Pickpocket Almanack is an experimental school without walls. Each season, under the direction of independent curator Joseph del Pesco, a temporary faculty comprised of artists, designers, writers, and filmmakers creates theme-based courses by selecting from a diverse series of scheduled public Bay Area events, including lectures, screenings, workshops, and panels. Each course takes these events out of context and gives them a new thematic frame, providing a set of journeys through Bay Area cultural life, as well as some new connections and unexpected discoveries, led by some of the community's most distinctive cultural figures. Faculty for the fall season includes Les Blank, Jens Hoffmann, Ben Kinmont, Beth Lisick, and Rick and Megan Prelinger.
Discussion is conducted online, with participants and faculty meeting in person at the end of each season. There are no age or experience requirements, and all courses are free and not for credit (tickets may be required for some programs and events). Participants may enroll in a maximum of two courses per season; space may be limited for some courses. Enrollment for the fall season (October through December 2009) begins on September 23.
View courses and sign up at www.pickpocketalmanack.org.
