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Oakland Museum of California Announces Events & Programs for May & June

 

OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA ANNOUNCES
EVENTS & PROGRAMS FOR MAY & JUNE

Don’t Miss In-Gallery Programs Including Hip-Hop Yoga and Cypher Sundays, and Friday Nights @ OMCA Block Parties for RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom

OMCA’s Annual Ziggurat Fundraiser Returns Saturday, May 19, Including a Performance by Oakland’s Own Hieroglyphics

 

(OAKLAND, CA) April 25, 2018— The Oakland Museum of California announces its events and special programs in May and June, largely inspired by the Museum’s major spring exhibition RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom. Inside OMCA’s Great Hall, the Museum comes alive with movement and sound in the Hip-Hop Dojo, a practice, performance, and event space connected to the exhibition.

OMCA’s annual fundraiser, Ziggurat, returns Saturday, May 19, including open bars, late night bites, and live music by Oakland’s own Hieroglyphics and DJ heyLove*. LGBTQ+ History Tours return in June during National Pride Month, as does OMCA Family Gold Panning in May. For more details, visit museumca.org.

CALENDAR EDITOR PLEASE LIST:
FAMILY EVENTS; MUSIC EVENTS; COMMUNITY EVENTS; ART EVENTS; FOOD EVENTS

 

OMCA Store Member Sale 
Friday, May 4, 11 am–10 pm
Saturday & Sunday, May 5–6, 10 am–6 pm

 

OMCA Members, visit the OMCA Store for all your graduation and Mother’s Day gifting needs during our annual spring Member sale. Show your OMCA Membership card for an additional 10% off for 20% off all regularly-priced items at this three-day sale. Shop early for the best selection.

 

Friday Nights @ OMCA Summer Season 

Every Friday, 5–10 pm

May 4, 11, 18 & 25

June 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29


The Summer Season of Friday Nights @ OMCA is back! That means the gardens are open for picnics, live music outside is back, gallery hours are open until 10pm, and the Off the Grid food truck market expands onto Oak Street. Enjoy half-price admission, hands-on activities for kids, and a lineup of live music and dance from local performers that changes weekly—all alongside your favorite food trucks from Off the Grid. Bring friends and family for a taste of local music, food, and culture at the Oakland Museum of California every Friday Night!

 

Tour | J.B. Blunk: Nature, Art & Everyday Life 

First and Third Saturdays, May–September 9
May 5 & 19

12–12:45 pm

 

Experience the exhibition J.B. Blunk: Nature, Art & Everyday Life with a Docent as your guide. Discover northern California’s best kept secret in design and craft: J.B. Blunk (1926–2002), a mid-century artist whose connection to nature governed his daily life. Included with Museum admission.

 

Friday Nights @ OMCA Block Party 

Friday, May 4, 2018

5–10 pm

The Summer Season of Friday Nights @ OMCA means the gardens are open for picnics, live music outside is back, gallery hours are open until 10 pm, and the Off the Grid food truck market expands onto Oak Street. Come celebrate the beginning of warmer weather with our Friday Nights @ OMCA Block Parties, taking place every first and third Fridays of the month now through July and on August 10. Get down to new themes each month featuring performances and activities in celebration of our special exhibition RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom, on view through August 12. Tonight’s theme is a focus on Hip-Hop Culture featuring PE 2.0. Highlights include:

 

First Sundays @ OMCA 

May 6 & June 3

10 am–6 pm

Be sure to visit our newest exhibition, J.B. Blunk: Nature, Art & Everyday Life, to discover the northern Californian artist inspired by the region’s natural beauty. Special exhibition RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom tells the under-recognized story of how Hip-Hop changed the world. Don’t miss Take Root: Oakland Grows Food to unearth what motivates local urban farmers and gardeners, and experience all that our Galleries of California Art, History, and Sciences have to offer. Stop by the Garden from 12–3 pm to learn how to pan for gold! Check out the Architecture Tour at 1 pm, and the California Art Tour at 2 pm. Pick up a treat for yourself or a loved one in the OMCA Store. Enjoy a lunch or snack in Blue Oak café. Spend a day with us and find out why TripAdvisor reviewers call OMCA “a hidden gem.”

Suggested donation for general admission: $5 per person. There is an additional $4 charge for special exhibition RESPECT. No advance online tickets are available for First Sundays. Your contribution helps us provide access to other visitors in the community.


OMCA Family | Pan for Gold! 
Sundays in May

May 6, 13 & 27

12–3 pm

Discover what life was like during the California Gold Rush days. Come and try your hand at panning for real gold, Forty-Niner style, in the Museum gardens. Learn how to tell the difference between real gold and fool’s gold, and keep all you find!

 

No reservations necessary. All ages welcome. Suggested $5 donation per participant as a part of First Sundays @ OMCA.

 

KQED Presents Walls and Bridges: Immigration 

Wednesday, May 9

7 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm)

Sanctuary cities, families divided and ICE creeping into some of the most vulnerable communities. How long can communities stay in the shadows? What are the consequences and how are these communities creating their own narrative? 

KQED presents Walls And Bridges, a six-part series of live conversations across the Bay Area exploring some of the most polarizing topics of our time: politics, race, gender, immigration, extremism and more. Audience members will have an opportunity to talk about solutions to our growing polarity as they meet and mix during a post-conversation reception.

Doors open at 6:30 pm. Admission is free, but tickets are required to attend. RSVP here.   

 

Friday Nights @ OMCA Block Party 

Friday, May 18

5–10 pm

The Summer Season of Friday Nights @ OMCA means the gardens are open for picnics, live music outside is back, gallery hours are open until 10 pm, and the Off the Grid food truck market expands onto Oak Street. Come celebrate the summer with our Friday Nights @ OMCA Block Party, taking place every first and third Fridays of the month now through July and on August 10. Get down to new themes each month featuring performances and activities in celebration of our special exhibition RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom, opening Saturday, March 24. Tonight’s theme is “The Bay is International.” Highlights include:

 

CAAMFest 2018: Asian Americans and Hip-Hop Panel 
Friday, May 18

5:30 pm

Join OMCA and the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) Festival for a special panel conversation of key Hip-Hop thought leaders and artists to explore the Asian American community’s deep connection with the genre.

 

This free panel is co-curated by Asian American Music Conference and builds upon the Oakland Museum of California’s RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom exhibition.

 

This event takes place in the Lecture Hall (Level 1). No advance registration needed.

 

CAAMFest 2018: Family Pictures USA: Detroit Is The Future and It’s Okay! 

Friday, May 18

7–9 pm

 

Celebrate the 36th anniversary of CAAMFest, one the Bay Area’s premier film festivals.

Join OMCA and the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) Festival for a screening from the television series  Family Pictures USA: Detroit is the Future and It’s Okay! (2018) from director Thomas Allen Harris..

 

Photo albums are portals to rich, diverse stories in Detroit, MI, in the pilot episode of this CAAM-co-produced PBS series and transmedia project. Host/director Thomas Allen Harris traverses America’s cities and neighborhoods, exploring personal moments, shared experiences, and family connections found through captured photographic memories, while extracting universal elements of humanity. Tickets are available here.

 

Presented in partnership with the Center for Asian American Media and CAAMFest 2018.

 

Ziggurat 

Saturday, May 19

6 pm–12 am

The Oakland Museum of California’s outside-of-the-box annual fundraiser is back! Make an impact while celebrating in style at one of the most exciting East Bay events of the year.

 

Mix and mingle with cocktails on the garden terrace and enjoy exclusive access to our popular exhibition RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom. A festive lounge dinner in the gardens will feature delicious bites by Barbara Llewelyn Catering, craft cocktails from St. George Spirits, and music by DJ heyLove*. Following an exciting live auction and fund-a-need, enjoy a special dance performance by Destiny Arts Center Junior Company. Dinner tickets available at museumca.org/2018/ziggurat.

 

Ziggurat Late Night 

Saturday, May 19

9 pm–12 am

$85 per ticket

Enjoy late night bites, open bars, a photo booth, and live entertainment while you dance and celebrate with friends and community. Tickets include special access to OMCA’s exhibition RESPECT: Hip Hop Style & Wisdom. Don’t miss a headline performance by Oakland’s own Hieroglyphics and the musical styling of DJ heyLove*. All Ziggurat guests must be 21 and over. Tickets are available at museumca.org/2018/ziggurat-late-night.

 

Bike Tour | Walk Oakland Bike Oakland 

Sunday, May 20

10 am–1 pm
Explore Oakland’s diverse and rich patchwork of neighborhoods by cycling through them with an experienced guide from OMCA on our first Bike Tour of the year! On select Sundays from May through October, OMCA Docents lead bike tours of this eclectic city. This ride is in collaboration with Walk Oakland Bike Oakland (WOBO).  

 

Tickets for this special tour with WOBO are $10. OMCA and WOBO Members ride for free. Pre-registration is required. Check back soon for details.

 

Meet in front of the Museum’s Oak Street entrance at 10 am. Bring your own bikes, helmets, repair kits, and water.

 

Tour | RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom 

Saturday, May 5, 1–1:45 pm

Sunday, May 6, 1–1:45 pm

Saturday, May 12, 1–1:45 pm

Saturday, May 13, 1–1:45 pm

Saturday, May 19, 1–1:45 pm

Sunday, May 20, 1–1:45 pm

Saturday, May 26, 1–1:45 pm

Sunday, May 27, 1–1:45 pm

 

Experience special exhibition RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom with a Hip-Hop Educator as your guide. Discover the under-recognized story of one of the most influential cultural and social movements of the last 50 years while you explore highlights of the exhibition and your creative side on this interactive tour.

 

Included with Museum special exhibition admission. There is a $4 charge in addition to general admission pricing for special exhibitions.

 

Tour | J.B. Blunk: Nature, Art & Everyday Life 

First and Third Saturdays, May–September 9
Saturday, June 2, 12–12:45 pm
Saturday, June 16, 12–12:45 pm

 

Experience the exhibition J.B. Blunk: Nature, Art & Everyday Life with a Docent as your guide. Discover northern California’s best kept secret in design and craft: J.B. Blunk (1926–2002), a mid-century artist whose connection to nature governed his daily life. Included with Museum admission.

 

Friday Nights @ OMCA Block Party 
Friday, June 1, 2018

5–10 pm

The Summer Season of Friday Nights @ OMCA means the gardens are open for picnics, live music outside is back, gallery hours are open until 10 pm, and the Off the Grid food truck market expands onto Oak Street. Come celebrate the summer with our Friday Nights @ OMCA Block Party, taking place every first and third Fridays of the month now through July and on August 10. Get down to new themes each month featuring performances and activities in celebration of our special exhibition RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom. Tonight’s theme is Traditions of Resilience. Highlights include:

 

Tour | LGBTQ+ History 

Sundays in June

June 3, 10, 17 & 24

12–1 pm

 

In honor of National Pride Month, celebrate with a Docent Tour of the Galleries focused on LGBTQ+ history in California. Explore the legacy of early LGBTQ+ leaders in San Francisco such as José Sarria and recent Californian issues such as Proposition 8 and its overturning. LGBTQ+ History Tours are offered every Sunday at noon during the month of June. Free with suggested $5 donation as a part of First Sundays @ OMCA.

 

Friday Nights @ OMCA Block Party 
Friday, June 15

5–10 pm
The Summer Season of Friday Nights @ OMCA means the gardens are open for picnics, live music outside is back, gallery hours are open until 10 pm, and the Off the Grid food truck market expands onto Oak Street. Come celebrate the beginning of warmer weather with our Friday Nights @ OMCA Block Parties, taking place every first and third Fridays of the month now through July and on August 10. Get down to new themes each month featuring performances and activities in celebration of our special exhibition RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom, on view through August 12. Tonight’s theme is Hip-Hop and National Pride Month. Highlights include:

 

Bike Tour | Middle Harbor 

Sunday, June 17

10 am—1 pm
Explore Oakland’s diverse and rich patchwork of neighborhoods by cycling through them with an experienced guide from OMCA! On select Sundays from June through October, OMCA Docents lead bike tours of this eclectic city. On this tour, explore Oakland’s historic Middle Harbor.

 

Learn about the history of the Transcontinental Railroad, follow the history of the Southern Pacific Railroad and the fight to break the their hold on Oakland’s waterfront, learn why the Southern Pacific was called the Octopus, and more on this bike tour. Meet in front of the Museum’s Oak Street entrance at 10 am. Bring your own bikes, helmets, repair kits, and water.

 

Tour | RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom 
Saturday, June 2, 1–1:45 pm 

Sunday, June 3, 1–1:45 pm

Saturday, June 9, 1–1:45 pm

Sunday, June 10, 1–1:45 pm

Saturday, June 16, 1–1:45 pm

Sunday, June 17, 1–1:45 pm

Saturday, June 23, 1–1:45 pm

Sunday, June 24, 1–1:45 pm

Sunday, June 30, 1–1:45 pm

 

Experience special exhibition RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom with a Hip-Hop Educator as your guide. Discover the under-recognized story of one of the most influential cultural and social movements of the last 50 years while you explore highlights of the exhibition and your creative side on this interactive tour.

 

Included with Museum special exhibition admission. There is a $4 charge in addition to general admission pricing for special exhibitions.

 

Hip-Hop Dojo Program Highlights

Part of special exhibition RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom, the Hip-Hop Dojo is a practice, performance, and event space connected to the exhibition. More than 80 participants will activate the Dojo throughout the run of the exhibition. Details included below and at museumca.org/dojo.

 

Cypher Sunday 

First and third Sundays of the month, April–August, 2018

May 6 & 20

June 3 & 17 

1–3:30 pm

 

In Hip-Hop, free styling is the art of lyrical improvisation and a cypher is a circle with no visible beginning or ending. Test out your freestyling skills–rapping, dancing, or beatboxing—and come watch and support others in this participatory event series taking place inside special exhibition RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom.  

 

Participants take turns offering thoughts off the top of their heads in the form of rhyme while a guest DJ spins, and guest hosts will facilitate the experience based on a specific topic each time. Come share your lyrics, ideas, and sounds every first and third Sunday through August 12.

 

Sign-up onsite to join the cypher. All ages, all skill-levels encouraged. Spectators are welcome (no sign-up needed). Included with Museum special exhibition admission, aside from First Sundays @ OMCA.

 

Plug ‘n’ Play 

Every Friday from April 6–August 10, 2018

May 4, 11, 18 & 25

June 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29

6–8 pm

 

Every Friday during Friday Nights @ OMCA, a rotating list of guest DJs take over the Hip-Hop Dojo inside RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom to demonstrate live sets. This weekly event series created in collaboration with San Francisco’s The DJ Project features local DJs to give visitors a taste of the vast musical genre of Hip-Hop. Get down to Bay Area classics, international crossover hits, and underground unsung legends, among other topics. Inspired to try it out yourself? Build up your own skills inside the Sound Lab inside the exhibition space. Included with Museum special exhibition admission (half-price on Fridays after 5 pm, free for 18 and under).

 

Flow: Hip-Hop Yoga 
Every First Friday of the month from April–August, 2018

May 4 & June 1

5:30–6:45 pm


Want to bring together your love of Hip-Hop and mindful movement—or better breath control on the mic and greater endurance on stage? Come practice your core strength on every first Friday of the month inside the special exhibition RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom. Relax and build your skills with “Your Local Yoga Dealer” Shakira while you discover the shared principles between the grounding of the mind and body. All levels welcome. Included with Museum special exhibition admission (half-price on Fridays after 5 pm, free for 18 and under). There is a $4 charge in addition to general admission pricing for special exhibitions.

 

Mic Check/Checkmate 

Second Wednesday of the month, April–July, 2018

May 9 & June 13

2–5 pm

 

“Make your next move your best move.” Check out the strong ties between Hip-Hop and chess communities in this event series inside special exhibition RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom. Refine your own skills of discipline, precision, and mastery by joining chess games open to all. Included with Museum special exhibition admission.

 

Hip-Hop Trivia 

Select Fridays April–July

May 18 & June 15

6:30–8 pm

 

Think you know Hip-Hop? Test and expand your knowledge of the culture every third Friday in the Hip-Hop Dojo inside special exhibition RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom during Friday Nights @ OMCA. Topics will include fashion, politics, history, and more. Bring a friend to round out your answers—and don’t forget to study up with the exhibition’s Reading Room on your next visit. Drop-ins welcome. Included with Museum special exhibition admission (half-price on Fridays after 5 pm, free for 18 and under).

 

Chop It Up 

Last Saturday of the month April–July

May 26 & June 30

3–5 pm

 

In Hip-Hop culture, the barbershop is known as a community hub for news and debate. Inside special exhibition RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom, gather around the Barbershop space inside the gallery to learn from guest speakers focusing on new topics each month. Explore unexpected aspects of Hip-Hop culture. Included with Museum special exhibition admission. There is a $4 charge in addition to general admission pricing for special exhibitions.

The themes include:

 

RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom will be on view in OMCA’s Great Hall through August 12, 2018.

 

RESPECT: Hip-Hop Style & Wisdom is supported in part by the Oakland Museum Women’s Board and members of the Donor Forum.

 

ABOUT FRIDAY NIGHTS @ OMCA

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) presents Friday Nights @ OMCA, a regular evening series every Friday from 5 to 9 pm, in partnership with Off the Grid: Lake Merritt @ OMCA—the first major food truck market in the East Bay. Friday Nights @ OMCA features extended Museum hours, in-gallery programming, a beer garden from Blue Oak café, live music, dancing, hands-on family activities, and more. Gallery admission is half-off for adults, free for ages 18 and under. Event parking in the Museum garage is $7. Presented in partnership with Off the Grid: Lake Merritt @ OMCA. Friday Nights @ OMCA is made possible in part by generous support from the Koret Foundation, Bank of America, the Oakland Museum Women’s Board, and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. museumca.org/friday-nights-omca 

 

ABOUT OMCA FAMILY

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is committed to being a welcoming and lively place for multi-generational Bay Area families to visit, learn, and engage through OMCA Family, with art activities, storytelling, and hands-on, drop-in projects throughout the Museum. OMCA’s other family-friendly offerings include free Family Guides to the Galleries available at ticketing desks, free activity Books & Blankets available for check-out anytime the Museum is open, and three large annual festivals: Lunar New Year in February, the Summer Reading Celebration in August with the Oakland Public Library, and the Days of the Dead Celebration in October. OMCA Festivals are made possible in part by generous support from the Oakland Museum Women’s Board and the Koret Foundation. museumca.org/family 

 

ABOUT THE OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA

The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) brings together collections of art, history and natural science under one roof to tell the extraordinary stories of California and its people. OMCA’s groundbreaking exhibits tell the many stories that comprise California with many voices, often drawing on first-person accounts by people who have shaped California’s cultural heritage. Visitors are invited to actively participate in the Museum as they learn about the natural, artistic and social forces that affect the state and investigate their own role in both its history and its future. With more than 1.9 million objects, OMCA is a leading cultural institution of the Bay Area and a resource for the research and understanding of California’s dynamic cultural and environmental heritage.

 

VISITOR INFORMATION

Museum admission is $15.95 general; $10.95 seniors and students with valid ID, $6.95 youth ages 9 to 17, and free for children 8 and under and Members. There is a $4 charge in addition to general admission pricing for special exhibitions. OMCA offers onsite underground parking, with validation for Museum visitors, and is conveniently located one block from the Lake Merritt BART station, on the corner of 10th Street and Oak Street. The accessibility ramp is located at the new 1000 Oak Street main entrance. Regular hours are 11 am to 5 pm, Wednesday through Sunday, 11 am to 9 pm Fridays. museumca.org 

 

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