ThursDates at OMCA

Unwind into a reflective and creative ThursDates evening at OMCA, where conversation, art-making, and music unfold at an easy pace. Spend time with The Watermelon Couch, a traveling exhibition and interactive project that transforms lived experience into shared knowledge. Join creator James Shields alongside cooperative development leader Adrionna Fike inside our special exhibition Black Spaces:Reclaim & Remain for a thoughtful pop-up discussion that draws on years of stories gathered from Black farmers and communities across the country to explore themes of local agriculture, collective power, and sustainable futures.

Relax into the easy, after-hours pulse of ThursDates at OMCA as the Museum forms an intimate hub of creativity, culture, and connection. This Thursday, Town Fare becomes a gathering point with signature cocktails and mahjong with The Mahjong Project. As you play, DJ Lady Ryan provides the perfect soundscape for mingling. All the while, Sketchboard Co. hosts uninstructed live figure drawing in the Gallery of California Art with a twist that’s sure to inspire. Models Nella and Q punctuate the drawing sessions with burlesque and drag performances, infusing the Museum with movement, expression, and a celebratory sense of Bay Area creativity.

This Thursday, experience the latest exhibition Good Fire: Tending Native Lands through a series of intimate, in-gallery pop-up talks, performances, and demonstrations. The evening opens with a musical set by Tongva, Chumash, and Yoeme artist Jessa Calderon, whose songs and poetry channel Indigenous resilience and community healing. Interwoven between performances, experience pop-up talks and demos with regalia maker Tiśina Ta-till-ium Parker, artist Saif Azzuz, and basketry and cultural fire specialists Alice Lincoln-Cook and Dr. Brittani Orona, each offering hands-on insights into art, land stewardship, and ancestral practices.

Step into ThursDates at OMCA and let the evening unfold at the pace of connection. In Town Fare, DJ Mark DiVita sets the atmosphere with incredible grooves perfect for cocktails and conversation. Guests are invited to test their wits with Trivia Night: Stories of Resilience, celebrating creativity, community, and unexpected insights. Meanwhile, the Gallery of California History comes alive with Sketchboard Co.’s uninstructed live figure drawing sessions, where models Andy Rose and Kitty KaPowww will interweave spellbinding burlesque performances between poses. 

Unwind into a reflective and creative ThursDates evening at OMCA, where storytelling, art-making, and music unfold at an easy, welcoming pace. OMCA and the Bay Area Book Festival team up this Thursday to present Maw Shein Win, Burmese American poet and inaugural poet laureate of El Cerrito, for a collaborative program that moves through the Museum. The evening begins with a performance bySPRINGTWIN (Win and guitaristDanny Allen), followed by a drop-in writing workshop in the Gallery of California History, inviting guests to reflect on personal and collective histories throughfree-writing exercises. The program culminates in Town Fare with an open mic, where participants can share their writings while enjoying cocktails and bites. All the while, DJ La Femme Papi provides soulful, expansive music throughout the evening, creating a warm and immersive soundtrack for the night.