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Events

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Upcoming Events

Friday Nights at OMCA with Artelia Green & The Bandanas

OMCA campus

Friday Nights at OMCA is offering up powerful vibrations with live music performances from Artelia Green & The Bandanas and Let’s Lab w/ Shanté!. Artelia Green & The Bandanas craft an immersive sound experience that brings audiences to a different time and space. Blending together gospel and funk, Artelia Green & The Bandanas invites audiences to contend with grief on the road to transcendence. Let’s Lab w/ Shanté! offers healing tones as Shanté is set to share her warm and cozy blend of Hip Hop, R&B, and rap that is sure to inspire you.

Free

Friday Nights at OMCA with Orchestra Gold

OMCA campus

Join us for another sensational installation of Friday Nights at OMCA! This Friday, OMCA is honored to welcome Orchestra Gold to the OMCA Garden stage. Spearheaded by the dynamic Mariam Diakite—known for her raw, hypnotic vocals and poetic Bambara lyrics—Orchestra Gold pays homage to Malian musical traditions while crafting a fierce new sound with heavy swinging rhythms, a funky fresh brass section, and cosmic guitar licks. Their most recent album, Medicine, mobilizes dance-inducing music to invoke the spirit and spread healing and community. DJ Teao Sense and their highly eclectic stylings with music from all over the world also celebrate how our diversity can create powerful and groovy waves.

Free

Friday Nights at OMCA | Afrobeats Oakland Takeover

OMCA campus

Come join us for the Afrobeats Oakland Friday Nights Takeover! Oakland’s most exciting arts and culture brand is partnering with OMCA to host the welcome party for their Annual Afrobeats at the Lake Festival. Afrobeats Oakland shares a taste of their main festival by coloring Friday Nights with a melding of various African cultures, music, and dance. Between the dance tutorials and dance party, the Ethiopian tea ceremony, the live DJ set and the performances from Juan G, KOKO, Christina Alexandria, Asaba, and other special guests, OMCA is set to welcome guests of all ages and backgrounds to a Friday Nights like none other!

Free

Friday Nights at OMCA | Dance Battle w/ Telice Summerfield

OMCA campus

Come through to Friday Nights at OMCA to be a part of a magical moment rooted in Oakland! OMCA is excited to host WHO GOT THE MOVES, a turf dance battle with community leader Telice Summerfield. Featuring not only various competition structures including 1v1 battles, youth battles, and an all style tournament, but also a free prize giveaway with a chance to win free food at some of Oakland’s best restaurants, this event is set to fill the OMCA Garden space with authentic Oakland culture. The second of its kind and once again driven by Telice’s passion for community, the turf battle is also meant to support the exposure, connection, and collaboration of Oakland businesses and organizations. This unforgettable Friday Nights at OMCA will be backdropped with killer beats from DJ Nick Fury who blends Hip Hop, Afro Beats, House, and Bounce to craft a sonic atmosphere where everyone feels the beat and moves as one!

Free

Ongoing & Annual 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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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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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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Gallery Events Group Chats

Knowledgeable facilitators share insights and help make meaning with your group in OMCA’s galleries.

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