Panel: Tattoos as Personal Archives

Thursday, 2/12/2026
6:00 - 7:30
Koret Auditorium
Main Library

100 Larkin Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
United States

415-557-4400

Archivist Terry Baxter and photographer Tenari Tuātagaloa join moderator Adrienne Storey, City Archivist, to explore tattoos as personal archives—records of memory, identity and community that live on the body. Inspired by Baxter and Libby Coyner’s book Stories on Skin: A Librarian’s Guide to Tattoos as Personal Archives and the Library’s exhibition Living Tattoo Traditions: American Irezumi and Beyond, the conversation considers how people use ink to honor lineage, resist erasure and carry stories forward. 

About the Panelists:  

Terry Baxter has been an archivist for 40 years, currently with the Multnomah County (OR) Archives and the Oregon Country Fair Archives. He is a past president of the Society of American Archivists and a founding member of the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums. He lives in Cully with Debbie Jewell and is visited regularly by his six grandkids. 

Seiuli Tenari Antonio Romero Tuātagaloa (he/him) is a Samoan/Mexican-American artist from the Bay Area, currently working as a photographer for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. 

Connect:  

Terry Baxter | Linkedin 

Tenari Tuatagaloa | Instagram 

Art, Architecture & Photography

Learn from world-class designers, artists and experts in their fields. 

BIPOC Interest

Attend programming, lectures and workshops intended for the BIPOC community.

This program is sponsored by Friends of the San Francisco Public Library.

Attending Programs

All programs are drop-in (no registration necessary) unless otherwise noted. All SFPL locations are wheelchair accessible. For accommodations (such as ASL), call (415) 557-4557 or contact accessibility@sfpl.org. Requesting at least 3 business days in advance will help ensure availability.

This program will be conducted in English unless otherwise noted.

Notice: This event may be filmed or photographed. By participating in this event, you consent to have your likeness used for the Library’s archival purposes and promotional materials. If you do not want to be photographed, please inform a staff person or the photographer. A sticker will be provided to help identify you so that we can avoid capturing your image.

Public Notice and Disclaimer

This program uses a third-party website link. By clicking on the third-party website link, you will leave SFPL's website and enter a website not operated by SFPL. This service may collect personally identifying information about you, such as name, username, email address, and password. This service will treat the information it collects about you pursuant to its own privacy policy. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of each third-party website or service that you visit or use, including those third parties with whom you interact through our Library services. For more information about these third-party links, please see the section of SFPL’s Privacy Policy describing Links to Other Sites.

The views and opinions expressed in programs presented by groups unaffiliated with SFPL do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SFPL or the City.