We are thrilled to share that our founder, Bonnie Ora Sherk—the visionary artist, environmental educator, and creator of A Living Library—is the subject of a major museum exhibition at the USC Fisher Museum of Art, on view August 26 through November 29, 2026.
This exhibition marks the second major museum presentation of Bonnie’s work in recent years, following the acclaimed exhibition at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture in San Francisco. Together, these exhibitions celebrate Bonnie’s extraordinary legacy as a pioneer whose groundbreaking work united art, ecology, education, and community engagement in ways that continue to inspire communities around the world.
For more than five decades, Bonnie reimagined how cities, nature, and people could exist together. Beginning in the 1970s, she transformed overlooked urban spaces in San Francisco into vibrant living environments and later created The Farm, an innovative community art and ecology center beneath a freeway interchange. Her work helped inspire a broader movement to reclaim underused urban land for public life and environmental stewardship.
In 1981, Bonnie founded A Living Library, creating a model for hands-on, nature-based learning environments where communities could reconnect with one another and with the natural world. That vision became Life Frames, Inc., the nonprofit she established not simply to preserve her work, but to continue expanding it through education, environmental stewardship, and community partnerships.
Today, Bonnie’s vision lives on through active Living Library sites in San Francisco and New York, where children, youth, educators, volunteers, and community members restore habitats, create pollinator gardens, grow food, and transform public spaces into living classrooms.
Under the leadership of Executive Director China Bushell, our dedicated staff, interns, volunteers, board members, and community partners are honored to build upon Bonnie’s extraordinary foundation every day. While each project reflects the unique needs of its community, the mission remains true to Bonnie’s original vision: using art, ecology, education, and community stewardship to create healthier neighborhoods, inspire environmental leadership, and reconnect people with the natural world.
The exhibition features rare photographs, films, artist books, drawings, and archival materials spanning Bonnie’s remarkable career, offering visitors a unique opportunity to experience the origins of the Living Library concept and the lasting impact of her life’s work.
As we celebrate this important exhibition, we also celebrate the living legacy Bonnie created—one that continues to grow through every garden planted, every student inspired, every habitat restored, and every community that embraces the Living Library model.
📍 Learn more and plan your visit: https://www.museum.ucsb.edu/exhibition/bonnie-ora-sherk-life-frames-since-1970/