Living With The Graphic Arts Loan Collection

By Camille Crittenden

Thank you for this wonderful service! The Berthe Morisot sketch I borrowed added a touch of history and visual culture to my office space that I appreciated every day.

By Emily Turkel

Living with the GALC was great! The one downside was not being able to check the pieces out over the summer — my apartment was defined by the art! I had “Raccoon Straits” hung above my dining room table and everyone complimented me on the piece! Can’t wait to check out some new prints next semester.

By Jessie Rosales

It was my first time using the GALC loan program. It was a good experience. I reviewed aimlessly through the available art pieces. However, I stumbled across two art pieces from Latinx artists. I decided to rent them out and place them in my barebones office. Unfortunately, I found out about the program a bit late, so the art pieces were only in my office for less than a month – but they did bring a lot of character and fullness to my office.

By Anonymous

I am a Berkeley staff member and first learned about the GALC through enthusiastic co-workers who had just chosen and hung their prints for the year. Because my work is based at an institute focused on robotics and automation, I sought out two prints that were deeply humanistic in both subject and medium. Both were portraits of human (or humanoid) figures looking contemplative about their roles and places in the world. In contrast to the uniformity of mass-produced art prints from the home decor store, these pieces also stood out because a human hand was so evident in their creation…from delicate and irregular pencil strokes to the hand-cut paper canvas.

After participating for one year, my conclusion is that the GALC is the coolest program on campus! I’ve told dozens of colleagues around the world about it. They were shocked that the University allows this intimate and democratic engagement with fine art. Bringing art and the artists’s stories into our office spaces helps to elevate the professional environment — in ways that reflect the thought-provoking work we all do on behalf of the University. Thank you for providing this very special program.

By Clifton Damiens

I loved having those prints in my office. I have an office in the basement; no windows and no natural light. The posters brought a bit of sunshine into my workspace. I only wish I could keep them through the summer.

I am grateful for this program and look forward to reserving two more pieces for the 2019-20 academic year.