�����

The California Studio Lecture series presents Marie Lorenz, who works on water

Thursday, April 10, 4:30-6 p.m. at the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, doors open at 4 p.m.

Marie Lorenz’s work is rooted in the exploration and narrative of New York City’s waterfronts. (She collaborated with UC Davis Music’s Kurt Rohde in an opera on polluted water in ” in 2023). Combining psycho-geographic exploration with highly crafted, material forms, Lorenz uses boats to create an uncertain space and bring about a heightened awareness of place. In 2005, she started her Tide and Current Taxi project, taking people around the New York Harbor in a boat built from salvaged materials, using the tide to guide her navigation.

Lorenz is the spring quarter visiting professor in The California Studio: Manetti Shrem Artist Residencies. During spring quarter 2025, Lorenz will teach the undergraduate course “ART129″ and the graduate seminar “ART 227″.

Organized by The California Studio: Manetti Shrem Artist Residences in the Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program. Co-sponsored by the Manetti Shrem Museum.

Shinkoskey Noon Concert brings forth music from the former Soviet Union

Thursday, April 10, 12:05 p.m., Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center

Igor Veligan and Roger Xia, violins
Joseph Donald Peterson, viola
Susan Lamb Cook, cello
Natsuki Fukasawa, piano

Program

Arvo Pärt: Spiegel im Spiegel

Arno Babadjanian: Selections from Trio in F-sharp Minor

Dimitri Shostakovich: Piano Quintet in G Minor

Ongoing Exhibitions in Davis

Read about ongoing art and design exhibitions in this Arts Blog story.

Above art, Coyote dancer with flute #III, 1983, Acrylic wash/paper. (Courtesy/Gorman Museum of Native American Art).

Eva Silot gives talk on Cuban fusion and the Transnational Cuban alternative music scene

Thursday, April 10, 4:10-6 p.m., Room 266 in Everson Hall

An educator with 14 years of experience, Afro-Cuban female author Eva Silot Bravo is an interdisciplinary and independent scholar, former diplomat and international negotiator in the United Nations, representing Cuba and developing countries. The focus of her presentation is her recently published non-fiction academic book: , on Cuban music and transnationalism.

Surveying the impact of Cuba’s economic crisis after the demise of the Eastern socialist bloc, Silot Bravo’s book documents a relatively unexplored transnational network of collaborations among Cuban musicians who migrated to many different countries from the 1990s forward. The book’s main argument is that in light of the 1990s crisis in Cuba, new transnational and alternative narratives emerged, resulting in creative “in-between” spaces that reflect a post-socialist aesthetic condition. The manuscript also documents important developments in the Cuban jazz and fusion scenes outside the island in the last 20 plus years.

Terrence Blanchard presents FLOW 20th Anniversary Tour

Friday, April 11, 7:30 p.m., Jackson Hall at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts

Seven-time GRAMMY winner, two-time Oscar nominee and newly appointed executive artistic Ddirector of SFJAZZ Terence Blanchard returns to the Mondavi Center stage with The E-Collective for an unforgettable night celebrating the 20th anniversary of his seminal album, FLOW.

A record inspired by Miles Davis’ landmark groups of the late 1960s and early 1970s, FLOW “treated jazz like a smorgasbord” (PopMatters) in its use of electric instruments, deep funk grooves and a collage of global influences. The album, produced by Herbie Hancock, was a landmark for Blanchard, one that pointed towards his continually fascinating evolution as an artist and composer.

Get tickets here:

111th Picnic Day, UC Davis

Get plenty of art at Picnic Day, beginning Friday with Egghead pop-up shop 

Reserve your space at the egghead art station

Friday, April 11, 4-6 p.m. and Saturday, April 12, 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Silo Courtyard

The Robert Arneson Egghead Collection Pop-up Shop will make its last two appearances at the Silo Courtyard (between the Gunrock and Craft Center) — first on Friday, April 11, 4 – 6 p.m. and then on Saturday, April 12, 8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. They’re dropping prices and offering bundle discounts galore. Plus, all Egghead pop-up shop purchases of $30 or more will receive a free Egghead gift while supplies last. 

But wait, there’s more! On Friday only, in partnership with the Craft Center, there is a pre-Picnic Day “Egg Decoration Station.” The Craft Center will provide wooden eggs and other art supplies so you can color, customize and take home your very own mini Egghead (or really any egg-shaped design).

HOWEVER, space at the Egg Decoration Station is limited to 11 people at a time. We set up Eventbrite page so you can reserve a 30-minute slot (4 to 4:30, 4:30 to 5, 5 to 5:30 or 5:30 to 6 p.m.) Claim your seat today by clicking the time you want. Then click the big orange “Reserve a spot” button. And then start visualizing your oval masterpiece.

Read more about celebrating the year of the Eggheads here.

---

 

The Crocker Museum in Sacramento announces Agustín Arteaga as the Museum's new Mort and Marcy Friedman Director & CEO.

Arteaga is an internationally recognized leader and visionary with proven success in building local and global partnerships, improving financial sustainability, leading capital campaigns, and expanding collections, with a particular emphasis on inclusive curatorial practices that increase the representation of diverse cultural narratives. Arteaga will assume his role on July 1, 2025. His leadership is expected to build upon the Museum's longstanding mission of enriching the cultural fabric of the Sacramento region and beyond.

Embrace art this Picnic Day at the Manetti Shrem Museum

Saturday, April 12, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art

At Picnic Day — the university's open house — spark your creativity and wonder with a stop at the Manetti Shrem Museum. Cool off in air-conditioned galleries and experience works from an international collection of 30 fiercely original women artists, large-scale ceramic sculpture, and an exhibition curated and designed by UC Davis students.

Make art with friends, family, and Davis residents, and play with DIY stamps to make repeating patterns on the plaza, or get silly with irregular reflective surfaces and draw stretchy, squiggly self-portraits. From 1-4 p.m., recharge your energy with DJ Lady Char’s infectious beats! Catch her set on the plaza for a musical journey across genres.

Show off your inner fashionista with this year’s Picnic Day Fashion Show

Saturday, April 12, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Cruess Hall Courtyard

The 2025 UC Davis Fashion and Design Society Picnic Day Fashion Show will spotlight fashion created and executed by Department of Design undergraduate students in the "Signature Collections" course.

This year's Picnic Day theme is "," a nod to the whimsical world of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Beyond the runway, the fashion show will also be an outdoor exhibition, where you'll wander through a curated collection of physical projects designed by talented students.

“Prepare to be enchanted as we blur the line between fantasy and reality on the runway," said Sara Lindstrom, president and executive director of the Fashion and Design Society at UC Davis. "'Through the Looking Glass' invites you to step into a world of whimsical creativity."

The event will be presented live and outdoors on the Cruess Hall Courtyard. There will be two viewings of the show from 11 a.m. to noon, and from noon to 1 p.m. or find free standing room only behind seated guests.

Show off your crafty side this Picnic Day with Thank Goodness for Staff Crafts

Running until April 25 at the UC Davis Craft Center, 12:30-6 p.m.

The Thank Goodness for Staff Crafts Exhibition is running at the from March 31 to April 25, and what a better time to visit than Picnic Day, when the Craft Center will be having an open house. Celebrating UC Davis staff members’ creative sparks, selected art pieces will be on display from 12:30-6 p.m. daily showing a range of art pieces like paintings, crochet, origami, carved wood, photography, quilting and more.

Bringing kids to Picnic Day? Library, College of Letters and Science and School of Education have you covered

Saturday, April 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., various locations

to learn about the science of speech. Try out examples from real experiments and play with data. The presents fun hands-on activities designed to help you learn more about kids' brains —  and cool off in the spring heat. Find out what they study at the Memory and Development Lab and learn how to get involved. These family friendly activities will be on the Hoagland Hall lawn.

Learn about measuring brain activity and find demonstrations of human brain wave (EEG) recordings from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Also on the lawn outside Young Hall, from 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., excavate like an archaeologist (in a sandbox), or explore printmaking like humans of the past and present.is all about the study of us humans.

At the School of Education building from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Dr. Lee Martin will lead the BETA Lab where participants can learn to make paper circuits and see the mobile maker lab. In addition, Dr. Darnel Degand will run a booth where participants can create a comic strip — design their own or use the provided coloring pages.

Or drop into Shields Library from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. for a variety of WONDER-ful activities

○     See Exhibits about the Arboretum and historical postcards of Davis

○     Browse cookbooks from the collections, including Aggie favorites from the CoHo and Davis Farmers Market, and take home a new recipe!

○     Chalk it up with sidewalk chalk and coloring sheets

○     Participate in children’s storytime with Professor Fran Dolan (11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.)

○     Play tea party in the library’s shady courtyard

○     Jump in to DataLab Augmented Reality (AR) Sandbox

○     See DataLab Virtual Reality (VR) software (ages 13+) (11 a.m.-2 p.m.)

Experience student musical performances during Picnic Day

Saturday, April 12, 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center

Program Includes

J.S. Bach: Prelude and Fugue No. 13
Frederic Chopin: Nocturne, op. 9, no. 3

Sergei Rachmaninoff: Selection from Sonata in G Minor for Cello and Piano
Bach: Prelude to Sonata No. 2 in D Minor for Solo Cello

Ludwig van Beethoven: Selection from Sonata No. 21 in C Major (“Waldstein”)
Robi Castaneda: Pavane

Ricky Skaggs / Tony Rice: Bury Me Beneath the Weeping Willow
Lizzy McAlpine: Emma