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ARHOOLIE FOUNDATION COLLECTIONS:Photo Galleries

Our archive contains thousands of photos related to historical roots and regional music, including some 25,000 images taken by Chris Strachwitz from the mid-1950s onward. Browse below for artist galleries as well as galleries of concert posters, Mexican movie lobby cards, record company catalogs, 78-rpm record sleeves, and more. Check back for updates as we continue to digitize our physical collections and share them here.

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Record Company Catalogs and Publications of International and Regional Music

Record Company Catalogs and Publications of International and Regional Music

As an avid record collector, Chris Strachwitz also collected many vintage record company catalogs and publications of regional and ethnic music. Albanian, Scandinavia, Old Familiar Tunes,...

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Photos from the 2019 Arhoolie Awards Concert

Photos from the 2019 Arhoolie Awards Concert

The Arhoolie Foundation held its second annual Arhoolie Awards and Benefit Concert on November 22nd at The Chapel in San Francisco. It was a great night...

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Chris Strachwitz Photos

Chris Strachwitz Photos

Chris Strachwitz Photos Chris Strachwitz, founder of both Arhoolie Records and the Arhoolie Foundation, has been documenting vernacular music since the 1950’s. An avid photographer, he...

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Photos From Our Benefit Concert and Arhoolie Awards

Photos From Our Benefit Concert and Arhoolie Awards

Thank you to everyone who made Bridging the Blues a wonderful and exciting event. Our inaugural Arhoolie Awards and benefit concert with Taj Mahal and Fantastic...

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Chris Strachwitz Collection: Vintage Concert Posters

Chris Strachwitz Collection: Vintage Concert Posters

Vintage Concert Posters During his years collecting and recording music Arhoolie Records and Arhoolie Foundation founder Chris Strachwitz acquired many posters for shows of vernacular music....

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Frontera Collection Image Archive

Frontera Collection Image Archive

The Frontera Image Archive contains historical vintage photos and images associated with the Arhoolie Foundation’s Strachwitz Collection of Mexican American and Mexican Recordings. This collection was...

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Big Mama Thornton Photo Gallery

Big Mama Thornton Photo Gallery

Big Mama Thornton Photo Gallery Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984) was a Rhythm and Blues singer, harmonica player and...

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Los Alegres de Terán Photo Gallery

Los Alegres de Terán Photo Gallery

Los Alegres de Terán Photo Gallery Los Alegres de Terán were one of the earliest Mexican Norteño bands started by Eugenio Abrego and Tomás Ortiz  in...

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Maddox Brothers and Rose Photo Gallery

Maddox Brothers and Rose Photo Gallery

The Maddox Brothers and Rose “America’s Most Colorful Hillbilly Band” These images were collected by Chris Strachwitz and are part of the Arhoolie Foundation’s Chris Strachwitz...

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Repertorio Musical Mexicano – Mauricio Calderón

Repertorio Musical Mexicano – Mauricio Calderón

Repertorio Musical Mexicano (also known as La Casa de Musica, and La Casa de Musica de Mauricio Calderón) located at 408 North Main St., Los Angeles,...

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Dear friends, 

We’re thrilled to announce that the Arhoolie Foundation and Les Blank Films are joining together to purchase our longtime home at 10341 San Pablo Avenue in El Cerrito. 

The decision to buy the building comes after several months of thoughtful consideration and a strong response from our community. It has become clear to us that continuing our work in the place where Chris Strachwitz originally conceived it is the best way forward for the organization. Staying in our longtime home preserves an important part of Arhoolie’s cultural legacy, prevents the disruption that moving would cause, and—most importantly—opens up possibilities for closer collaboration with Les Blank Films, Down Home Music, and our local East Bay community.

Now comes the hard part. While we are under contract to buy the building, we need to raise $2.4 million to meet the purchase price by April 15. Here are two ways you can donate to our cause:

  • The GoFundMe page for the capital campaign
    (donations to this fund are shared by all three of the tenants).

  • Direct tax-deductible donations/securities to either of the two non-profits who are buying the building:
    Contact Harrod Blank at Les Blank Films https://lesblank.com/contact/;
    or Adam Machado at Arhoolie Foundation, adam@arhoolie.org.

As we begin this capital campaign, we will continue our normal operations in the building while forging a closer institutional bond with Les Blank Films and taking modest, collaborative steps to bring more public programming into Down Home Music. We plan to revive Les Blank and Chris’ tradition of in-store film screenings and will host more informal, free performances and gatherings in the store as part of our outreach work. We believe this collaboration will result in a vibrant community gathering place dedicated to music, film, and deep roots culture. 

We’re grateful for your support. We look forward to updating you on our progress in the coming weeks and months.