Philip Rossetti was a significant artist, designer, iconoclast, and so much more, in the San Francisco queer community since the 1970s.
To honor his audacious and creative spirit, the SF Queer Festival is thrilled to offer the Philip Rossetti Scholarship for emerging LGBTQ+ filmmakers under twenty-seven years of age.
Born September 13, 1945 in Canton, Ohio, Philip Adam Rossetti was the son of Italian immigrants.
While he was proud of his Italian heritage, that rich culture was not part of his upbringing. He said about his early family life, “I grew up in an emotional and cultural desert. Nobody listened to music, went to museums or talked about art. It’s amazing I turned out the way I did. The food was pretty shitty too!”
A world of creativity, knowledge, and artistic expression opened up for him once he attended Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH, where he earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1969.
During the early ‘70s, Philip moved to San Francisco where he then built his forty years plus career as an architectural designer. Often described by his peers and colleagues as “a brilliant designer and mentor,” he crafted numerous residential and public projects while at Christopherson & Graff in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and Architectural Resources Group (ARG) until his retirement in 2015.
Relentlessly curious and always the seeker, he developed a host of other interests: he took writing, yoga, and furniture building classes; volunteered at an AIDS crisis hotline; moonlighted as a lighting consultant; explored the Gay Buddhist Fellowship; became an Airbnb host; volunteered as a cat cuddler at the animal shelter; and taught himself to play pool.
Many a Saturday afternoon, Philip could be found in the Castro, merrily running Moby Dick’s pool table.
“Where some people see clutter ... and messiness, I see a visual feast,” said Philip about his photographic eye in Amir Jaffer’s 2014 documentary All Things Considered. After buying a digital camera at 62, he found yet another path for his creative spirit. A lover of store window displays, construction sites, and graffiti, he regularly roamed the streets with his camera and took trips all over the country and abroad. “Art is where you find it,” he said, reflecting on his creative guiding principle.
In June of 2020, Philip was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. His vast circle of friends, so dear to him, and cultivated throughout his life, surrounded him with love, care, and support. But he did not let his illness overshadow his irreverence and wicked wit. He was determined to keep doing what nourished him: socializing with friends and photo walks.
Philip died peacefully on August 6, 2021 while in hospice care.
Philip Rossetti Grant Application
Submit your complete application to sfqueerfilmfest@gmail.com by June 30, 2024