This weekend, starting Thursday, check out all the great music (some that is spooky) and explore a little history at the California Museum in an exhibition curated by UC Davis folks. And our UC Davis as well as local museums and galleries are open to enjoy.

Karen Nikos-Rose, Arts Blog Editor

'The Macabre: A Harpsichord Halloween' is noon concert

Thursday, Oct. 27, 12:05 – 1 p.m., Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center, a Shinkoskey Noon Concert, Free

Faythe Vollrath, solo harpsichord and UC Davis lecturer in music

Immerse yourself in the Halloween season with the eerie and spooky sounds of the harpsichord. Spine-chilling chords and cackling runs bring alive a concert of things that go bump in the night, with black cats, Jeckyl and Hyde, and even compositions written by spirits. Featuring works by J.S. Bach, Dominico Scarlatti, James Dorsa, and Rosemary Brown.

The program includes J.S. Bach: Prelude in B Minor, BWV 923, James Dorsa: Jekyll and Hydem, and Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata in G Minor, K. 30.

Find a link to the livestream here.

Singer Nella at Mondavi

Saturday, Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m., Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center

Nella Rojas, voice; Gilad Barakan, guitar; Parker McAllister, bass; and Jaylen Petinaud, drums.

 Nella’s music is a meeting place for her Venezuelan folklore roots, the influence of her contemporaries, and the music of the Andalusian region. Born in Isla Margarita, an island off the north-eastern coast of Venezuela, Nella has performed with artists such as Alejandro Sanz, Jennifer Lopez, Susana Baca, Carlos Vives and many more. Her debut album, Voy, produced by Javier Limón, earned her a Best New Artist Latin Grammy and her hit song “Me Llaman Nella” (They Call Me Nella) collected millions of Spotify and YouTube streams. Her follow up, Doce Margaritas, captured an artist pushing new boundaries. The New York Times calls her a singer “who can convey flamenco tension even in a near whisper.” This is a rare chance to see an emerging superstar in the flush of her early career. 

Find more information and purchase tickets here. 

New exhibit at California Museum honors Filipino-American community, stories

Explore the critical role Filipino Americans have played in our state’s history at the California Museum’s new exhibit, California is in the Heart. The Grand Opening event is Saturday, Oct. 29, 1-5 p.m.

The exhibit, which includes historical photographs from the UC Davis Library’s Archives and Special Collections, will run Oct. 29 through April 9.  The exhibit is presented in partnership with the Bulosan Center for Filipino Studies at UC Davis, with support from the Filipino American National Historical Society Museum and the UC Davis Library.

Festivities will include:

• Self-guided exhibit tours
• Local Filipinx food vendors
• Pop-up shops from Filipinx artisans
• Community information tables
• Live DJ

Purchase tickets ($5 each, plus processing fee)

California Museum, 1020 O Street, Sacramento (directions)

Read more in the library’s blog. 

-Contributed by Jason Sarmiento, Bulosan Center, and UC Davis Library

Ongoing at UC Davis Museums

Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, UC Davis — A Trio of Exhibits

‘Young, Gifted and Black’ 

The first public standalone exhibition curated from the renowned Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection explores the history and meaning of Blackness and is organized around four themes: dramatic use of color, reclamation of the color black, materiality (nontraditional materials) and an expanded idea of portraiture. Read more about this exhibition here. 

Roy De Forest: Habitats for Travelers

First-generation art faculty member and UC Davis Professor Emeritus Roy De Forest (1930-2007) is beloved for his colorful narrative figurative paintings, drawings and prints. Printmaking offered De Forest a means to explore his visual vocabulary — to experiment with the colors, textures and mark-making unique to the medium. 

Loie Hollowell: Tick Tock Belly Clock

Hollowell, a rising star in the art world, grew up in Woodland, California, and is the daughter of longtime UC Davis Professor Emeritus David Hollowell. Known primarily for paintings and drawings that map the body through both figuration and abstraction, New York-based artist Loie Hollowell draws from her own life experiences in her work. 

Find more information on all three exhibits here.

Design Museum:

Woven Air: Dhakai Jamdani Textile From Bangladesh, an exhibition of traditional Bangladeshi textiles noted for a weaving technique that creates surface decorations, opened at the UC Davis Design Museum on Oct. 3.

An example of the woven cloth being exhibited at UC Davis Design Exhibit. (Courtesy photo)

This exhibition features fine-count Jamdani, the ornate textile that has experienced a revival in Bangladesh.

‘Subtle Antiracist Work: Tropes of Africanness in Brazilian Music’ addressed in law school speaker series

Interdisciplinary Speaker Series, Aoki Center on Critical Race and Nation Studies

Tuesday, Nov. 1, Noon– 1 p.m. (Advance registration required)

Room 1301, King Hall (School of Law)

Brazil has a long history of musical activism fighting for racial equality. This activism has been visible and impactful and resounds in the streets of most Brazilian cities. And there is still a lot of work to be done. This presentation explores less blatant but equally damaging forms of systemic racism: the ways in which people think about, write about, and compose music.

Drawing on his book Africanness in Action: Essentialism and Imaginations of Africa in Brazil (2021), UC Davis Professor Juan Diego Díaz starts with the simple question: How do Black musicians from the state of Bahia (an epicenter of black culture in Brazil) create music when they use the idea of Africa as a source of inspiration? Examining historical writings on stereotypical notions about black and African music and culture, the presentation shows how Black musicians from Brazil contribute to the antiracist work of challenging the racial hierarchy imposed and internalized during the period of European colonization in Brazil.

An optional zoom link can be found here (advance registration required).

‘A Library of Forms’ features alumni

Through Dec. 9, opening reception Thursday, Oct. 27, 4 p.m.

Robert F. Agrella Art Gallery, Santa Rosa Junior College

Curated by Christopher Woodcock (M.F.A., ‘10) and featuring alumni Lisa Rybovich Crallé (M.F.A., ‘11), Kyle Dunn (M.F.A., ‘12)  and Benjamin Rosenthal (M.F.A., ‘11), “A Library of Forms” is a riot of color and movement. In this group show, which also includes Vanessa Marsh, Caleb Charland, Narangkar Glover, Jamil Hellu and Eric Souther, each artist explores concepts of movement, color, light and form.

Find more information here.

The Robert F. Agrella Art Gallery is part of Santa Rosa Junior College. The gallery is located on the first floor of the Frank P. Doyle Library at 1501 Mendocino Avenue, Santa Rosa.

Basement Gallery now accepting submissions for new show

The Basement Gallery is accepting submissions for their next show “Culture Collective.” Scheduled for Nov. 18, this show is dedicated to our BIPOC community and BIPOC UC Davis student artists.

To submit your work, go to tinyurl.com/bgculture or check out the link at @ucd_basement_gallery. The deadline to submit work is Nov. 4 at midnight. 

The Basement Gallery is a UC Davis’ student-run art gallery located in the basement of the Art building.

Robert Arneson 30-Year Memorial Exhibition at Natsoulas

Nov. 2 – Jan. 7, 2023

The John Natsoulas Gallery presents  a new exhibition in honor of Robert Arneson (Sept. 4, 1930 – Nov. 2, 1992), nationally known Bay Area artist and former UC Davis professor.. Commemorating the 30-year anniversary of the passing of the great artist, this show will offer visitors the chance to see amazing sculptures and works on paper by this artist who shaped the art of Northern California. Along with a stellar faculty at UC Davis, Arneson established the world-renowned TB 9 studio space and resultantly founded one of the most ground-breaking ceramic departments in the world.

Find more information here.

Off the Grid at the Barn Gallery

Through Feb. 11, 2023

Contemporary Fiber Art Exhibit

Off the Grid is an exhibit of non-traditional works of fiber art that highlights innovative uses of contemporary and traditional methods such as fiber collage, stitching, piecing, weavingand embroidery at the Barn Gallery. These 19 artists speak about their personal journeys and social and political themes through the medium of textiles.

Find more information here. 

The Barn Gallery is located at 512 Gibson Road, Woodland. 

Save these dates next week

Xu Bing: Spotlight Artist in Residence Talk is Thursday

Thursday, Nov.  3, 2022 - 4:30 p.m. to 6  p.m.,  Wyatt Pavilion Theatre

Xu Bing: Spotlight Artist in Residence, The California Studio

Xu Bing is the fall quarter spotlight artist in residence in The California Studio: Manetti Shrem Artist Residencies. The talk is organized by The California Studio and co-sponsored by the Department of Art and Art History, East Asian Studies and Global Affairs. The UC Davis studio art program visiting artists program is one of the most extensive in the nation. The California Studio: Manetti Shrem Artist Residencies at UC Davis hosts five internationally recognized artists annually in quarter and weeklong residencies focused on teaching at the undergraduate and graduate level. The program launched in fall 2021. 

Xu Bing is a visual artist internationally recognized for his experiments with written script. Bing garnered international attention in the late 1980s for his experiments with the Chinese written script created using woodblock carving and printing to produce a series of nonsensical characters. Since then, Bing has explored the ways in which the written script bridges different systems of writing and engages audiences across different cultures. His work incorporates a wide variety of media including ink rubbings, stencils, scrolls, computer manipulations, organic materials and living animals.

Bing has received the MacArthur Fellowship, Fukuoka Asian Culture Award, Artes Mundi Prize, a lifetime achievement award from the Southern Graphics Council and the U.S. State Department Medal of Arts. His work has been included in the 45th, 51st and 56th Venice Biennials,  Sydney Biennial, and Johannesburg Biennial, among other international exhibitions.

More in this story.

Ann Lavin, Clarinet and Dagenais Smiley, Violin

Nov. 3, 12:05 p.m. – 1 p.m.

Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center, a Shinkoskey Noon Concert, Free

The program includes Maurice Ravel: Pièce en forme de Habanera, Krzysztof Penderecki: Three Miniatures for Clarinet and Piano, and George Gershwin: Three Preludes for Clarinet and Piano, arr. Cohn.