Sadie Barnette: The New Eagle Creek Saloon

The New Eagle Creek Saloon is 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 original bar (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 community connection and engagement. Bathed in neon light and glitter, The New Eagle Creek Saloon is an open, inviting, and living space for learning, resistance, and pleasure.

At the Walker, The New Eagle Creek Saloon will serve drinks and present programs every Thursday featuring Twin Cities–based artists, cultural leaders, and organizational partners. The bar will host happy hours with specially curated DJ sets, live readings, and performances. Outside of these events, the space is open for visitors to hang out and to explore as an installation. The New Eagle Creek Saloon is a Black queer social space where everyone is welcome.