Millman began photographing the Grateful Dead in 1982 and remained connected to the band through its final show. Now, her work is going on display in San Francisco.
An Archive Built on Trust, Not Just Access
Millman began photographing the Grateful Dead in 1982, according to The San Francisco Standard, and her presence around the band lasted until its final show. She's described herself as one of the ad hoc archivists within the Grateful Dead family, and by her own account, she was usually the only woman in the photographers' pit, per the same report.
Millman's personal life became entangled with the band's inner circle, too. She married Grateful Dead biographer Dennis McNally, with whom she's now lived for 41 years, after Garcia played matchmaker. Garcia also walked Millman down the aisle, according to the Standard's account. McNally was the band's biographer and publicist.
Before the Backstage Pass
Millman's career didn't start with the Dead. She traveled in Bali and India and ran a clothing import-export business there, per the Standard. Operating under the handle Mamarazi, she later expanded into dance companies, Asian architectural travel, and civic milestones like the Golden Gate Bridge's 50th anniversary, according to Susana Millman Photography.
Millman photographed the band backstage at its 20th anniversary press conference at the Greek Theater in Berkeley on June 14, 1985, and recalled standing next to a radio reporter who asked whether the band took drugs, along with a moment when Garcia responded to something with, “I see his lips moving, but I don't hear anything.” Her collection includes images of Garcia singing “Gloria” in 1993 and photographs from 1989 lighting tests.
Dylan, Soldier Field, and a Double Exposure
Some of Millman's most historically loaded images come from 1995, when Bob Dylan shared stages with the Grateful Dead during the band's stadium tour, opening for them at Giants Stadium in New Jersey on June 19 of that year.
Millman was there for what turned out to be the end. The Grateful Dead's original touring run ended in 1995.
A Landmark Venue With Its Own Long History
The exhibition's home has a past nearly as dramatic as the music inside it. The building dates to 1913 and is a Romanesque Revival former Catholic church designed by architect John J. Foley. It was designated San Francisco Landmark #120 and has National Register Listing No. 82002250, according to NoeHill. The church grew into one of the largest Filipino Catholic parishes in the country before it was deconsecrated after suffering severe damage in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, per the same source, and it sat vacant for decades. Ken Fulk later purchased a half interest, upgraded and renovated the property, and reopened it as Saint Joseph's Arts Society.
Millman's first major exhibition arrives as part of a broader wave of Bay Area interest in Grateful Dead history. Hoodline previously reported that the Haight Street Art Center appointed both Millman and McNally as official advisors for a separate two-floor fall retrospective, in a story headlined Deadheads storm Golden Gate Park. Millman also published a photo memoir, Alive with the Dead: A Fly on the Wall with a Camera, which won an Independent Publisher Book Awards medal in 2016 and was later republished by Last Gasp Press, according to Relix.
What's Planned for Opening Day
Beyond her decades behind the lens, Millman has also supported international literacy causes, partnering with programs including Caravan to Class in Mali and 100 Schools in Myanmar, according to Osiris Media. After years as the lone woman in the pit, Millman's work is now on display.
