2020 Archival Pigment Print
27 x 21.875
A hundred limited-edition archival prints of a portrait of Mimi Fariña by Joan Baez are available from our Corte Madera office for a donation of $1,000. This is a unique opportunity to acquire a piece of Joan’s work, which is highly collectible and increasing in value. Thanks to the generosity of the artist Joan Baez and her exclusive art representative Donna Seager from the Seager-Gray Gallery, all proceeds from this fundraising initiative will support Bread & Roses Presents ongoing programs.
The 27 x 21.875 unframed prints are personally signed and numbered by Joan Baez. The prints are available for pick-up from our office or to ship for an additional charge. To make a donation for a print, click here or visit breadandroses.org/donate. For info: Contact (415) 945-7120 or info@breadandroses.org.
Bread & Roses founder, the late Mimi Fariña, is remembered in all her beauty and grace in this loving portrait by her sister folk icon Joan Baez. The portrait, inspired by a photo taken by the late Jerry Wainwright, shows Mimi dressed for an appearance with the comedy troupe The Committee in 1967.
An international performer and activist for over fifty years, Joan Baez held her first exhibit of paintings in a show called “Mischief Makers” in September of 2017 at the Seager/Gray Gallery in Mill Valley. The original portrait she painted of Mimi remains in her collection and is not for sale. The painting will be included in Marin MOCA’s exhibition on “Marin’s Rock Art Scene” at the museum’s contemporary art center at Hamilton Field from Sept. 12-Nov. 8, 2020.
Inspired by a B.B. King concert in New York’s Sing Sing Prison, Mimi started Bread & Roses in 1974 to bring free, live music to people shut away in institutions or otherwise isolated from society. Mimi died of cancer in 2001 after leading Bread & Roses for 25 years. Her leadership was so inspirational that the beloved nonprofit she created lives on to this day. In 2019, B&R presented more than 650 shows in eight Bay Area counties – an average of one every day of the year.
In the 1960s, Mimi was a folk music star in her own right, performing as a duo with her husband, singer-songwriter and novelist Richard Fariña. The couple recorded a couple of acclaimed albums for Vanguard Records, “Celebrations for a Grey Day” and “Reflections in a Crystal Wind.” Richard, author of the cult novel “Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me,” was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1966 on Mimi’s 21st birthday.
Throughout her life, Mimi continued to perform, often in duets with Joan. She was a member of the legendary San Francisco comedy troupe The Committee. With singing partner Tom Jans, she recorded the 1971 album “Take Heart,” a cult classic. In 1986, Rounder Records released “Solo,” her debut album on her own.
Her long-time musical collaborator Banana aka Lowell Levinger, released a CD of songs in 2017 from a concert they did in Germany in the 80s called “Mimi Fariña with Lowell Levinger (Banana from the Youngbloods) Live in Germany” to benefit Bread & Roses.
The CDs are also available for purchase from our office.
Mimi was a talented singer, guitarist and songwriter, but she had always been disenchanted with the music business. Her real passion was bringing joy and the healing power of music to people through Bread & Roses.
“Mimi was a leading figure in the Bay Area and beyond,” Joan says. “Bread & Roses was her innovation, taking entertainment into these places. And it was so well organized for 25 years that it continues to this day.”
Now headed by Executive Director Dave Perron, with a committed staff of eight and over a thousand volunteers, Mimi’s legacy lives on in the healing mission of Bread & Roses to bring music to Bay Area audiences who are isolated . New initiatives include Courtyard Concerts, Zoom Shows and a special collaboration with the SF-Marin Food Bank. For more info, visit: www.breadandroses.org.
Contributors: Paul Liberatore and Marian Hubler
Captions:
1) Limited edition print of Mimi Fariña portrait by Joan Baez.
2) Mimi Fariña and Joan Baez at 1979 Bread & Roses Festival of Music at the Greek Theatre by Richard McCaffrey