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Member Tours: Born of the Bear Dance Tour with Drew Johnson, Curator of Photography & Visual Culture at OMCA

OMCA Great Hall 1000 Oak, Oakland, California

Drew Johnson, curator of Born of the Bear Dance: Dugan Aguilar’s Photographs of Native California, will illuminate the powerful communities and stories behind the exhibition’s captivating images. Join Johnson as he shares the collaborations and partnerships that brought Aguilar’s remarkable photographic collection to OMCA, resulting in this impactful display. 

Free for Members

Spotlight Sundays: Celebrating Native Heritage through Photography—A Conversation with Ashley Salaz and Haley Day Rains

OMCA Lecture Hall 1000 Oak, Oakland, California

Join us for this month’s Spotlight Sundays as we dive into the power of photography in honoring and amplifying Native heritage. This thought-provoking panel discussion features two dynamic Native creatives: Oakland-based Coharie and Nahua photographer Ashley Salaz and Mvskoke photographer, scholar, and filmmaker Haley Day Rains. Moderated by Drew Johnson, OMCA Curator of Photography & Visual Culture, the conversation will explore how photography serves as a vital tool for storytelling, cultural preservation, and community connection.This program is part of the exhibition Born of the Bear Dance: Dugan Aguilar’s Photographs of Native California—on view through June 2025—and draws on Dugan Aguilar’s legacy of documenting the vibrancy and resilience of Indigenous communities. The discussion will address key themes of representation, reciprocity, and the ways in which photography can be rooted in and shaped by community. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to engage in this meaningful conversation. 

$1 – $30

Friday Nights at OMCA Special Members Lounge

OMCA Garden 1000 Oak Street, Oakland, California, United States

Calling all Members! Join us for a special members’ lounge on the 3rd Level Terrace, overlooking our Garden. Mingle with fellow OMCA enthusiasts while enjoying light refreshments. Plus, we’ll be raffling off some awesome OMCA merch!

Free for Members

Member Tours: California AAPI History

OMCA Great Hall 1000 Oak, Oakland, California

For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, come share your questions and reflections on key moments in California Asian American history and explore how the causes and consequences of these events still reverberate today. What are the many ways Asian Americans have contributed to the “Becoming California” story in OMCA’s Gallery of California History? How might more Asian American stories be uplifted and heard? Come join the conversation in this month’s Member Gallery Chat with Margaret Yee.

Free for Members

Spotlight Sundays: Screening of The School: The Legacy of Hintil Ku’u Ca and Panel Talk with School Participants and Film Director

OMCA Lecture Hall 1000 Oak, Oakland, California

Join us for the premiere of The School – The Legacy of Hintil Ku’u Ca, a powerful film created and directed by an all-Native team. This documentary traces the origins of Oakland’s first urban Native child development center, which began during the All-Tribes occupation of Alcatraz Island (1969-1971) and is still in operation today.

$1 – $30

Member Tours: Women Artists of the OMCA Gallery of California Art

OMCA Great Hall 1000 Oak, Oakland, California

Join us for a woman-focused walk through the art gallery with Gallery Chats facilitator, Avril Angevine. Take a deep dive into the background of some of California’s best—and least—known women artists. Delight in their mesmerizing work and hear stories about their lives, practices, and challenges. Featuring artists Sonia Getchoff, Viola Frey, Carmen Lomas Garza, Hung Liu, Margaret Peterson, and Ann Weber.

Free for Members

Member Preview for Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain

You’re invited to the Member Opening for OMCA’s newest exhibition! Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain navigates the braided histories of displacement, resistance, and resilience within Black American communities in Oakland and the East Bay. Through works from the OMCA permanent collection alongside new commissions by artist Adrian Burrell; architect June Grant with blinkLAB architecture; and the Archive of Urban Futures with Moms 4 Housing, the exhibition traces how Black communities have creatively resisted dispossession and reimagined spaces of home and belonging. Reserved tickets are highly encouraged but not required for Member Preview Hours.

Free for Members

Member Preview Evening Celebration for Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain

Don’t miss the opening celebration for OMCA’s newest exhibition! Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain navigates the braided histories of displacement, resistance, and resilience within Black American communities in Oakland and the East Bay. Through works from the OMCA permanent collection alongside new commissions by artist Adrian Burrell; architect June Grant with blinkLAB architecture; and the Archive of Urban Futures with Moms 4 Housing, the exhibition traces how Black communities have creatively resisted dispossession and reimagined spaces of home and belonging.

Sold Out

Spotlight Sundays: I Was There Too: A Performance by Meres-Sia Gabriel, Child of the Black Panther Party Revolution

James Moore Theater

I Was There Too is a unique multimedia performance about one woman’s inner revolution as she struggles to understand what it means to have been born into the Black Panther Party. Daughter of two Black Panthers (Emory Douglas and Gayle Dickson), Meres-Sia Gabriel shares a first-hand account of what it was like to grow up in a revolution that changed the course of history. 

$1 – $30

Semi—Annual Member Shop Sale

OMCA Great Hall 1000 Oak, Oakland, California

It’s sale time! Join us onsite and online for the semi-annual Member sale at the OMCA Shop. Starting Friday, August 8 through Sunday, August 10, OMCA Members enjoy double their regular discount on regularly priced items in our Shop–that’s 20% off!

Member Benefit Alert!

Cancelled—Member Tours: Students on Strike Curator Walkthrough 

OMCA Great Hall 1000 Oak, Oakland, California

Join us for a walkthrough of the Gallery of California History feature Students on Strike with OMCA Curator Ryder Diaz. This exhibition explores the enduring legacy of student activism at San Francisco State University by highlighting the similarities and differences between the historic 1968-1969 student strike that established the nation’s first Black Studies Department and first College of Ethnic Studies and the contemporary campus protests against the war in Gaza.

Ongoing events

Evening hours Thursday After Hours

Experience Thursday After Hours at OMCA – your weekly night out at the Museum rich with cocktails, culture, and community. Mingle at Town Fare Cafe by Chef Michele McQueen, where you can enjoy drinks and light bites against a backdrop of music, or explore the galleries  which come alive at night with a mix of pop-up performances, chats, live drawings, and more–  just for adults! 

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Evening hours Friday Nights at OMCA with Off the Grid

Friday Nights at OMCA with Off the Grid, Oakland’s favorite free weekly block party is back, April—October!

Gather with family, friends, and community every Friday 5—9 pm for live music, hands-on activities, Off the Grid (OTG) food trucks, and late-night access to our galleries and special exhibitions, with a Museum ticket.

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Gallery Events Gallery Chats at OMCA

Join us for Gallery Chats, an opportunity to chat with and ask questions of our enthusiastic and knowledgeable OMCA Facilitators.

 

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Third Sundays Spotlight Sundays

Every third Sunday, OMCA invites visitors to Spotlight Sundays, a series of conversations, performances, and experiences that showcase California visionaries.

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First Sundays First Sundays

Every first Sunday of the month, General Admission to OMCA’s Galleries of California Art, History, and Natural Sciences is free and tickets to Special Exhibitions in our Great Hall are offered at a discounted price of $6.

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Gallery Events Group Tours

Interested in bringing a group to engage more deeply with our gallery content? Sign up for a Group Tour where knowledgeable facilitators share insights and help make meaning with your group in OMCA’s galleries.

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Annual events

Community Event White Elephant Sale

The Oakland Museum Women’s Board started the White Elephant Sale over sixty years ago. The annual event is not-to-be-missed.

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Community Celebration Lunar New Year

OMCA celebrates the Lunar New Year and explores the shared connections between the diverse Asian cultures of the Bay Area. These family-friendly programs will include both virtual and in-person offerings that celebrate and honor Lunar New Year traditions through storytelling, performances, activities, cooking demonstrations, and more. OMCA holds space for our AAPI communities to come together and uplift each other with both in-person and virtual healing circles.

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Community Celebration Día de los Muertos

In collaboration with OMCA’s Día de los Muertos Committee, we honor Day of the Dead every October and November.

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