OMCA Announces Public Programs and Events for March 2024
Oakland Museum of California Announces Public Programs and Events in March including the final stretch inaugural Thursday After Hours at OMCA programing, a screening of Chicana (1979) and discussion with director Sylvia Morales, a collaboration with Edutainment for Equity and the City of Oakland to host Exhibit A: A Townhall on Anti-Blackness in Oakland, and a Special Edition of Gallery Chats with Por El Pueblo artist, Arely Hernández. The full calendar may be seen below with details at www.museumca.org.
Thursday After Hours at OMCA
Every Thursday through March | 5—8 pm
Oakland Museum of California presents Thursday After Hours at OMCA – a weekly night out at the Museum rich with cocktails, culture, and community. Visitors are invited to mingle at Town Fare Cafe by Chef Michele McQueen and 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!
Thursday After Hours programming is included in the cost of General Admission for Museum Guests and free for Museum Members. Visitors do not require a ticket to enter Town Fare. March is the final opportunity for visitors to bring a friend for free by taking advantage of our limited time 2 for 1 Museum ticket deal every Thursday, 5—8 pm throughout the remainder for the inaugural season of Thursday After Hours. For online purchases use checkout code “Thursdates” to receive the 2 for 1 deal. For more information, please visit our website at museumca.org.
Thursday, March 7 | 5-8 pm
Reclamation Through Musical Expression: Banjo Tradition & Afro-Futures from West Africa to Oakland with Hannah Mayree and Special Guest Chef takeover in Town Fare Café.
Liven up your Thursday night with a rooted and participatory performance by Hanna Mayree (they/them). A member of the Black Banjo Reclamation Project, Hannah shares original and traditional banjo compositions as well as harmonies through acoustic live vocal looping. Their art is a reminder of the power found in our relationship to the earth, music, and community, and is an invitation to listen, learn, and sing together through various musical landscapes.
The Gallery of California Natural Sciences will come alive with a can’t-miss pop-up performance. In between performance sessions stroll through OMCA’s award-winning galleries or stop by Town Fare for delicious bites.
Gallery programming is included with the price of general Museum admission for guests, and totally free for Museum Members. Town Fare Café will be open to visitors until 8 pm.
Thursday, March 14 | 5-8 pm
Sketchboard Live Drawing and Gallery Chats with Margaret Yee
Don’t miss live sketching in the Gallery of California History, delicious bites and beverages by a Guest Chef Takeover in Town Fare, and Gallery Chats with Margaret Yee.
Bring your sketch pads and appetites to another Thursday After Hours at OMCA. Mix and mingle over delightful cocktails prepared in OMCA’s Town Fare Café. After bites and beverages, head over to the Gallery of California History for live drawing sessions hosted by Sketchboard.
All skill levels, including those who have never drawn before and want to try drawing. Art supplies and clipboards will be available for you to use, and your artwork will be yours to take home or exchange with others. Models representing the diversity of the Bay Area will be posing in the galleries for times ranging from 2 to 20 minutes. Since drawing will be in galleries, please be mindful of the space and bring only the following media from home: sketchbooks (max size 9×12 inches), pre-sharpened enclosed graphite or charcoal pencils. Please note that some models may be nude while others may be partially clothed.
Gallery programming is included with the price of general Museum admission for guests, and totally free for Museum Members. Town Fare Café will be open to visitors until 8 pm.
Thursday, March 21 | 5-8 pm
Opera at OMCA with Claire Gendler
Don’t miss a pop-up performance in the Gallery of California Natural Sciences by soprano Claire Gendler, as she performs selected classical pieces by composers such as Mozart, Schubert, Finzi, Fauré, and Britten.
The Gallery of California Natural Sciences will come alive with a can’t-miss pop-up performance. In between performance sessions, stroll through OMCA’s award-winning galleries or stop by Town Fare for refreshing food and drinks.
Gallery programming is included with the price of general Museum admission for guests, and totally free for Museum Members. Town Fare Café will be open to visitors until 8 pm.
Thursday, March 28 | 5-8 pm
Sketchboard Live Drawing and Gallery Chats with Nancy Taylor
Don’t miss the final night of Thursday After Hours at OMCA for the season! Engage in live sketching in the Gallery of California Art paired with innovative bites and beverages by Special Guest Chef Takeover in Town Fare and Gallery Chats with Nancy Taylor!
Pack your sketch pads and appetites! Delight in OMCA’s cafe, Town Fare by Chef Michele McQueen that will be featuring bites and beverages by a special Guest Chef, and then head over to the Gallery of California Art for a live drawing session hosted by Sketchboard.
All skill levels are welcome, including those who have never drawn before and want to try drawing. Art supplies and clipboards will be available for you to use, and your artwork will be yours to take home or exchange with others. Models representing the diversity of the Bay Area will be posing in the galleries for times ranging from 2 to 20 minutes. Since drawing will be in galleries, please be mindful of the space and bring only the following media from home: sketchbooks (max size 9×12 inches), pre-sharpened enclosed graphite or charcoal pencils. Please note that some models may be nude while others may be partially clothed.
Gallery programming is included with the price of general Museum admission for guests, and totally free for Museum Members. Town Fare Café will be open to visitors until 8 pm.
TicketsThursday After Hours programming is included with the cost of General Admission for Museum Guests and Free for Museum Members. Visitors do not require a ticket to enter Town Fare. Visit our website to book tickets in advance.
Exhibit A: A Townhall on Anti-Blackness in Oakland
Thursday, March 14, 2024 | 5:30 pm- 7:30 pm | James Moore Theater
Tickets are free of charge but required for admission. More information and tickets can be found on OMCA’s website.
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) partners with Edutainment for Equity and the City of Oakland Department of Race and Equity to host Exhibit A: A Townhall on Anti-Blackness in Oakland, an interactive data experience on anti-Blackness in the city of Oakland. Exhibit A employs the power of statistics and data visualization, and casts the city of Oakland into the future to give a glimpse of what continued anti-Black models can bring and what futures are possible if such anti-Black structures are resisted.
Exhibit A builds off of the legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois’ prolific statistical work by using interactive data visualizations created by Oakland based artists to illustrate trajectories impacted by both pro and anti-Black futures. Exhibit A is supported by participating policy makers and city workers from critical sectors including leaders from the Department of Race and Equity and is an expression of Oakland’s community. Between digital interfaces, augmented reality experiences, and interactive workshops designed to spark conversation and critical engagement, this experience is one meant to be amplified. Participants are enlisted to engage their own friends through social media by sharing images of the art and their response to it, and offering visions and forecasts for the future of Oakland. The community dialogue will be moderated by journalist and host of Hard Knock Radio DJ Davey D and educator, community leader, and Exhibit A co-producer, Hodari Davis. Interspersed between dialogue will be musical stylings and performances by CEO and founder of Edutainment for Equity and Exhibit A co-producer, Candice Wicks-Davis (also known as Mama Candice), and several Oakland favorites.
Spotlight Sundays: : Chicana (1979) Film Screening with Talk Back Including Film Director, Sylvia Morales and OMCA Mellon Fellow, Gilda Posada
Sunday, March 17, 2024 | 1—2:15 pm | James Moore Theater
This event is sliding scale ($1—$30) visit museumca.org for more information.
The Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) uses this Women’s History Month as an opportunity to highlight women identified leaders of the Chicano/a Art Movement of the 1960’s and 1970’s through a contemporary lens. OMCA will host a screening Chicana (1979) and a conversation with director Sylvia Morales.
This 22-minute film illuminates the struggles and triumphs of Chicana womxn during this era and is considered to be the first major feminist Chicana documentary. In addition to the acclaimed short, Morales wrote and directed over thirty nationally recognized documentaries ranging from the farm worker’s struggle to the music of Los Lobos. The film will be followed by a talk back with the director, and OMCA’s Mellon Fellow, Gilda Posada. Posada is a Xicana cultural worker whose projects are invested in practices that challenge patriarchal and heteronormative structures.
This program is a part of our exhibition programming for Por el Pueblo: The Legacy and Influence of Malaquías Montoya on view at OMCA through June 30, 2024.
Gallery Chats at OMCA
Gallery Chats ~
Saturdays, 1—3 pm | OMCA Great Hall and Galleries of California Art, History, and Natural Sciences
Member Gallery Chats ~
Second Saturdays, 12— 1 pm | OMCA Great Hall Only
Gallery Chats at OMCA takes an informal approach to the traditional museum tour. Visitors are invited to chat, ask questions, and connect in the galleries with our OMCA facilitators who combine content knowledge with lived experience to encourage meaningful dialogue and fresh interpretations of our Special Exhibitions and Galleries of California Art, History, and Natural Sciences.
Weekly Gallery Chats take place in our Special Exhibitions and our Galleries of California Art, History, and Natural Sciences every Saturday from 1 to 3 pm and are included with Museum and Special Exhibition admission. No reservation necessary.
OMCA Members have access to special Member Gallery Chats every second Saturday of the month from noon to 1 pm.
Special Edition of Gallery Chats: In-Gallery Writing & Reflection Workshop with Arely Hernández
Saturday, March 16, 2024 | 1—2 pm | Great Hall
A Special Exhibition ticket is required to attend this event. Tickets are limited and can be purchased on our website.
OMCA invites guests to a special edition of Gallery Chats led by Bay Area multimedia artist, Arely Hernández, whose artwork is on view in OMCA’s current special exhibition Por el Pueblo: The Legacy and Influence of Malaquías Montoya. Hernández will lead visitors in a guided writing experience focused on the exhibition’s themes. Paper and pencils will be provided.
Por el Pueblo: The Legacy and Influence of Malaquías Montoya centers around the living impact of Chicano artist, Malaquías Montoya, whose legacy as a public-serving artist, activist, and community leader serves as inspiration for younger generations within the Chicano community and beyond.
OMCA Architecture Walk and Talk
First Sunday of each month at 1 pm
Walk through OMCA’s landmark building and gardens with members of the Council on Architecture, and learn about the history, design, and evolution of this award-winning structure with guides who are passionate about OMCA and Oakland.
No reservations or tickets are required. Walk and Talk begins near the Mid Level ticketing desk and lasts approximately one hour.
If you’d like to visit OMCA’s Galleries or Special Exhibitions, please purchase a ticket online in advance or at the ticketing desk on the day of your visit.
Currently On View
Por el Pueblo: The Legacy and Influence of Malaquías Montoya
Great Hall
Explore the living impact of Chicano artist, Malaquías Montoya, whose legacy as a public-serving artist, activist, and community leader serves as inspiration for younger generations within the Chicano community and beyond. Montoya’s posters, graphic prints, and murals highlighting political and social justice issues have helped define the Chicano identity for nearly five decades.
Malaquías Montoya’s activist roots and community ties can be traced back to his childhood as the son of a migrant farmworker family and the close relationships he held with elder family members, teachers, artists and more. Por el Pueblo: The Legacy and Influence of Malaquías Montoya invites visitors to consider Montoya’s deeply collaborative artistic process, focus on community, and engagement across generations.
This exhibition will explore what it means to become an elder through photographs, historical and familial ephemera, early works from the artist as well as contemporary artworks by artists from multiple generations influenced by Montoya, including Julio Salgado, Elyse Doyle-Martinez, Leslie Lopez, Israel Campos, and Arely Hernández. On view October 6, 2023—June 30, 2024.
OMCA Kids: Nature Playspace
Gallery of California Natural Sciences
Little learners can unleash their curiosity and imagination in the newly created OMCA Kids: Nature Playspace. Located inside the Gallery of California Natural Sciences, the playspace 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 playspace gives families a fun, safe place to play, and to build community with other families.
Visitors ages 12 and younger receive free admission to OMCA, as long as they are accompanied by an adult over 18 years of age.
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. Museum admission is $19 general; $16 seniors and students with valid ID, $12 youth ages 13 to 17, and free for Members and children 12 and under. There is a $6 charge in addition to general admission pricing for special exhibitions in the Great Hall. OMCA offers onsite underground parking and is conveniently located one block from the Lake Merritt BART station, on the corner of 10th Street and Oak Street. An accessibility ramp is located at the 1000 Oak Street main entrance to the Museum.