Friday Nights at OMCA | Krudas Cubensi & Drag Storytime with Per Sia

Friday Nights at OMCA | Live Music with Krudas Cubensi, Drag Storytime with Per Sia, Pride Art Making, Gallery Chats, and DJ set with Karlita

Come out with Pride to Friday Nights at OMCA! Krudas Cubensi brings a blend of rap and poetry and Afro-Cuban music beats, like salsa, rumba, and Jazz from their album “They/Them Les Elles” and uplifts the resiliency of non-binary and trans people. The album being a collaboration between Krudas, Greg Landau and many local and international artists is an interwoven sonic tapestry that inspires reflection and action in the service of a better future for BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities. Drag Storytime keeps our attentions hooked on the very roots of Pride as drag artist Per Sia gives a joyful reading of Joanna McClintick’s ‘Twas the Night Before Pride, a story that emphasizes the beauty of families of all compositions and all inclusive love in the face of challenging movements such as the Stonewall Riots and AIDS marches. 

Keep the celebration going in creative self-expression with hands-on art-making! Make your own Pride flag and rainbow dancing ribbon, while learning about different LGBTQ+ flags and what they represent. And if you’re feeling really Proud add your voice to the insightful Gallery Chats about the social change makers and artists in our Special Exhibition, Por el Pueblo: The Legacy and Influence of Malaquías Montoya. As the night progresses DJ Karlita will keep the energy high with disco, Latin house, and Afro house stylings.

Program Schedule:

5—9 pm Core Galleries and Special Exhibitions evening hours with Museum ticket

Starting at 5:15 pm Drag Storytime with Per Sia  | The Garden

5:30—7:30 pm Pride Art Making |  The Garden

6—8 pm Gallery Chats  | The Great Hall 

6:30—7:45 pm Krudas Cubensi   | The Garden Stage

6:45—8:45 pm DJ Karlita  |  Amphitheater

About Friday Nights:

Gather with family, friends, and community every Friday at 5 pm for free live music and hands-on activities, Off the Grid food trucks, and late night access to our galleries and special exhibitions, with a Museum ticket.

Bring your own or grab dinner from any one of the 8 Off the Grid food trucks on 10th Street between Oak and Fallon Streets. Beer, wine, mixed and non-alcoholic drinks are available for sale. After grabbing a meal from a wide and weekly changing menu of culinary creations, head to the OMCA Garden where you’ll find picnic tables and blankets to enjoy your local eats. Play lawn and table games, enjoy weekly rotating Museum programming, and create new memories at one of the Town’s most treasured spaces right in the heart of Oakland.

No outside alcohol permitted. Performances are subject to change. Limited $10 flat rate parking for Friday Nights is available in the OMCA Garage until 10 pm.

Accessibility 

Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is committed to providing programs that are accessible, welcoming, and inclusive of our community. Wheelchairs, sensory inclusive devices, and additional amenities are available for checkout on a first come, first served basis at the Ticketing Desk. To request other accommodations, like American Sign Language (ASL), Cantonese, Spanish or another language interpreter, please email [email protected] at least three weeks before the event. Learn more about our accessibility options.

Internationally recognized Krudas Cubensi, Odaymar & Oli are Queer Trans Nonbinary Feminist Musicians, Afrocuban Hip-Hop Pioneers, Writers, Composers, Multidisciplinary Artists and Justice Activists. In the nineties Odaymar and Oli created Krudas Cubensi with Wanda Kruda, in 2006 they relocated to the US to pursue their dreams and internationalize their career and to date they have been performing, recording, giving talks, workshops, educating and touring nationally, globally and virtually. They have operated entirely independently and under self-management in spaces such as Brava Theatre, La Peña Cultural Center, Oakland Museum of California,  UC Berkeley (Black Studies Department Artistic Fellowship 2021- 2022), SXSW Music Festival, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts, UCLA, UCSC, NYU, CU and many more.

Per Sia comes with a pedigree from weekly performances at the late, iconic Esta Noche. Her trajectory has gone on to include art curation, stand-up, television, and maybe a quinceañera or two, in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and México. Per Sia is currently a regular performer in the nationally acclaimed “Drag Story Hour” as well as an educator in residence at an after school arts program in the San Francisco Unified School District profiled on KQED Arts, National Public Radio, and CNN.

A dancer, community organizer, and now DJ, Karlita fuses all the influences of her Bay Area roots and Central American background into her art. Using dance as a portal into other creative outlets, she’s been able to travel, teach and compete internationally, and has thrown groundbreaking events such as AfroRooted. From these inspirations, she views the art of DJing as a musical love letter to her dance community. 

Sponsors

Friday Nights at OMCA with Off the Grid is sponsored by the Oakland Museum Women’s Board and Bank of America.