John Zipperer

TALK OF THE CLUB

Mural with a Message

When the Bay Area shut down to rein in the spread of the coronavirus, the Club’s waterfront headquarters in San Francisco acquired a new look. To add some color to the street of boarded-up buildings, the Club commissioned a local artist to paint a mural on its Embarcadero barrier facade (see photo above).

The mural was painted by artist Ian Ross, born and raised in Marin County in a family of artists. He designed the mural shortly after the killing of George Floyd, and if you look at the colorful image, you will see a subtle message. You can see more of Ross’s work at ianrossart.com.

Virtual Reception

The Commonwealth Club’s Farmer Gallery features exhibits all year long from local artists who work in a variety of styles and formats. The exhibits are often opened or closed with a reception and discussion with the artist.

But what do you do when shelter-in-place Phillip Hua

rules mean that no one can see the exhibited artwork and no one can gather for a glass of wine and a chat with the artist?

You go online. On August 5, the Club’s Arts Member-Led Forum hosted a virtual reception for artist Phillip Hua, whose “All That Glitters” exhibit is currently hanging in the Farmer Gallery. Attendees poured themselves a glass of their favorite wine and viewed Hua’s live conversation with Arts MLF organizer Robert Melton.

Proud Graduate

To complete a final project for his graphic design degree from San José State University, Elijah Allen needed to design a poster for a mock Club event. He researched the Club, designed his poster, and contacted us about getting some on-site access. At left, Allen with his poster in front of the Club; at right, detail from the poster.

LEADERSHIP OF THE COMMONWEALTH CLUB

CLUB OFFICERS

Board Chair Evelyn Dilsaver Vice Chair Martha Ryan Secretary Dr. Jaleh Daie Treasurer John R. Farmer President & CEO Dr. Gloria C. Duffy

BOARD OF GOVERNORS

Robert E. Adams Willie Adams John F. Allen Scott Anderson Dan Ashley Dr. Mary G. F.

Bitterman Harry E. Blount John L. Boland Charles M. Collins Dennis Collins Kevin Collins Mary B. Cranston LaDoris Cordell Susie Cranston Dr. Kerry P. Curtis Dorian Daley James Driscoll Joseph I. Epstein Jeffrey A. Farber Dr. Carol A. Fleming Leslie Saul Garvin Paul M. Ginsburg Hon. James C. Hormel Mary Huss Lata Krishnan John Leckrone Dr. Mary Marcy Lenny Mendonca Michelle Meow Anna W.M. Mok DJ Patil Donald J. Pierce Bruce Raabe Skip Rhodes Kausik Rajgopal Bill Ring Richard A. Rubin George M. Scalise Charlotte Mailliard

Shultz Todd Silvia George D. Smith Jr. David Spencer James Strother Hon. Tad Taube Marcel TenBerge Charles Travers Kimberly Twombly-Wu Don Wen Dr. Colleen B. Wilcox Brenda Wright Jed York Mark Zitter

PAST BOARD CHAIRS AND PRESIDENTS

* Past Chair ** Past President Dr. Mary G. F.

Bitterman* J. Dennis Bonney** John Busterud** (deceased) Maryles Casto* Hon. Ming Chin** Mary B. Cranston* Joseph I. Epstein** John Farmer* Dr. Joseph R. Fink** Rose Guilbault* Claude B. Hutchison Jr.** Dr. Julius Krevans** (deceased) Anna W.M. Mok* Richard Otter** Joseph Perrelli** Toni Rembe** Victor J. Revenko** Skip Rhodes** Renée Rubin** Richard Rubin* Robert Saldich* (deceased) Connie Shapiro** Nelson Weller** Judith Wilbur** Dennis Wu**

ADVISORY BOARD

Karin Helene Bauer Hon. William Bradley Dennise M. Carter Steven Falk Amy Gershoni Jacquelyn Hadley Heather Kitchen Amy McCombs Don J. McGrath Hon. William J. Perry Hon. Barbara Pivnicka Hon. Richard Pivnicka Ray Taliaferro Nancy Thompson

ON THE SCENE

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Global History

The Club provides livestream video for a 24-hour global celebration

When the pandemic forced the cancellation of public gatherings, it meant organizers of Global Pride—an annual celebration of LGBTQ rights—had a choice: skip the 2020 event or put it all online.

Michelle Meow, former president of San Francisco Pride and the host of “The Michelle Meow Show,” was one of two executive producers for the program, and she tapped the online video expertise of The Commonwealth Club. And on June 26–27, for more than 24 hours, the Club’s AV team facilitated a nonstop, live broadcast of videos from around the world. It included activists; snapshots of LGBTQ life and challenges in many countries; appearances by Joe Biden, Justin Trudeau, Leo Varadkar, Elton John, Laverne Cox, and many others; musical

performances; and much more, bringing together people from around the world for a day of connection and celebration.

Photos: u One of our video control stations; the program incorporated live sign language from interpreters located around the world. v Michelle Meow, wearing her face shield, pauses during hour 16 of the live-stream. w The control room. x Livestream engineer Adam Anderson monitors the live video feeds. y The team. Back row, left to right: Jethro Patalinghug, Michelle Meow, Orawan Chanpanya; front row: Ron deHarte, Mark Kirchner, Spencer Campbell, Adam Anderson, Jeremy Lassalle and Arnav Gupta. z There was no in-person audience in our Taube Family Auditorium, but the marathon broadcast reached more than 57

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million viewers around the world.

photo credits: Spencer Campbell (5); Mark Kirchner (4); and John Zipperer (1, 2, 3 and 6).