out, assembling and pasting images. Then, the pleasure of seeing the completed Wazzy.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲?
I don’t remember art 𝘯𝘰𝘵 being in my life. I’ve been artsy since childhood. I always doodled and scribbled and enjoyed looking at ‘art.’ In my early teen years I started wandering through the Cleveland Art Museum by myself, mesmerized by the displays and exhibits. I spent a lot of time there because l liked the art and the space was quiet and safe.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸?
I think I could be doing my current work anywhere with access to resource material, good electric light, scissors and glue. Then the rest of it is just my imagination running away with me and I think that would happen almost anywhere.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝗕𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘀 𝗠𝘂𝘀𝗲𝘂𝗺?
I’m not an excitable kinda guy. I don’t ever remember being excited. I enjoy things. I laugh a lot. I’m funny and have lots of fun, but excitement has eluded me so far. I’m very pleased and bemused to have a show. So far it’s been a delightful, curious, rewarding experience.

𝘔𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘶𝘵 𝘐𝘐𝘐 is on view through May 17

04/08/2026

✨ PERMANENT COLLECTION SPOTLIGHT ✨

Clare Rojas – 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 2022. Gouache on paper, 20 x 16 inches. 2022.14.1

𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴, 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 reflects Clare Rojas’s distinct visual language, where figuration and abstraction move fluidly between narrative and symbol. A woman holding a flower emerges within a dynamic composition, where bold geometry and saturated color meet a more intimate, emotive register.

A magic realist artist who lived and worked in Bolinas for over a decade, Rojas draws from Peruvian folklore, Californian ecofeminism, and a deep engagement with mythology, nature, and literature. Her work often features recurring motifs like birds, female figures, and elemental forces, creating worlds where the mystical and the everyday coexist.

Rojas’s work is held in major collections including the Museum of Modern Art, SFMOMA, and the de Young Museum, among many others. This work was acquired through the generous support of museum donors in honor of Jennifer Gately, who led Bolinas Museum for nearly a decade.

On view in our Permanent Collection Gallery through May 17.

04/06/2026

𝗔𝗥𝗧𝗜𝗦𝗧 𝗦𝗣𝗢𝗧𝗟𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧: 𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝗦𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗵 ()

West Marin–based musician, playwright, and artist Sonny Smith builds expansive, character-driven worlds through music, storytelling, and objects. Working across sound, ceramics, drawing, and installation, his practice blends fiction and autobiography, often centering outsiders, humor, and the strange logic of imagined lives.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗱𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿𝘀?
That they may be thrilled, or laugh or feel a sense of kinship in some way or they may feel understood on some level.

𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲?
My ritual is to wake up, groan a little about the futility of everything, sigh, close my eyes, wish I was a professional baseball player, feel a sense of dread about making music or art, get up, make coffee, eat breakfast, then go to my studio and get into whatever project I’ve started.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝘆 𝗔𝗿𝗲𝗮 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁?
There are so many ceramicists, wood workers, stained glass, painters and poets. People that set out to make weird houses. I’m a big fan of a lot of the artists that made art here, from Roy De Forest to Richard Shaw to Joan Brown to Richard Brautigan to Jay DeFeo to Alan Watts.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗼𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲?
My family played old time music around the house, banjo, fiddle, Appalachian tunes. There were always musicians around. My mom loved science fiction, shelves of Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke. My dad romanticized painters and poets, especially the Beats, Kerouac, Ginsburg, Brautigan. It was all just there.

Enter the world of 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘜𝘯𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘤, 𝘝𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘦 1 through May 17 at the Bolinas Museum.

04/01/2026

FROM THE ARCHIVES: Lagoon-Side Hotels

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, as word spread about West Marin’s natural beauty and visitors began arriving in growing numbers, Wharf Road in Bolinas—then called “The Point”—was the center of local life. Across from the museum’s current location, two large hotels once stood, built directly over the lagoon so schooner passengers could step off the boats and straight inside.

The first hotel was built in 1862 by John Gifford and soon expanded into a full-service destination with amenities like a saloon, dance hall, and lagoon-view rooms. Over time, it changed names and owners, eventually becoming The Flagstaff Inn. Around 1900, anticipating a railroad connection, Sherman Smith Sr. built a second overwater hotel, The Bolinas Tavern (later The Del Mar Inn). Both became popular with visitors from across the Bay Area and beyond.

Everything changed on April 18, 1906, when a powerful earthquake caused both structures to collapse into the lagoon. Though lodging continued in other buildings afterward, none recreated the unique experience of those iconic overwater hotels perched atop the shifting tides.

Swipe to step back in time. 🌊

📷 Courtesy of the Bolinas Museum

03/23/2026

Join us this Sunday, March 29, 5–7 PM for the opening celebration of two new exhibitions. Free and open to all, with live music, good food, and a full night at the museum.

Live sets by Danny Dusk & The Twilights and The Old Guard
Food for purchase by Loba (.earth)
Wine by Rotoscope ()

On view March 29 – May 17, 2026:

𝗦𝗼𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝗦𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗵: 𝘼𝙣𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙐𝙣𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙈𝙪𝙨𝙞𝙘, 𝙑𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙢𝙚 1
Curated by Noelle Hiam

An imagined archive of songs by fictional bands, this exhibition expands into a collaborative, multimedia world. With LP covers and sculptures by over 30 artists alongside Smith’s own ceramic and mixed media works, it brings together a cast of outcasts, weirdos, and dreamers where music, storytelling, and visual art collide.

𝗪𝗮𝘇 𝗧𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘀: 𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙪𝙩 𝙄𝙄𝙄
Curated by Jessica Shaefer

A new selection of Thomas’s “Wazzies,” these works remix found printed materials into surreal, often humorous compositions. Built through instinctive cutting and recombination, they lean into the strange, the absurd, and the unexpected.

Images:
1. 2. Waz Thomas, 𝘜𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘭𝘦𝘥, 2022-23, Mixed media on paper, 14 x 14 inches, Courtesy of the Michael Lerner Collection at Commonweal.
2. L to R: Sonny Smith, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘯𝘩𝘢𝘮 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴, 2025, Ceramic with glaze decal, 9 x 9 inches. -Sonny Smith, 𝘉𝘪𝘨 𝘓𝘦𝘨 𝘐𝘥𝘢, 2025, Ceramic with glaze decal, 10.75 x 10.75 inches. - Sonny Smith, 𝘋𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘯, 2025, Ceramic with glaze decal, 7 x 7 inches, Courtesy of the artist.

Address

48 Wharf Road/PO Box 450
Bolinas, CA
94924

Opening Hours

Friday	1pm - 5pm
Saturday	12pm - 5pm
Sunday	12pm - 5pm

Telephone

+14158680330

Website

http://www.bolinasmuseum.org/

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