Oakland Museum of California (OMCA)

Friday Nights at OMCA Special Members Lounge
2026-08-14 17:30 - 19:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | OMCA Garden, 1000 Oak Street, Oakland, California, 94607, United States
Spotlight Sundays: Cultural Fire Storytelling and Film Screening

Join us Friday, August 14 for our Special Member Lounge!

Calling all Members! You’re invited to a special Member Lounge on the Upper Level Terrace, overlooking our Garden, in celebration of you! Mingle with fellow OMCA enthusiasts while enjoying light refreshments, games, and bingo, where we’ll be giving away some amazing items from the OMCA Shop. Bring your friends and family, and enjoy Friday Nights together!

Friday Nights at OMCA with Off the Grid

Friday, August 14 | 5-9 pm

Friday Night at OMCA comes alive with a captivating live performance from Ashley Mehta on the Garden Stage, featuring powerhouse vocals, infectious pop melodies, and emotionally honest songwriting. Bringing even more energy to the evening, BRIIZA takes over the Amphitheater with a vibrant DJ set that weaves together Latin music, Bay Area classics, house, and global electronic sounds. Guests can also step onto the dance floor during a locking dance lesson led by Chaz, introducing the eight foundational movements of the iconic street dance style. Throughout the evening, Gallery Chats invite visitors to join meaningful conversations with OMCA facilitators, offering fresh perspectives on the museum’s exhibitions. It’s not just a Friday night—it’s your Friday night at OMCA.

EVENT DETAILS

Visiting the Friday Nights Member Lounge? You’re in luck—the semi-annual Member sale runs the same weekend! You can shop onsite at the OMCA Shop or online. Starting Friday, August 14 through Sunday, August 16, OMCA Members enjoy double their regular discount on regularly priced items in our Shop–that’s 20% off!

Not a Member? Learn more about membership.

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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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Spotlight Sundays: Cultural Fire Storytelling and Film Screening

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 founder 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 AVAILABLE 7/31

MEMBER TICKETS AVAILABLE 7/29

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 Rashina Chase

Rashida Chase is a visual 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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