Read more from our preview of SBIFF 2026 here.
Baret Boisson — the artist behind the stunningly thought-provoking painting designed for the 2026 Santa Barbara International Film Festival (SBIFF) poster — may be a new name to some festivalgoers, but this is definitely not her first brush with Hollywood fame.
Her vibrantly whimsical art commands precious wall space in estates around the world, including Santa Barbara, and she has done multiple commissions for stars such as Elizabeth Taylor, Seth Rogen, Kathy Ireland, and Jimmy Fallon, whose wife, Nancy Juvonen, famously didn’t want any wedding gifts other than paintings by Baret Boisson. “When they got married, the only thing she registered for was my paintings,” smiled Boisson. “I did four different ones for their wedding and they keep doing things like family portraits.”
Elizabeth Taylor also gave Boisson this ringing endorsement before her death in 2011: “Baret Boisson is a brilliant artist whose talented work lives in my personal collection. We are all only temporary custodians of beauty, and it is a pleasure to care for Baret’s beautiful art.”
And more recently, Santa Barbara International Film Festival Executive Director Roger Durling (who wrote a 2024 Santa Barbara Independent cover story about Boisson) entrusted her with complete creative freedom as the 2026 festival poster artist.
In publicly showing off the poster for the first time — an otherworldly, multidimensional, textured painting with a compelling and very timely message about the importance of artistic expression — Boisson said she didn’t want to go too deeply into the meaning because “I want you guys to feel what you feel about it.”
Boisson, who often uses quotations in her work, chose a quote from John F. Kennedy, made during a 1963 visit to Amherst College, to illustrate the theme of artistic freedom: “If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.”
When Durling, out of the blue, contacted her to ask if she wanted to create the SBIFF poster painting, Boisson was incredibly flattered. “I said, ‘Absolutely. … Do I need to know anything?’ And he said, ‘No, just leave room for the logo.’ That was the only thing he gave me,” she laughed.
She started her brainstorming about special places in Santa Barbara, but her vision quickly broadened. The more she thought about it, the more she wanted it to be bigger than Santa Barbara and about more than the film festival.
“I wanted it to be about art. I wanted it to be about artistic freedom. And so, that’s what I decided to do. The conceit to the film festival is the reel in the eye. But it’s all about vision, just the path to different realms of freedom, playing with that idea.”
Her initial concepts were more literal than the final piece. “I thought I would do a film reel, coming down with different films. Then I wanted it to be weirder. I want it to be like, part snakeskin … part Wizard of Oz, part Milky Way, just like weird and then bringing in the other worlds, the other realms that we visit and how we’re transported when we watch a good film. … I also want people to just see it and feel something and not have to explain too much. Different people will probably see different things, because that’s how that works.”
As for the JFK quote, Boisson said, “I thought it was super timely. I’ve used that quote before, but never before has it been so timely. The fact that artists have to be free, whether they’re in Iran, Russia, or the United States. And, I mean, we’re seeing it in real time. So, I’m so glad it’s not this prosaic little Santa Barbara beach scene, you know, because I have a lot to say.”
She continued, “It’s kind of meta. Roger gave me freedom, total freedom to create. And my message is about creative freedom.”
Freedom of all types has been a recurring theme for Boisson, whose powerful portrait series Inspiring Greatness was the subject of a solo show at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. “For me, I want to evoke strong feelings with everything I make. And you know, there’s some art that does that for you, and there’s some art that doesn’t, and obviously everyone responds to things differently, right?”
She continued, “For me, everything I make, I love. So, it can live in my place as long as it’s not sold and I’m happy, because I’m not like, ‘Oh, I made this hoping it would sell,’ you know? I mean, I think some things are more commercial than others, but I’m never thinking about the commercial aspect, which, in a way, is really bad, but also distinguishing my art, because it’s totally personal.”
Boisson added, “I’m still really blown away and flattered to do the film festival poster.”
Asked what Durling’s first response to the painting was, she shared, “When he came to my studio, he loved it right away. He was like, ‘This is why I chose you.’”
View the painting in person in the window of Sullivan Goss Gallery (11 E. Anapamu St.) during SBIFF. The Santa Barbara International Film Festival takes place February 4-14. For the complete list of films, synopses, and other special events, please visit sbiff.org or the SBIFF app.
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