The Adrienne Fuzee papers document the professional life of one of the few openly lesbian African-American curators working in the U.S. in the late 20th Century and include correspondence and memos, ephemera, financial records, grants and proposals, news clippings, notes, publicity materials and slides. The collection also contains some of Fuzee’s writings and notebooks; personalia, including a small amount of correspondence, clothing and artifacts; and photographic materials.

Adrienne Louise Fuzee (aka ALF, A. Francois Fuzée, Allen Fuzzy and the Chicken) was born May 16, 1950 in Los Angeles. Her parents were Lawrence and Beulah Fuzee. She graduated from Our Lady of Loretto High School in 1968 and lived and worked in the San Francisco Bay Area throughout her life. Her life partner was Lisa Kahaleole Hall. Fuzee was one of the few openly lesbian African American curators working in the United States in the late 20th Century. A visionary artist and writer, she helped develop and promote the work of artists at the Watts Towers, Los Angeles Women’s Building, New Langton Arts, the Spectrum Gallery, Zocolo Gallery, the GLBT Historical Society, Oakland Art Dot Com, the San Francisco LGBT Community Center in San Francisco and her own Galerie Fuzee. Fuzee co-edited “Unsolicited Commentary,” a journal of cultural criticism, with Garland Kyle, taught at the San Francisco Art Insitute, co-chaired Lesbians in the Visual Arts, was a founding member of the Queer Cultural Center and was a president and board member of the City of San Francisco Art Commission Gallery Advisory Board. Fuzee died on May 18, 2003 in Oakland after a lengthy battle with diabetes.

7 linear feet (6 cartons, 1 oversize box)

Copyright has been transferred to the GLBT Historical Society.

The collection is open for research, with the exception of mailing lists, which are restricted for 20 years from the date of creation. Please contact the Managing Archivist for more information. Funding for processing this collection was provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).