This week, instructions on how to create a self-portrait with found objects in the Manetti Shrem newsletter; Mondavi Center has a new streaming feature for members, and there’s virtual theatre and music. Have a great weekend.
Manetti Shrem looks at 'liminal space'
The latest Manetti Shrem At Home newsletter centers on the idea of liminal spaces: “A liminal space is a place of transition, where transformation happens as we embrace the threshold between the familiar and the unknown. This week, we meet people exploring these realms with trepidation, courage and innovation.” Read on to check out the highlights of this week’s newsletter. Or, learn more about the theme of liminal space and check out the full newsletter here.
- Nearly 10 years ago, intermedia artist and visiting scholar Meredith Tromble began working on Dream Vortex, an artwork made with interactive 3D projections based on physical drawings of dreams with which viewers could interact. She describes its origins and its UC Davis collaborators in Interalia Magazine.
- “Liminal Space” by producer and singer-songwriter Bianca Ocampo/urbanation, a recent UC Davis grad, fits the complicated emotional terrain of 2020. Listen to this single or her latest two-track single, “Joyride/Boy.”
- In this Tate video, Nigerian-born painter Njideka Akunyili Crosby shows how using her own life, identity and history informs her work, where collage and photo layers reflect subjects inhabiting multiple spaces that exist together. Crosby will give a virtual lecture on Nov. 12 organized by the Department of Art and Art History, and co-sponsored by the UC Davis College of Letters and Science and the Manetti Shrem Museum.
- Have you experienced a personal transformation while adjusting to today's reality? This week, collect found objects from around your house to assemble a creative self-portrait that reflects you.
Mondavi Center introduces new benefit: HomeStage
The Mondavi Center has introduced a new membership benefit: HomeStage. HomeStage is a curated series of live-streamed events that brings the world’s finest established and emerging performing artists right into your house. All UC Davis students can access this benefit too.
- This fall, upcoming virtual events include a streaming of the film John Lewis: Good Trouble and a Best of Beethoven performance by the Alexander String Quartet.
- Click here to learn more about HomeStage. Click here to become a member.
Theatre Festival “Catalyst: A Theatre Think Tank” continues this Saturday
- Catalyst: A Theatre Think Tank (previously known as The Ground and Field Theatre Festival) will continue to introduce new stage works this weekend. On Saturday, Sept. 19 at 5 p.m., catch a public reading of playwright Ian August’s “Everything You Can Do (To Make The World a Better Place).” Register here for this virtual event.
- Next week at 5 p.m., on both Thursday Sept. 24 and Friday Sept. 25, catch “Become the Flowers,” by Talia Friedenberg (B.A., theatre and dance, ’19) and directed by Kyle Holmes (B.A., English, ’10; M.A., education, ’12). Register for the online event here.
Start your week with online concert featuring UC Davis musicians
The Left Coast Chamber Ensemble begins its all-online concert season at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 21 with a world premiere of Soft Spoken. This concert features performances by three UC Davis music professors: Stacey Pelinka (UC Davis lecturer in music), Laurie San Martin (UC Davis professor of music), and Kurt Rohde (UC Davis professor of music).
- Learn more here. To RSVP and receive the online link, click here. The event is free, but the ensemble asks you to consider making a donation of $25, or whatever you are able to contribute.
UCD Art faculty and alumni donate art to support Pence Gallery auction
Local not-for-profit Pence Art Gallery, located in downtown Davis, holds an annual art auction. This year, due to the pandemic, the auction is online year through Sept. 26. Many UC Davis faculty, staff and alumni, from the arts department and beyond, contributed works to the auction. Faculty artists include Professors Hearne Pardee and Gina Werfel, Associate Professor Young Suh and Lecturer Bryce Vinourov from the Department of Art and Art History. Also Professor Emeritus Malaquias Montoya, and the late Roy de Forest, professor emeritus, are represented in the auction.
Click here to learn more. Click here to visit the event’s webpage.
Wide Open Walls murals going up again
Every August since 2016, local artists have come together for a mural painting marathon in Sacramento called Wide Open Walls. This year, the event will run through Thursday, Sept. 24. Larger-than-life pieces will appear on buildings around Sacramento courtesy of 27 northern California artists. To learn more about the featured artists for 2020, click here. Go here to check out the locations and artists for this year’s murals. Also, stay tuned. This Arts Blog will run a story about murals being painted at the UC Davis Medical Center.
This coming week, join the Crocker Art Musuem via Instagram Live for interviews with three different Wide Open Walls artists.
- Monday, Sept. 21 at 4 p.m.: Shonna McDaniels; mural located at 1403 19th Street
- Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 4:30 p.m.: Cheyenne Randall; mural located at 1810 Del Paso Blvd.
- Friday, Sept. 25 at 4 p.m.: Madelyne Templeton; mural located at 8th Street and Improv Alley
For more information, click here.
Sac Open Studios at Verge
For the 15th year, the Verge Center for the Arts is presenting Sac Open Studios. The Sac Open Studios event typically allows you to view local art and meet local artists in their own studios.
This year Verge is making their event virtual “...so you can see art and meet our region’s talented artists all from the comfort of your own home.” Check vergeart.com for updates.
Coming Soon
The de Young Celebrates 125th anniversary
This year the de Young museum in San Francisco will celebrate the museum’s 125th birthday by hosting The de Young Open, which is “a juried community art exhibition of submissions by artists who live in the nine Bay Area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma.” The museum is still working with authorities to determine a date for this exhibition. Stay tuned to their website for updates.
Art Tweet of the Week
Wide Open Walls on twitter
