Oakland Museum Of California Announces Public Programs And Events For October 2022

Highly Anticipated Exhibition on Angela Davis Opens October 7; OMCA’s 28th Annual Día de los Muertos Community Celebration Will be Held October 23; Special Programs include a Conversation with Former Black Panther Party Member, Ericka Huggins, and Photographer Stephen Shames on October 21, and a Program Exploring the Intersectionality of Reproductive Justice on October 30

(Oakland, CA)  September 15, 2022 — Oakland Museum of California  (OMCA) welcomes the fall season with a variety of events, exhibitions, and public programs that will engage visitors throughout the month of October. On the heels of Hella Feminist, visitors are invited to OMCA’s latest exhibition Angela Davis — Seize the Time, exploring the life and legacy of the renowned Oakland-based activist and icon opening Friday, October 7. On Sunday, October 23, the Museum honors the Day of the Dead tradition with OMCA’s 28th Annual Día de los Muertos Community Celebration. OMCA will come alive with craft activities, tasty food, dance and music groups, colorful ofrendas, and ceremonia to bring the community together for this healing tradition. 

As part of OMCA’s Hella Feminist exhibition accompanying programs, former Black Panther Party (BPP) member, Ericka Huggins and photographer Stephen Shames join Friday Nights at OMCA on October 21. Huggins and Shames will discuss their newly-released book, Comrade Sisters: Women of the Black Panther Party, the critical role women played in the BPP, and the power of photography to raise awareness of social issues. Additionally, visitors are invited to a film screening and timely conversation on the intersectionality of reproductive justice with community leaders on Sunday, October 30 with the special program Beyond Roe: Reproductive Justice Now. 

Under the theme of “Legacies,” October’s Friday Nights at OMCA lineup continues to bring the community together with activities, music, programs, and Off the Grid food trucks every Friday evening from 5 to 9 pm. Visitors have a final chance to experience the acclaimed exhibition, Edith Heath: A Life in Clay through October 30. Town Fare by Michele McQueen includes a 45-seat Sundeck with food and drink to enjoy Thursday through Sunday from 5 to 9 pm. A brunch menu will be available as of Sunday, September 18, from 11 am to 3 pm. The complete schedule of October events at OMCA may be found below. For more information, visit museumca.org. 

OCTOBER PUBLIC PROGRAMS AND EVENTS AT OMCA

Brunch at Town Fare, Starting September 18
Join OMCA for brunch at Town Fare starting Sunday, September 18. From 11 am to 3 pm on Sundays, gather over mimosas, some of the cafe’s favorite lunch items, and a delicious new brunch menu by Chef Michele McQueen, including buttermilk pancakes with apple pecan compote, chicken and waffles, biscuits and country bacon gravy with chives, field greens and tomato frittata, and more.

28th Annual Día de los Muertos Community Celebration
Sunday, October 23, 2022
12 – 4 pm
Get tickets online here. Limited tickets will be available at the door. 

Join us as OMCA comes alive for the 28th annual community celebration honoring Day of the Dead traditions. Craft activities, tasty food, dance and music groups, colorful ofrendas, and ceremonia bring the community together for this healing tradition. Watch demonstrations of traditional Mesoamerican arts and cooking, and browse Day of the Dead merchandise by local artisans for your home altar at our mercado. Enjoy performances ranging from contemporary popular music to folkloric dance to mariachi, and join in a procession to open the celebration led by Days of the Dead committee members.

Friday Nights at OMCA
Reconnect with family, friends, and community every week during Friday Nights at OMCA. These free, family-friendly events provide a gathering place each week, including live music, hands-on activities, Off the Grid (OTG) food trucks, and the newly-launched Town Fare Sundeck, featuring an outdoor bar and select bar bites from the cafe menu. Take advantage of late-night access to our galleries and special exhibitions with a Museum ticket, or bring a blanket and lounge in our garden, now open with direct access to Lake Merritt. 

Friday, October 7, 5—9 pm
DJ Danny Fathom; Samora Pinderhughes Live: Excerpts from The Healing Project & Grief

Starting at 7 pm, join us in the OMCA Garden for a live musical performance by Bay Area composer, pianist, vocalist, filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist, Samora Pinderhughes. Known for examining sociopolitical issues and fighting for change through his art, Pinderhughes will play excerpts from his current exhibition, The Healing Project at the Yerba Buena Arts Center, and his latest album, Grief. Developed over eight years, The Healing Project is based on Pinderhughes’ interviews with 100 incarcerated and formerly incarcerated narrators, and involves sustained collaboration with over 30 artists working across a range of mediums. Fundamentally abolitionist, this project draws inspiration from a number of abolition and prison scholars including Angela Davis, who is the subject of OMCA’s latest exhibition, Angela Davis — Seize the Time. 

DJ Danny Fathom will be playing in the Amphitheater from 6 to 8 pm. 

Friday, October 14, 5—9 pm
DJ Monk Earl; Power Pendant Activity and Books and Blankets

Join OMCA educators in the Garden to create a colorful, wooden-beaded Power Pendant that celebrates individuality, confidence, and self empowerment. Strut your stuff and be inspired by the power of feminism and art as activism by visiting Hella Feminist and Angela Davis — Seize the Time.  Introduce your little one to other women who have changed the world  through OMCA’s Books and Blankets offering, which feature books such as Dream Big, Little One by Vashti Harrison, Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem by Amanda Gorman, and The ABCs of Black History by Rio Cortez. Books and Blankets are available for check out at the Level 2 Ticketing desk. DJ Monk Earl will be playing in the Amphitheater from 6 to 8 pm.

Friday, October 21, 5—9 pm
DJ Sake One; Comrade Sisters Book Release and Conversation with Ericka Huggins and Stephen Shames

Celebrate the book release of Comrade Sisters: Women of the Black Panther Party by joining OMCA for a panel conversation with its authors, early Black Panther Party member and leader Ericka Huggins, and photographer Stephen Shames. It is estimated that six out of ten Panther Party members were women; Comrade Sisters is their story. 

Kicking off the event in the OMCA Garden at 6:45 pm is a performance featuring Tarika Lewis, the first woman to join the Black Panther Party, as well as other former members Tureeda Mikell, Val Serrant, and Tacuma King. Following this, explore the power of photography to raise awareness of social issues with photographer Stephen Shames, and hear from Ericka Huggins and fellow former members as they share their reflections on the critical role women played in the Black Panther Party. 

Copies of the book will be available for sale onsite, and visitors are welcome to have their copy signed following the program from 8-8:30 pm. DJ Sake One will be playing in the Amphitheater from 6 to 8 pm.

Friday, October 28, 5—9 pm
DJ Lady Ryan; Oakland Public Library’s Bike Library; My Oakland Pop-Up, Inti Batey

Get ready for heart pounding drum beats, love ballads, Indie voices, and dance! In honor of el Día de los Muertos, join us in the OMCA Garden for a musical performance titled “La Muerte Vive” by Inti Batey (The Sun-Gathering), a collective of “artivists” from different latitudes of the Latin American diaspora, who create unique experiences with Latinx, Afro-Latin, and Indigenous-inspired musical roots, poetry, and dance creations.

“La Muerte Vive” is an energetic and heart opening musical experience that commemorates Day of the Dead by honoring our beloved ones who have passed, celebrating their legacies, and reactivating our powers through healing modalities, creating a space for community joy and reflection.

Prepare for election season with My Oakland, a community advocacy and voter registration pop-up event, in the OMCA Garden hosted by the Oakland Lowdown and the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Learn critical ballot information for the upcoming November election and engage in conversations about what’s important to Oaklanders. 

Enjoy music in the Amphitheater by DJ Lady Ryan from 6 to 8 pm. Make sure to stop by Oakland Public Library’s Bike Library to grab a free book, sign up for a library card, and find out about upcoming library events.

Beyond Roe: Reproductive Justice Now
Sunday, October 30, 2022
1 – 3 pm 
James Moore Theater; Masks required for this event
Tickets: $1–$30 sliding scale

With the reversal of Roe v. Wade, many will experience what it means to have their reproductive rights stripped away for the first time in their lives. But for many more, oppression and restricted healthcare access has always been a reality. Join us for a special conversation that moves beyond the pro-choice versus pro-life debate, and explores the intersectionality of reproductive wellness, as part of OMCA’s latest special exhibition, Hella Feminist.

This event will feature a screening of two short films Jane, and The Pulse of Life, which explore these topics, followed by a panel discussion between community leaders who are using their platforms to further this urgent conversation. Moderated by filmmakers Nataljia Vekic (Jane), and Jessica Jones (The Pulse of Life), the panel includes Arneta Rogers, Director of the Gender, Sexuality & Reproductive Justice program at the ACLU of Northern California, Jyesha Wren, midwife and founder of BElovedBIRTH Black Centering, and Xochitl Lopez-Ayala, Advocacy Coordinator of Access Reproductive Justice Policy. Masks are required to attend this event.

On View at OMCA in October

Angela Davis — Seize the Time
Great Hall
October 7, 2022–June 11, 2023

Angela Davis — Seize the Time is an exhibition focused on Davis and her image. Organized in partnership with the Zimmerli Art Museum at Rutgers University, the exhibition provides a compelling and layered narrative of Davis’s journey. Using the Angela Davis Archive in Oakland as both the heart of the exhibition and a source, visitors are given the opportunity to investigate how we remember, preserve, and activate radical Black history, while also allowing us to re-imagine the construction of the image of Davis as an icon of American Black radical resistance, female empowerment, and a threat to the white patriarchal status quo.

Beyond the archive and popular culture references, the exhibition positions Angela Davis as a continuing touchstone for contemporary artists referencing mass incarceration, Black Lives Matter, and economic disenfranchisement. Contemporary artworks assert Davis’s significance as a Black feminism intellectual and engage with her as a historical participant in a larger narrative, not simply as an unmoored image of radical chic. 

Hella Feminist
Great Hall 
On View until January 8, 2023

Feminism. It’s a loaded word; as empowering to some as it is challenging for others. OMCA takes on this complex and timely topic with Hella Feminist, celebrating the lesser-known stories of feminism here in Oakland and the Bay Area. Bringing together historic objects from the Museum’s collection such as posters, pins, and photographs, alongside newly commissioned works by artists, Hella Feminist is rooted in the idea that discrimination against all elements of identity (gender, class, race, sexual orientation, physical ability, education, age, etc.) is interlinked and that no element can be addressed in isolation. The exhibition aims to challenge, provoke, and inspire visitors to reconsider and expand their understanding of feminism and its complicated history.

OMCA Kids: Nature Playspace
Gallery of California Natural Sciences
Ongoing
For Children Ages 2 to 5

Little learners can unleash their curiosity and imagination in the newly-created OMCA Kids: Nature Playspace. Located in the Gallery of California Natural Sciences, the playroom is focused on the unique needs of children ages 2 to 5, along with their families and caregivers. Play is critical to every child’s healthy development and the playroom offers something for everyone, from building materials and nature-themed puzzles to hands-on activities that spark creativity, wonder, and joy. Our youngest museum visitors can also discover the animals that make their homes in Oakland’s streams, hills, and backyards. The playroom gives families a fun, safe place to play and to build community with other families. Admission to OMCA is free for kids 12 and under. 

Edith Heath: A Life in Clay
Gallery of California Art
On View until October 30, 2022

Trailblazer. Rebel. Revolutionary. Discover the story of Edith Heath, founder and designer of Heath Ceramics. Heath transformed the ceramics industry, creating dinnerware from California clay for “Sunday best” and everyday use. Driven by the power of good design, and a commitment to her craft, Heath’s vision continues to live on through her stoneware and tile over 70 years later. Durable, not delicate, simple, yet stylish, Heath Ceramics is an icon of American design.

Town Fare by Michele McQueen
Town Fare, the cafe at OMCA, is now open and led by chef and manager Michele McQueen, formerly of Gussie’s Chicken and Waffles. Featuring a new menu and beverage program, Town Fare is open during regular museum hours, Wednesday–Sunday, 11–5 pm.

Town Fare’s Sundeck, a new addition located directly outside of the cafe, is open for service every Thursday–Saturday, 5–9 pm. Surrounded by OMCA’s terraced gardens, the 45-seat Sundeck features an outdoor bar as well as patio couches and dining furniture for guests to enjoy year-round. Select items from McQueen’s cafe menu will be served along with craft cocktails, wine and beer.

McQueen’s menu for Town Fare pays homage to her family roots and Oakland upbringing and aims to bring together flavors from the diverse cultures within the local community. The menu is made up of shared plates, salads and sandwiches, and entrées, including vegan options, for on-site dining only. A smaller kids menu is also available.

ABOUT THE OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) tells the many stories that comprise California, creating the space and context for greater connection, trust, and understanding between people. Through its inclusive exhibitions, public programs, educational initiatives, and cultural events, OMCA brings Californians together and inspires greater understanding about what our state’s art, history, and natural surroundings teach us about ourselves and each other. With more than 1.9 million objects, OMCA brings together its multidisciplinary collections of art, history, and natural science with first-person accounts and often untold narratives of California, all within its 110,000 square feet of gallery space and seven-acre campus. The Museum 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 for visitors from the region, the state, and around the world.

 VISITOR INFORMATION
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is at 1000 Oak Street, at 10th Street, in Oakland. For details and admission, visit museumca.org 

For current COVID information and requirements, visit museumca.org/covid-health-safety.

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