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Finding Aid to the Simo Neri Color Slides of Carnaval San Francisco
1980-1989
SFP 165
SFP 165
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Title: Simo Neri Color Slides of Carnaval San Francisco
Date (inclusive): 1980-1989
Date (bulk): (bulk 1980-1988)
Identifier/Call Number: SFP 165
Creator:
Neri, Simo, 1948-
Physical Description:
1 pamphlet box
(.5 Cubic Feet)
Contributing Institution:
San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 557-4567
Abstract: Simo Neri is a
photographer and visual artist who photographed San Francisco's Carnaval for a decade,
beginning in its second year. Neri's color slides depict groups, portraits, dancers,
musicians, costumes, the parade and parade onlookers, floats, children, and signs. Event
locations depicted include Civic Center Plaza, Dolores Park, and the parade route in the
Mission neighborhood.
Physical Location: The collection is stored on
site.
Languages Represented: Collection materials are in English.
The collection is available for use during Photo Desk hours. Collections that are stored
offsite should be requested 48 hours in advance.
All requests for permission to publish photographs must be submitted in writing to the
Photo Curator. Permission publication is given on behalf of the San Francisco Public Library
as the owner of the physical items. Copyright is held by photographer.
[Identification of item], Simo Neri, Color Slides of Carnaval San Francisco (SFP 165), San
Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library.
Donated by Simo Neri on November 22, 2019.
Researchers are encouraged to see also other San Francisco History Center Carnaval
collections.
Simo Neri is a photographer and visual artist who photographed Carnaval San Francisco from
1980-1988. Originally from Italy, she has lived and worked in Paris, New York, and San
Francisco.
Carnaval was begun in 1979 by six original members: Adela Chu (dancer/teacher), Marcus
Gordon (master percussionist/music director), Pam Minor (Costume Bank), Sir Lawrence
Washington (conceptual artist), Lou DeMatteis (photographer) and Carole Deutch. They named
the event Carnaval San Francisco, and decided to create a multi-cultural, multi-tradition
event that reflected the diversity of the bay area, with emphasis on artistic quality and
community participation.
In 1980, the second year of Carnaval San Francisco, the parade ended in Dolores Park. The
following year, the city was concerned about crowd numbers, and the parade's final
destination moved to Civic Center Plaza. Neri's photographs capture both locations as well
as the parade route through the Mission district.
By 1983, the event had outgrown the grass roots structure and minimally funded
organization. After 1983 the original founders stepped back and left the decision about next
steps to Mission Neighborhood Centers. Carnaval continues to be an annual event drawing
large crowds in San Francisco. The photographs in this collection depict the grassroots
energy of the original members' vision and the many community members and organizations that
contributed to Carnaval San Francisco in the 1980s.
The collection is composed of 1,360 color slides documenting Carnaval celebrations from
1980-1988, seven color film negatives, and a postcard for a Carnaval photography exhibit in
1989. The slides and film negatives depict groups, portraits, dancers, musicians, costumes,
the parade, onlookers, floats, children, signs, and more. Event locations depicted include
Civic Center Plaza, Dolores Park, and the parade route in the Mission neighborhood.
Slides are arranged in six folders in original order. A seventh folder contains a 1989
postcard for a Carnaval exhibit and an eighth folder contains color film negatives. The
slides are not arranged in order by date or subject, although some sheets are specific to a
single year or subject.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Carnaval -- California -- San Francisco
Carnaval San Francisco