Hi, I’m Seth.

For over three decades, I've dedicated my heart and expertise to preserving cultural legacies in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. My journey into archival work began unexpectedly and beautifully—as an art student, I spent three years cataloguing artist and collector Jerome Goodman's remarkable collection, discovering my passion for preserving precious objects and the stories they hold.

This calling deepened profoundly in 2006 when my dear friend and mentor Remy Charlip suffered a stroke. What began as an act of love—protecting his lifetime of creative work spanning 100 boxes of papers, artwork, and historical records—became an extension of my artistic practice. I fulfilled these twin passions in Remy's case by studying his archives, conducting oral histories with his living friends and colleagues, and creating a performance work about his life. This interweaving of preservation and performance has shaped my practice ever since. After Remy's passing in 2012, I honored his legacy by creating a comprehensive digital archive and successfully placing his collections at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center and The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, ensuring his work remains accessible to future generations.

Through Eye Zen Archival Services, I've had the privilege of safeguarding the work of influential artists who shaped our cultural landscape. I created digital platforms showcasing calligrapher William Stewart's virtuosic portfolio, and I'm currently guiding conceptual performer Paul Cotton/AKA Adam II through the preservation process. I've created detailed inventories with cultural producer and instigator Eva Soltes, documenting both her own extensive career and the archives of her mentors, and provided archival support for pioneering environmental artist Bonnie Ora Sherk.

As founder of Eye Zen Presents, I bring these vital histories to life through dynamic performances, immersive installations, and public events. My work appears in venues ranging from The Contemporary Jewish Museum and Yerba Buena Center for the Arts to galleries, theaters, and the streets of San Francisco, always with a focus on unearthing and elevating LGBTQ+ ancestors and elders through careful interpretation of their archives.

Every collection tells a unique story that deserves to be preserved and shared. Although my experience began with LGBTQ+ artists and continues to center their stories, I work with and welcome artists, collectors, and estate trustees from all communities and disciplines. I bring both professional expertise and deep personal commitment to organizing, preserving, and amplifying your legacy. There are too many incredible stories we cannot afford to lose.

Let's illuminate your legacy together—schedule a free consultation today.

Resumé

Seth Eisen

Archivist, Artist, Consultant,
Writer, Educator
Legacy Steward for Arts and Culture

PROFILE

More than 30 years of experience in archival preservation, processing, cataloguing and placement, as well as innovative and exciting curation and public programming bringing LGBTQIA and QTBIPOC histories to life through archival storytelling. Known for inspiring collaborative leadership, coaching and mentorship in archival projects.

Archival Expertise  
Program & Exhibition Development
Curatorial Experience
Project Management
Strategy & Operations
Budget Management
Fundraising & Grantmaking
Experienced Educator and Mentor

  • Impressive track record of leading a mission-driven organization focused on LGBTQIA+ history and archival preservation and interpretation for 17 years and creating partnerships with educational and cultural institutions, non-profit and for-profit organizations, and community groups to attract and engage audiences of diverse backgrounds.

  • Dynamic advocate for the importance of LGBTQIA+ history and archives. Sought after guest speaker at conferences, universities and organizations. Enthusiastic and personable communicator, skilled at conveying complex concepts and ideas to engage diverse stakeholders.

  • Expert at seeking out and securing previously untapped institutional and private funding sources. Skillful in writing grant proposals and managing budgets, funding contracts and reporting.

 

EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

M.A., Transformative Arts, John F. Kennedy University, Berkeley, CA, 2000

B.A., Interdisciplinary Performing Arts: Theater, Dance, Writing, Naropa University, Boulder, CO, 1993

The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 1989

  • A four-year certificate program.

  • Gained in-depth knowledge of archival preservation and cataloguing as archivist for artist Jerome Goodman’s voluminous collection, part of which was later sold to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and other major museum collections.

Coursework in Archival Preservation, Digital Collections Management, Non-profit Management, Financial and Strategic Planning, Budgeting and Business Development.

MS Office, Google Suite, Collections Management Software, Adobe Suite, Asana, Slack, FlipCause, Airtable and Drop Box; familiar with TMS, Gale, Salesforce and other CMS programs.

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Principal Archivist
Eye Zen Archival Services
Berkeley/El Sobrante, CA
2006-present

  • Carefully processed and digitized the extensive Remy Charlip Collection comprising multiple media. Hired and directed a team in the creation of a 1000-page annotated finders’ guide and public website.  remycharlipestate.org

  • Sourced, hosted and negotiated with curators, museum professionals and collectors at major institutions. Successfully sold and placed the archives at The New York Public Library and The Eric Carle Museum in Massachusetts. 

  • Led major archival project for San Francisco Bay artist and calligrapher William Stewart, whose work is featured at the San Francisco Public Library. Catalogue his archives and digitize his artwork.  quillemot.com

  • Traveled to numerous collections at libraries and museums nationwide to conduct archival research, with extensive knowledge of institutional loan and permissions policies and how to make them accessible to researchers and the public while lucrative for holding institutions.

Archival Storytelling Curator & Event Producer
The Contemporary Jewish Museum, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (YBCA) & Children’s Creativity Museum
San Francisco, CA
2021-2023

  • Curated and produced Fierce as Death/Queering the Song of Songs, after working with the archives of Jewlia Eisenberg. Fierce as Death was an immersive, multimedia, museum-wide archival storytelling event at The Contemporary Jewish Museum honoring the life, music and legacy of Jewlia Eisenberg.

  • Completed inventory and research in Jewlia Eisenberg’s archives for nine months. Spearheaded collaboration with Bay Area artists, dancers and musicians, the Museum Director, Director of Public Programs, and the entire staff on a series of exciting indoor and outdoor interactive installations and exhibits based on the archives.

  • Curated and produced FabLab: Celebration of Life 2022-2023 at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts (2022) and Children’s Creativity Museum (2023). FabLab comprises a series of playshops that provide a vital space for QTBIPOC culture bearers to conjure and celebrate the legacies of queer ancestors.

  • Each session culminated in a major celebration, with theater/performance, spoken word, visual art and dance to ignite a fabulous retelling of queer history facilitated by the fiercest QTBIPOC creative voices.

  • Selected as a “YBCA 100” 2023 Honoree for our work in Archival Storytelling.

Artistic & Executive Director
EyeZen Presents
San Francisco, CA
2006-present

  • Mounted 15+ original theater productions and 12+ immersive and accessible exhibitions, using primary source materials and dozens of oral histories within the LGBTQIA+ community. Received positive press for research-based theater art and compelling public programs.

  • Created and drove successful fundraising, donor development and retention strategies, growing donor database to 1000+ donors. Administered and tracked budgets of over $100K.

  • Collaborated with a broad spectrum of Bay Area partners, including: GLBT Historical Society, ACT, SF Public Library James C. Hormel LGBTQIA Center, Latinx Mafia, Sol Vida, Glide Memorial Church, SOMA West Community Benefit District, CounterPulse, Shaping San Francisco, SF Heritage, Leather and LGBTQ Cultural District, Queer Cultural Center and Queer Ancestors Project.

  • Hired and directed 10-50 employees and 60+ volunteers and interns in the implementation of projects, public programs and educational events that engaged widely diverse audiences.

  • Recruited and consulted with Advisory Board members, crafting organizational by-laws, budgets, policies and procedures.

  • Initiated and directed Out of Site, a highly acclaimed performance-driven queer history tour of selected neighborhoods throughout San Francisco.

  • Delivered informative and engaging lectures, presentations and performances in numerous settings, including: Contemporary Jewish Museum, California College of Art, Queer History Conference 2022 at San Francisco State University, Berkeley City College, Sonoma State University, Adelphi University, and University of California Irvine, Future Histories Lab, Saint Mary’s College, and University of California Berkeley.

  • Lectures and presentations on my interpretive work in archives include: Out of Site: Performing Queer History; Simple Magic: The Art of Remy Charlip; A Queer Vocal History; Queering the Song of Songs; From Archives to the Stage – performing place-based queer histories; Out of Site: Strategies for Queering Archives and Sites; Queer Ancestors, Sites and Archives.

  • Secured funding of $1K to $100K from multiple grantors, including: San Francisco Arts Commission, Gerbode Foundation, Walter and Elise Haas Fund, California Arts Council, Zellerbach Family Foundation, Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, The MAP Fund, Arch and Bruce Brown Foundation, Queer Cultural Center, and Kenneth Rainin Foundation.

 

Selected Additional Experience:

Adjunct Faculty, Berkeley City College, Berkeley, CA & Laney College, Oakland, CA

Advisory Faculty, John F. Kennedy University, Berkeley, CA

Artist & Performer, with solo performances and installation projects featured at The Oakland Museum of California, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, and art spaces on both coasts.

 

Professional Associations:

Member of Society of American Artists and Society of California Archivists

Site Credits: Video features Adam Paulson, James Metzger, Rhizomatic Arts, Jewlia Eisenberg, Peter Mintun, Larry Byes, Eva Soltes, Chani Bockwinkel, Tina D’Elia and William Stewart. Photos by Robbie Sweeney and Seth Eisen.

Thank you to Allison Wyper, Rhizomatic Arts and all of the artists who contributed to the projects on this site.