Upcoming exhibits, events at the Crocker Art Museum
Located less than 30 minutes from Davis, the Crocker Museum in Sacramento offers a number of events, activities and exhibits. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with later hours until 9 p.m. on Thursdays. While museum tickets are regularly $12 for adults, the museum offers an $8 price for college students and hosts a “Pay As You Wish” day every third Sunday of the month. Currently the museum offers an array of different art exhibits ranging in paintings, sculpture, photography and a blend of many other mediums.
From Sept. 16 to Jan. 6, the museum exhibited the photographs of Duane Michals, a portraitist famous for capturing and documenting influential figures such as actors, musicians and writers. Within this exhibit were many different interactive mirrors and pieces that allowed the viewer to take their own portraits and experiment with the art of capturing themself or someone else on camera.
Upcoming exhibits at the museum include “History, Labor, Life” featuring the prints of Jacob Lawrence in which “Lawrence’s recording and recollection of African American and larger African diasporic histories are featured, as well as his vivid observations of the dynamic city life in his native Harlem.” The exhibit will be open from Jan. 27 to April 7. In addition, the museum will also be introducing “The Roaming Eye: International Street Photography from the Ramer Collection,” and “A Passionate Muse: the Art of Leonard Baskin.”
While the museum offers many changing exhibits, it also contains many collections. “The Crocker hosts one of California’s premier collections of art, dating from the Gold Rush to the present day, a collection of master drawings, European paintings, one of the largest international ceramics collections in the U.S. and collections of Asian, African, and Oceanic art,” according to their website.
In regards to Film and Music, the museum offers frequent lessons, concerts and viewings that range in price but often offer great discounts for students. Upcoming events include “Global Rhythms: Brasil Brazil,” a rhythms music series from “Brazilian natives Ana Gazzola and Sonia Santos [who] create invigorating musical experiences full of the fervor and excitement” on Jan. 27
In addition, inspired by the upcoming Jacob Lawrence event, the museum will host viewings of a four-part film series titled “Work, Struggle, and Emancipation,” on Feb. 7, Mar. 7 and Apr. 4. This series “bring[s] into focus the issues faced by working-class people seeking to live the American dream.”
Upcoming classes at the Crocker museum include “Clay and Chardonnay” on Jan. 19, that offers attendants a chance to drink wine while learning various sculpting techniques; “Bubbles and Brushes” on Feb. 3, another opportunity to drink wine while learning and experimenting with painting and “Mimosas and Mixed Media” a month later on Mar. 3.
The museum also offers crash courses in Art History and other modern day educational events, such as “Licensing in the Digital Age” on Feb. 7 and “Comic Books: Beyond Heroes and Capes” on Feb. 12, that do not include creating art itself.
Crocker Art Museum is welcoming and entertaining enough to occupy a day of activity whether it be solo or with a group of friends. The museum offers art for all interests and preferences, with contemporary collections exploring modern day political issues as well as modern and pastoral depictions of California landscape and daily life. With affordable prices, accessible hours and a cafe area with tables for eating, relaxing and doing work, the museum maintains its positive reputation as the first public art museum founded in the Western United States.
While the Manetti Shrem in Davis is an excellent museum, for those hoping to spend hours wandering through and reading about a wide range of exhibits, the Crocker offers just that. In addition, the Crocker features local and youth art competition winners who showcase the next generation of creative minds and thinkers. Many of these art pieces explore human rights through various lenses, and showcase the emotion, passion, depth and urge for change that children as young as seven are depicting in their art.
As winter approaches, with the rain and cold driving students to stay indoors and in the area, the Crocker Art Museum offers a warm and comfortable atmosphere to take advantage of. Why not have a fun, affordable and thought-provoking time at a place that truly attempts to present a wide array of voices, minds and artistic expression?
Written by: Rosie Schwarz — arts@theaggie.org
