SFMOMA: A Celebration of Jerome Caja

On this special evening, SFMOMA partners with Visual AIDS to honor collection artist Jerome Caja (1958–1995).

Join artists Justin Vivian Bond and Cliff Hengst, as well as Anthony Cianciolo, founder of The Jerome Project, for a conversation with Visual AIDS staff about Caja’s life, work, and legacy.

A San Francisco Art Institute alum, Caja was a powerful visual artist, drag performer, and provocateur who transgressed the supposed boundaries of gender, performance, and art in the nightclub and art-world scenes of San Francisco during the late 1980s and early ‘90s. In his visual art practice, Caja was known for using unconventional materials — ranging from nail polish and eyeliner to human ashes — to express themes of spirituality, mortality, and sexuality.

​This evening will include a presentation of rare archival video clips and ephemera from the artist, and is also the West Coast launch for the Visual AIDS book, DUETS: Nayland Blake and Justin Vivian Bond on Jerome Caja, which will be available for purchase. Refreshments will be served.

---

​A Celebration of Jerome Caja:

Thursday, Oct 17, 2019

​7:00 p.m. in the Koret Education Center, Floor 2

​​PLEASE NOTE: This event is part of SFMOMA's Local Affairs. It is free and open to the public; museum admission is not required.

---

IMAGE CAPTION: Jerome Caja, Portrait, ca. 1990; collection SFMOMA, gift of the artist; © Estate of Jerome Caja; photo: Katherine Du Tie.

Participants:

​Justin Vivian Bond, trans-genre artist living in New York City; writer, visual artist, and performer on- and off-Broadway, in film, and on television.

Cliff Hengst, San Francisco–based artist and performer.

Anthony Cianciolo, founder of The Jerome Project, a multi-platform art history project created to preserve, protect, and further the artistic legacy of Jerome Caja.

Esther McGowan, executive director of Visual AIDS.

Kyle Croft, programs manager of Visual AIDS.

---

Post by Anthony Cianciolo