Bay Lexicon

"Bay Lexicon" - a field guide to San Francisco’s shore - uses drawings, text, and maps to develop vocabulary for thinking and talking about a future made uncertain by sea level rise and the climate emergency. Centered on a walk along the edge of the iconic San Francisco Bay, it documents, deciphers, and classifies the places and phenomena a person encounters - and the forces, histories, and interactions that underlie what is visible. The outcome of a long collaboration with the Exploratorium’s Fisher Bay Observatory, curated by Susan Schwartzenberg, "Bay Lexicon" applies analytical and representational tools based in design and documentary work to findings from the fields of geography, environmental and cultural history, public policy, urban ecology, and landscape studies. Author and illustrator Jane Wolff will talk about how making specialized content available to plural audiences can support public literacy - and discussion - about San Francisco’s changing relationship with the bay.

• Jane Wolff / Professor, University of Toronto & Author, Bay Lexicon