Sadie Barnette: The New Eagle Creek Saloon

On March 7, the Walker Art Center will open The New Eagle Creek Saloon, Oakland-based artist Sadie Barnette’s (US, b. 1984) reimagining of her father’s New Eagle Creek Saloon, the first Black-owned gay bar in San Francisco. The New Eagle Creek Saloon is an exuberant and contemporary interpretation of the historical venue, serving as a site of engagement in the gallery space. At the Walker, The New Eagle Creek Saloon will serve drinks and host events every Thursday featuring Twin Cities-based partners, including happy hours with specially curated DJ sets, an opening-day talk, and additional community gathering opportunities.     

The original New Eagle Creek Saloon (1990–1993) offered a haven for a multiracial queer community marginalized by racist profiling in other social spaces throughout the city. With this project, Barnette honors Black queer joy and her own family history by reanimating her father’s bar and its legacy as a space of connection and engagement. A glittering pink, U-shaped bar structure occupies the gallery. Above, a neon “Eagle Creek” sign glows, and historical mementos and photographs capture the spirit of the original venue. Together, the sparkling vintage stereo equipment, holographic seating, and radiant lighting create an open, inviting living space for learning, resistance, and pleasure. The New Eagle Creek Saloon is a Black queer social space where everyone is welcome.  

“I am introducing the New Eagle Creek Saloon into the channels of existing queer histories, but I am also manifesting its own archive, which recognizes the limits of ‘official histories’ and celebrates the unknown and unknowable,” said the artist.  

Every Thursday evening from March 7 to May 16, visitors to the Walker can experience an activation in the reimagined bar. Programming begins on March 7 with a conversation between Barnette and her father, Rodney Barnette, sharing stories that detail the labor of love that went into both manifestations of the New Eagle Creek Saloon. Minneapolis-based bar collective Mama San, founded on the premise of inclusive bartending, mixes specially crafted cocktails inspired by the community throughout the exhibition’s run.   

Additional featured events include the “Come Together” series, parties hosted by and celebrating Black queer artists who create vibrant performances, music, and nightlife in the Twin Cities. The final Thursday night of the exhibition culminates with “The End Is Queer,” a party featuring local queer artists and creatives that celebrates the powerful possibilities for queerer futures.    

See detailed programming information on walkerart.org.  

Curated by Amanda Hunt, Head of Public Engagement, Learning, and Impact; Henriette Huldisch, Chief Curator and Director of Curatorial Affairs; with Taylor Jasper, Assistant Curator, Visual Arts; and other vital collaborators at the Walker Art Center.