You’re invited to the Member Opening for OMCA’s newest exhibition! Good Fire: Tending Native Lands explores the past, present, and future of fire in California through Native practices.
Be among the first to experience this powerful exhibition alongside the curators, collaborators, and community members who brought it to life.Join us for an evening of celebration with live music, delicious bites, and festive refreshments—an inspiring preview honoring the vital knowledge of Native California communities that you won’t want to miss!
Join Naturalists from the East Bay Regional Park District for a hands-on exploration of local wildlife—right here at OMCA! Become a wildlife detective as you examine real animal skulls; ask “Whose skull is this?”; and discover what these clues tell us about the mammals that call our regional parks home.
Please join us for an afternoon of storytelling centering Native fire practices from four visionary Native Californian memory keepers. The program will begin with a film screening of Fire Tender, co-directed by Roni Jo Draper, PhD (Yurok) and Marissa Lila Kongao, which shares context on settler colonial fire suppression, highlights the work of Yurok firelighters to reclaim and pass on traditional eco-cultural knowledge, and meditates on the power of fire to heal land and communities.
It’s sale time! Join us onsite and online for the semi-annual Member sale at the OMCA Shop. Starting Friday, December 5 through Sunday, December 7, OMCA Members enjoy double their regular discount on regularly priced items in our Shop–that’s 20% off!
Join us in a celebratory partnership between the Oakland Museum of California and the Museum of African Diaspora with this bonus reciprocity week-long event!
From August 27–31, OMCA Members enjoy free admission to BAMPFA for 2 guests per membership. From December 9–14, OMCA Members enjoy free admission reciprocity to MOAD for 2 guests per membership.
Join us for a walkthrough of Students on Strike, a special installation in the Gallery of California History. With OMCA Curator Ryder Diaz as your guide, explore the legacy of student activism at San Francisco State University and reflect on how generations of students have continued to demand justice, accountability, and change.
Coinciding with the Winter Solstice, this month’s Spotlight Sunday celebrates Yalda Night, an ancient Persian holiday marking the longest night of the year. With performances by internationally acclaimed Iranian Bay Area-based singers Mahsa Vahdat and Marjan Vahdat, accompanied by musician and writer Atabak Elyasi, we will weave together stories of renewal and awakening.
Join Mewuk basket weaver Jennifer Bates for a special basketry demonstration and conversation exploring the artistry, techniques, and traditions of California Native basketmaking. Jennifer will share her personal practice, discuss the plants and materials used in traditional basketry, and walk audiences through key steps of gathering, cleaning, splitting, and preparing materials. Enjoy an up-close look at her artistry, learn the difference between twined and coiled techniques, and take part in a lively Q&A.
Calling all nature lovers and the nature-curious! For this month’s installment of Member Tours at OMCA, come in your walking shoes ready to explore the wonders of Oakland’s natural history. Join us for a special nature walk led by OMCA’s Curator of Natural Science, Ryder Diaz.
In this introductory workshop, led by Jennifer Bates (Northern Sierra Mewuk) and her apprentice, Jeannette Innerarity (Ione Band of Miwok), attendees will explore basketry materials, learn foundational techniques, and be guided through weaving a basket base. All materials will be provided. This intimate workshop emphasizes close instruction, cultural context, and an opportunity to learn directly from two experienced weavers.
OMCA’s Spotlight Sundays is excited to continue our Community Conversations series. The year’s installment will explore radical public imagining. In alignment with OMCA’s special exhibition, Black Spaces: Reclaim & Remain, project partners will include Dominique Walker and Alia Phelps of Moms4Housing, Brandi T. Summers of Archive of Urban Futures, and June Grant of blink!LAB architecture. Through performance, interactive engagement, movement, and conversation, this immersive experience will examine what it means to build our muscles for audacious dreaming during difficult times. Please join us for this inspiring event!
Experience ThursDates 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!
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.
Join us for Gallery Chats, an opportunity to chat with and ask questions of our enthusiastic and knowledgeable OMCA Facilitators.
Every third Sunday, OMCA invites visitors to Spotlight Sundays, a series of conversations, performances, and experiences that showcase California visionaries.
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.
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.
The Oakland Museum Women’s Board started the White Elephant Sale over sixty years ago. The annual event is not-to-be-missed.
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.
In collaboration with OMCA’s Día de los Muertos Committee, we honor Day of the Dead every October and November.