Donald + Era Farnsworth:
Collaborators in Art and Life
|
Married for over 30 years, Donald and Era co-direct Magnolia Editions, an arts projects studio, based in Oakland, California. Both artists are products of the San Francisco Bay Area; Don was born and raised in Palo Alto and Era is a native of Berkeley. Shortly after receiving his M.A. from the University of California at Berkeley in 1977, Donald Farnsworth met Era Hamaji. They married and immediately set out for Dar es Salaam, Tanzania where they helped a local crafts center create and bring a handmade paper mill into production. In 1980 the Farnsworths returned to California and were founders
|
of the art projects studio Magnolia Editions, known for its many innovative techniques and collaborative projects with numerous SF Bay Area, national and international artists. Donald Farnsworth has taught in the Art Departments of many universities and colleges, including UC Berkeley, California College of the Arts, San Francisco State University and University of Hawaii.
The Farnsworths’ collaborative work is in numerous collections nationwide and internationally, including the permanent collections of Loyola University Museum of Art in Chicago; San Antonio Museum of Art; The Art in Embassies program, Department of State, Guangzhou, China Embassy; City of Berkeley, and the State of New Mexico Art in Public Places. Their work has been exhibited in museums worldwide, including The Fowler Museum, UCLA; Loyola University Museum of Art in Chicago; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco; Daikanyama in Tokyo, Japan; Frost Art Museum in Miami; Brukenthal Museum in Sibiu, Romania; Nobel Museum, Stockholm and Nobel Peace Center in Oslo; San Antonio Museum of Art; BOZAR Museum at the Palace of Fine Arts in Brussels, Belgium; Ministry of Culture in Monaco, the Field Museum in Chicago, the Leonardo Museum in Salt Lake City, the Ulrich Museum of Art in Wichita, Kansas. In December 2015 the exhibition Inside Magnolia Editions: Innovation and Collaboration was shown at the Art Museum of Sonoma County in Santa Rosa, California; it travelled to Peters Projects in Santa Fe, New Mexico in May of 2016.
In 2013 the Farnsworths were awarded the Flourish Oakland Community Award, by the Board of Directors of Oakland Art Murmur, for fostering fine art and artists in Oakland, California and in 2015 they were awarded The Kala Master Artist Award, by the Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, California.
The Farnsworths’ collaborative work is in numerous collections nationwide and internationally, including the permanent collections of Loyola University Museum of Art in Chicago; San Antonio Museum of Art; The Art in Embassies program, Department of State, Guangzhou, China Embassy; City of Berkeley, and the State of New Mexico Art in Public Places. Their work has been exhibited in museums worldwide, including The Fowler Museum, UCLA; Loyola University Museum of Art in Chicago; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco; Daikanyama in Tokyo, Japan; Frost Art Museum in Miami; Brukenthal Museum in Sibiu, Romania; Nobel Museum, Stockholm and Nobel Peace Center in Oslo; San Antonio Museum of Art; BOZAR Museum at the Palace of Fine Arts in Brussels, Belgium; Ministry of Culture in Monaco, the Field Museum in Chicago, the Leonardo Museum in Salt Lake City, the Ulrich Museum of Art in Wichita, Kansas. In December 2015 the exhibition Inside Magnolia Editions: Innovation and Collaboration was shown at the Art Museum of Sonoma County in Santa Rosa, California; it travelled to Peters Projects in Santa Fe, New Mexico in May of 2016.
In 2013 the Farnsworths were awarded the Flourish Oakland Community Award, by the Board of Directors of Oakland Art Murmur, for fostering fine art and artists in Oakland, California and in 2015 they were awarded The Kala Master Artist Award, by the Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, California.
