OMCA Architecture Walk and Talk
2026-05-03 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-06-07 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-07-05 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-08-02 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-09-06 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-10-04 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-11-01 13:00 - 14:00, 2026-12-06 13:00 - 14:00 (America/Los_Angeles) and 17 more dates | OMCA campus
OMCA Architecture Walk and Talk

Walk through OMCA’s landmark building and gardens with members of the Council on Architecture, and learn about the history, design, and evolution of this award-winning structure with guides who are passionate about OMCA and Oakland.

No reservations or tickets are required. Walk and Talk begins near the Mid Level ticketing desk and lasts approximately one hour.

If you’d like to visit OMCA’s Galleries or Special Exhibitions, please purchase a ticket online in advance or at the ticketing desk on the day of your visit.

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Mutiny at Port Chicago: Black Resistance and Redemption
2026-07-11 13:00 - 15:00 | OMCA Lecture Hall, 1000 Oak, Oakland, California, 94607
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OMCA Architecture Walk and Talk

Mutiny at Port Chicago: Black Resistance and Redemption

Step back in time and explore the pivotal story of the East Bay’s Port Chicago Sailors at Mutiny at Port Chicago: Black Resistance and Redemption at the Oakland Museum of California. This special event commemorates Oakland’s officially designated Port Chicago Remembrance Day. It features a screening of the historical drama Mutiny, produced by Morgan Freeman, followed by an engaging discussion with featured guests Congresswoman Lateefah Simon, Antwanisha Williamson, and Cynthia Adams, moderated by Dayvee Sutton. Join us for an unforgettable afternoon of film, dialogue, and historical insight, hosted in partnership with the Port Chicago Alliance.

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About Congresswoman Lateefah Simon:

Congresswoman Lateefah Simon represents California’s 12th Congressional District and has spent more than 30 years advancing civil rights, public service, and community advocacy throughout the Bay Area. A nationally recognized leader, she has worked on issues ranging from criminal justice reform and housing to transportation and economic opportunity. Her connection to Port Chicago is deeply personal—her grandfather survived the 1944 disaster, was denied survivors’ leave, and was assigned to help clear the devastated site. This family history gives her a unique perspective on the tragedy’s lasting impact and the generations-long pursuit of justice that followed.

About Antwanisha Williamson

Antwanisha Williamson is a Navy veteran, scholar, and advocate whose work bridges military service, education, and systemic change. A retired U.S. Navy leader with 18 years of service, she earned her doctorate researching the lived experiences of women Veterans and now applies that work through leadership in education and national advocacy. Williamson also led efforts to pass a national NAACP resolution supporting the exoneration of the Port Chicago 50, reflecting her commitment to historical justice, equity, and empowerment. She brings both lived experience and academic insight to conversations about resilience, advocacy, and transformative change.

About Cynthia Adams

Cynthia Adams is President of the Oakland NAACP and a distinguished educator and civil rights leader. A retired Oakland Unified School District educator with 35 years of service, she dedicated her career to advancing educational opportunity and student achievement in Oakland. Originally from Dermott, Arkansas, Adams has called Oakland home for more than four decades and has been an active leader within the NAACP since 2006. Her longstanding commitment to civil rights, voting rights, and educational equity continues to shape her leadership and service to the Oakland community.

About Dayvee Sutton

Dayvee Sutton is a multi-Emmy Award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker dedicated to the art of cultural storytelling. As the founder of Dream Network Media, she has built a distinguished career exploring the intersections of history, heritage, and systemic power. Known for her sophisticated, modern approach to visual journalism, Sutton’s work goes beyond the headlines to uncover the deeper narratives that shape our world. An esteemed voice in the media industry, she specializes in using travel and investigative research as a lens to preserve and honor complex histories.

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 visitor@museumca.org at least three weeks before the event. Learn more about our accessibility options.

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Spotlight Sundays: Mildred Howard in Conversation with Nashormeh Lindo and Essence Harden
2026-07-19 13:00 - 14:15 | James Moore Theater, 1000 Oak St,, Oakland, California, 94607, United States
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OMCA Architecture Walk and Talk

Spotlight Sundays: Mildred Howard in Conversation with Nashormeh Lindo and Essence Harden

Join us this Spotlight Sundays for an in-depth conversation with beloved Bay Area artist Mildred Howard, who is featured in OMCA’s current special exhibition Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory. Howard will exchange stories and reflections on a lifetime of art, practice, and living in the Bay Area with her longtime friend, fellow artist, and art advocate, Nashormeh Lindo. The conversation will be moderated by Senior Curator of Art at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Essence Harden, whose own prolific curatorial career spans multiple California art institutions. Don’t miss this special opportunity to hear these insightful creatives share their inspiring stories.

Spotlight Sundays ticket is $10 and includes access to all of OMCA’s galleries! OMCA Members have first access to tickets!

A limited number of signed copies of the exhibition publication will be available for purchase after the program.

GENERAL TICKETs

MEMBER TICKETS

This program is a part of our exhibition programming for Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory, on view through October 18 2026. This program received support from The David Ireland House, 500 Capp Street Foundation and the Kenneth Rainin Foundation.

About Mildred Howard

Mildred Howard began making art influenced by textiles and African Diasporic dance as early as the 1970s. Howard’s studio became a space for experimentation, where her work has referenced both personal history and collective, generational experiences—from World War I to her family’s roots in the Great Migration. Howard’s monumental public artworks—found across the Bay Area—have highlighted often overlooked histories, from the Black shipworkers of Hunters Point to the musicians who defined San Francisco jazz. OMCA’s exhibition Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory brings together Howard’s renowned collages, found-object sculptures, and immersive installations that explore memory, identity, and the African American experience.

About Nashormeh N.R. Lindo

Nashormeh N.R. Lindo is an artist, educator, curatorial consultant, and arts advocate. She received a B.A. in Art from Penn State University, an M.S. in Museum Leadership, and is currently a PhD candidate in Art Education and African American and Diaspora Studies at Penn State University. Lindo’s artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally. In addition to her art practice, she has served as adjunct instructor of African American Art History at CCSF, Educational Programs Manager at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Exhibition Program Consultant for the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and the Oakland Museum of California, and served as Chair of the California Arts Council.

About Essence Harden

Essence Harden is Senior Curator at Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. Harden has organized exhibitions at the CAAM, Orange County Museum of Art, Art + Practice, the MoAD, and OMCA, among others. Most recently, Harden curated the Focus section of Frieze LA from 2024 to 2026, the Expo Chicago 2026, and co-curated Made in L.A. 2025 at the Hammer Museum. Harden’s writing has appeared in Frieze, Gagosian Quarterly, Art21, Artsy, and Cultured. Harden is a 2018 recipient of the Creative Capital, Andy Warhol Foundation Arts Writers Grant, and a 2020 Annenberg Innovation Lab Civic Media Fellow. Harden previously served as Visual Arts Curator at the CAAM and has worked as an art consultant for film and television.

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 visitor@museumca.org at least three weeks before the event. Learn more about our accessibility options.

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Spotlight Sundays: Local Short Film Showcase and Conversation with Cinemama
2026-08-16 13:00 - 14:45 | James Moore Theater, 1000 Oak St,, Oakland, California, 94607, United States
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OMCA Architecture Walk and Talk

Spotlight Sundays: Local Short Film Showcase and Conversation with Cinemama

This Spotlight Sundays, we are excited to partner with Oakland’s filmmaking community hub Cinemama, featuring two local films exploring identity, place, and resilience—themes featured in our current exhibition, Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory. Welcome to the Neighborhood (28min) follows the Howard family, who joined the growing number of African Americans moving to Berkeley during WWII. Directed by Pam Uzzell, this story examines the forces of gentrification and the resistance movement led by Mildred’s mother, Mable Howard.

Blú Honey (19min), directed by filmmaker and poet Donté Clark, is an homage to Clark’s hometown of Richmond. An emotive and poetic film, it traces the torching reality of the Black male experience across four generations and a spiritual commitment to community empowerment and liberation. Following the screenings, join us in conversation with Cinemama executive director Niema Jordan, filmmaker Donté Clark, and interdisciplinary artist and urban cultural preservationist Rashida Chase as they explore notions of home and belonging.

Continue the conversation! The panelists and filmmakers will host a post-program gathering in the adjacent space until 3:30 pm. All are welcome to join!

GENERAL TICKETs

This program is a part of our exhibition programming for Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory, on view through October 18, 2026. Spotlight Sundays ticket is $10 and includes access to all of OMCA’s galleries, including Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory!

About Rashida Chase

Rashida Chase is a versatile artist, community organizer, and advocate for art, wellness, and culture in the urban setting, with an eye toward promoting cultural preservation and equitable growth for future generations. Chase holds a Master’s Degree in Real Estate Development & Design from UC Berkeley, and is the author of the Culture Keepers Guide: Artist Community Development Toolkit. She brings an interdisciplinary lens to building inclusive spaces, with a focus on how the arts drive positive change and cultural preservation within the built environment. Currently, Chase is Project Lead for the Black Arts Movement and Business District (BAMBD) and led the state designation process securing BAMBD’s status as a recognized cultural district.

About Donté Clark

Donté Clark is a poet, author, and playwright from Richmond CA, who uses spoken word and performance as a healing space to process generational traumas with a holistic perspective to shift culture and bridge community centered in black and brown liberation. Donté is an emerging filmmaker leaning into his lifelong passion for authentic surreal storytelling documenting the Black male experience with a poetic eye. Debuting his first short film, Blú Honey, a coming of age short exploring the long term effects of systemic racism, white terror, and the stride towards liberation.

About Niema Jordan

Niema Jordan is a journalist, TEDx Speaker, award-winning filmmaker and the Executive Director of Cinemama with a passion for character-driven stories and community impact. Originally from Oakland, Jordan got her start at Essence magazine in NY and returned home to pursue graduate degrees in journalism and public health. Her work has been published in Ebony and Glamour. Her production credits include Oasis, The Chosen Life, Bobby Kennedy for President, The Me You Can’t See, Eyes On The Prize: Hallowed Ground, and Bree Wayy: Promise, Witness, Remembrance. Jordan is a producer on HBO’s, Eyes On the Prize III: We Who Believe in Freedom Cannot Rest and serves on the board of Oakland Kids First.

About Pam Uzzell

Pam Uzzell is a documentary filmmaker and podcaster living in Oakland. She is the host of the podcast Art Heals All Wounds and the director and producer of three independent documentaries, Some Call It Heaven (2007), Unearthing the Dream (2012), and Welcome to the Neighborhood (2018). Welcome to the Neighborhood, the story of how the Bay Area housing crisis has pushed out one of Berkeley’s most prominent artists, has been broadcast as part of KQED’s Truly CA series. Pam’s latest short film, Shelter in Displacement, (2020) features the work of artist Victor Mavedzenge and was selected as part of the de Young Open.

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 visitor@museumca.org at least three weeks before the event. Learn more about our accessibility options.

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Good Medicine: A Night of Live Native Stand-Up
2026-09-12 18:00 - 22:00 | OMCA Great Hall, 1000 Oak, Oakland, California, 94607
OMCA Architecture Walk and Talk

Doors open at 6 pm; Show starts at 7:30 pm

After selling out venues across the country, the smash-hit, all-Native comedy show, Good Medicine, returns to OMCA for the fourth year for a night of live stand-up from the best and brightest Native comedians across North America. Hosted and produced by comedian Jackie Keliiaa (Netflix) this year’s showcase features Brian Bahe (CBS), Cheyenna Sapp (Acting Good), and Marc Yaffee (Showtime). Doors open at 6 pm and the show starts promptly at 7:30 pm.

We welcome visitors to arrive early to enjoy live music, food by critically acclaimed Native American restaurant Wahpepah’s Kitchen, and a Native artisan market featuring handcrafted art and jewelry from Hokuemek, Feisty Pueblo, and Bazi Beaded It. Alcoholic drinks and other beverages will also be available for purchase. Guests are welcome to bring their own food; however, no outside alcoholic beverages are allowed in the venue.

Held outdoors in the OMCA Garden, “Good Medicine” is the perfect opportunity to grab your favorite picnic blanket and dine al fresco before enjoying 90 minutes of hilarious live Native comedy. As the venue for “Good Medicine” is an open, grassy field, the organizers recommend that guests bring blankets or low chairs that rest on the ground with a low back. Tall chairs are not permitted as they obstruct views of the stage. Lawn space is first-come, first serve. Accessible seating is also available. To request accessibility accommodations, please call the Customer Service team at 510-318-8400, or email OMCA at visitor@museumca.org.

GENERAL Tickets

MEMBER Tickets

Accessibility

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is committed to providing programs that are accessible, welcoming, and inclusive of our community. Assistive listening devices and wheelchairs 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 visitor@museumca.org at least three weeks before the event.

comedians

Brian Bahe

Brian Bahe is an Indigenous (Tohono O’odham, Hopi, Navajo), gay (vers bottom) comedian and writer originally from Phoenix, Arizona, now based in Los Angeles by way of New York City. He’s a writer for the CBS series GHOSTS. Before that, he was a writer for the Fox series THE GREAT NORTH. He was named a “Comedian You Should and Will Know in 2023” by Vulture and he was a 2022 New Face at the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival. He co-starred in the “Untitled Sierra Teller Ornelas/Jackie Keliiaa/Bobby Wilson/Project” comedy pilot for NBC in 2025. He co-hosts the podcast “Sage-Based Wisdom” with Jana Schmieding where they offer sacred, Indigenous wisdom to callers.

Jackie Keliiaa

Jackie Keliiaa is a stand-up comedian, writer, and actor. You can find her in the book, We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans & Comedy. She co-wrote and executive produced an Untitled NBC comedy pilot set at a Native community center in Oakland. She has been featured on Comedy Central, Team Coco and voices the character Bubble on Netflix’s “Spirit Rangers.” Jackie wrote for the web series You’re Welcome America and has been featured in a variety of publications including Vulture, Uproxx, LA Times and KQED among others.
She has opened for Judah Friedlander, Nikki Glaser, and was featured on the First Nations Comedy Experience streaming on Amazon Prime. Jackie produces Good Medicine Comedy, an all-Native comedy show which has sold out venues in the Bay Area and beyond. She is a regular at Bay Area venues and has performed at San Francisco SketchFest, Punch Line San Francisco and Cobb’s Comedy Club.

Marc Yaffee

A seasoned veteran, Marc Yaffee has performed in 42 states and 11 countries, including six overseas tours for Armed Forces Entertainment. Marc is a co-star of the historic Showtime special, Goin’ Native, the American Indian Comedy Slam, the first ever all-Native American standup special. He is also a founding member of the Pow Wow Comedy Jam, whose cast was honored as the National Indian Gaming Association’s Entertainers of the Year. Marc has also appeared on FNX Network’s First Nations Comedy Experience and released two Dry Bar Comedy specials.

Cheyenna “Shy” Sapp

Cheyenna “Shy” Sapp is a Nehiyaw actor, comedian, writer, and emerging film maker from Little Pine First Nation in Treaty 6 Territory. She is best known for her role as Rose Sinclair on the hit CTV sitcom Acting Good, nominated for Best Comedic Ensemble at the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards. Her stand-up comedy has taken her across Canada, the U.S., and Aotearoa (New Zealand), where she headlined the Indig-E Girl Comedy Showcase and performed at the Saskatoon, Vancouver, and Wellington Fringe Festivals. Shy was also featured in the 2025 Winnipeg Comedy Festival “Maybe It’s Me” Mega Show and “Bannock Bums” show. She has produced her first hour of comedy titled “The Hot Mess Comedy Show”, which she is taking to the Edmonton Fringe Festival in August of 2026. Shy brings warmth, humility, and delusion to every project she works on a combination that you don’t want to miss.

Sponsors

Good Medicine at OMCA is generously funded by the Alameda County Arts Commission ARTSFUND, Indian Health Center of Santa Clara Valley, Sogorea Te Land Trust, Google Aboriginal and Indigenous Network, and the Oakland Museum of California.

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Spotlight Sundays: Alice Street Screening with Malonga Arts Dance and Drums
2026-09-20 13:00 - 15:00 | James Moore Theater, 1000 Oak St,, Oakland, California, 94607, United States
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OMCA Architecture Walk and Talk

Spotlight Sundays: Alice Street Screening with Malonga Arts Dance and Drums

This month’s Spotlight Sundays highlights the story and spirit of Oakland as a nexus of community belonging and resilience in the face of rapid gentrification, themes central to Mildred Howard’s artwork and practice. We will screen the documentary Alice Street, directed by Spencer Wilkinson, which narrates how a neighborhood mural on 14th and Alice Street catalyzed a multiracial coalition to rally in protection of cultural arts and livability in Oakland.

Groups featured in the film from the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts will open and close the program, including a drum offering by Bantaba Drum Call to call in ancestors and a performance by Dimensions Dance Theater to root in Black joy and resistance—hearkening back to Howard’s many years spent honing her dance skills with Oakland dance legend Ruth Beckford before immersing in the visual arts. Hosted by Oakland Chinatown organizer Lailan Sandra Huen, this day will delve into the intimate layers of anti-displacement work ranging from ensuring cultural continuance to sustaining the places that house personal, collective, and ancestral memory. Please join us to experience and reflect on the power of multicultural community engagement.

Language access: The film will screen in English with Chinese subtitles.

GENERAL TICKETs

MEMBER TICKETs

This Spotlight Sundays is a part of our exhibition programming for Mildred Howard: Poetics of Memory, on view through October 18, 2026.

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 visitor@museumca.org at least three weeks before the event. Learn more about our accessibility options.

Bios

About Bantaba Drum Call

Bantaba Drum Call harnesses the healing power of drums and community. Led by master drummer and culture keeper Baba Mosheh Milon, Sr., Bantaba offers year-round community workshops that explore mindfulness, movement, and various drum and percussion styles. With a name drawn from the Mandingo term describing a “community circle and gathering place for important events,” Bantaba roots its practice in therapeutic and cultural enrichment.

About Dimensions Dance Theater

Founded in Oakland in 1972, Dimensions Dance Theater (DDT) creates, performs, heals, and teaches dance reflecting the lives and historical experiences of African Americans and people throughout the African Diaspora. Under co-founder and Artistic Director Deborah Vaughan, DDT is one of the oldest contemporary dance companies in the US, widely recognized for its repertoire of traditional African, jazz, and modern dance idioms and its Rites of Passage program for youth.
Based at the Malonga Casquelourd Center for the Arts in downtown Oakland, DDT is a leading member of the Malonga Arts Collective and presents an annual home season in October.

About Spencer Wilkinson

Spencer Wilkinson is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, educator, impact producer, and founder of Endangered Ideas, an Oakland-based production company. His documentaries explore culture, identity, and social change, paired with community impact campaigns that inspire civic engagement. Before filmmaking, he spent a decade working with systems-impacted youth. His films include Alice Street, ONE VOICE: The Story of the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, Oakland Boogaloo (co-produced with KQED and recipient of a Regional Emmy Award), AscenDance, and Solomon Hill. His work has screened internationally, aired on PBS, and reached thousands through educational and community partnerships.

About Lailan Sandra Huen

Lailan Sandra Huen is a 5th-generation Oaklander whose family sought refuge in Oakland Chinatown after the 1906 earthquake. She was part of the Oakland Chinatown Coalition, having led campaigns to secure Community Benefits Agreements in new developments and working for equitable development. She authored the “Our Neighborhoods” report for the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, which documents best practices to protect our cultural districts. Lailan is a doctoral student in East-West Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies with a focus in belonging and racial healing.

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