For those who know me well, they know that there are few places in the world that I haven’t gone, or cultures that I haven’t experienced…most of the time with my great friend, Ed Roski. Ed and I have developed a “Bucket List” of places we still want to go, and the South Pole was certainly near the top. In early January, Signe and I accompanied Ed on what has to be considered the trip of a lifetime when we made it to the South Pole! Thank you, Ed!

The past few months continue to be challenging with the ongoing uncertainty of the pandemic. As a result, the exciting programs we had planned around the opening of our newest exhibition Everest: Ascent to Glory were moved to online. By the time this publishes, our outstanding guest curator, and Lynda Thomas Distinguished Lecturer, Wade Davis, will have launched the exhibition with a virtual presentation and live zoom on opening day. Wade is simply amazing, and we plan to have him on site by April 1 for the postponed members-only celebration of Everest and his next lecture, which will be held in person in the Norma Kershaw Auditorium on April 2. We have a remarkable array of programs planned in conjunction with Everest, which is a spectacular exhibit presented in cooperation with the Royal Geographical Society in London.

Looking ahead, our exhibition calendar continues to delight as we host the 111th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition from the California Art Club over the summer, which leads up to the much-anticipated return of legendary Chinese fashion designer, Guo Pei in the fall. I’m very excited about the future and hope you agree. As a teaser to the future after 2022, we are currently working to bring an important gemstone exhibit in partnership with iconic jewelers, Van Cleef & Arpels, and another great exhibit of Chinese treasures from the collections of the Vatican. I look forward to returning to normal times at the Bowers Museum in the near future and thank you all for your continued support.

Best wishes,

Peter C. Keller, Ph.D