May 2008

Friday, May 2
FIRST FRIDAYS AFTER FIVE!
First Friday!
5–9 p.m.
Get an early start on Cinco de Mayo and salsa the evening away with hot, hot, hot Dr. Loco and his Rockin’ Jalapeño Band in the café. Wonder why people should vote and why they don’t? And why voting is only part of a larger picture? Find out at “Wake Yo Game Up”—reception and  panel discussion starts at 7 p.m. Sponsored by KQED and moderated by Chuy Gomez, speakers include Keith Carson, Davey D, Eric Arnold, and Malika, with music by DJ Tou’re and Tyranny. Celebrate the start of Oakland Bike Month at the museum's monthly party; volunteers from Oakland’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee and City staff will answer all your questions about the best routes, clothing, bike tune-up needs, and gear. Free valet bike parking. Find out about bike trails and more in the exhibition In Our Own Backyard: A Celebration of the East Bay Regional Parks with curator Chris Beaver and preparator Lindsay Dixon at 6:30. Don't miss the most exciting party in Oakland with a low carbon footprint! Full cash bar—museum store and café open. All ages welcome. Included with museum admission. Included with museum admission.
Related Exhibit: In Our Own Backyard

Tuesday, May 6
CHANGE OF DATE AND VENUE!
Film
The date and venue for the screening of New Year Baby, part of the ITVS film series originally scheduled for March 6 at the Oakland Museum of California has been changed. New Year Baby will be shown Tuesday, May 13 at 6:30 p.m. at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center, 388 Ninth Street, Suite 290, Oakland. Telephone: 510/637-0455.

Thursday, May 8
Angel Island: Immigrant Gateway to America
Lecture
1 p.m.
Judy Yung, professor emerita at UC Santa Cruz, talks about the experiences of immigrants from Asia, Europe, and Latin America that were processed through Angel Island between 1910 and 1940. Free

Sunday, May 11
Family Explorations! California Families
Children and Family
1–4 p.m.
A day of fun that celebrates ALL families, especially welcoming those with adopted, foster, mixed-race, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender members. The fun includes the Otto Voci ensemble of the Oakland East Bay Gay Men’s Chorus; magic with Timothy James; a martial arts demonstration by Destiny Arts; panning for gold; story time with the Oakland Public Library; games with COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays everywhere) and City of Oakland Office of Parks and Recreation; a screening of the film My People Are….; hands-on art making with our friends from MOCHA (Museum of Children’s Art) and artist Josie Iselin. The California Families program was produced in partnership with Our Family Coalition, Family Builders by Adoption, the City of Oakland, and I-Pride, and with support from the museum’s LGBT Task Force. For more information visit: http://www.museumca.org/events/family_08.html Second Sundays are FREE!

Sunday, May 11
Members and Mother's Day
Members
12–5 p.m.
Treat your mother to brunch while enjoying live music and the dramatic sculptural designs of Sogetsu Ikebana floral displays in the museum restaurant. Complimentary wine for members and their mothers will be served. Stay to visit our current exhibitions, shop at the museum store (remember the members' discount!), and enjoy the Family Explorations! program from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. with musical performances and activities for the whole family. The museum thanks the Art Guild, History Guild, and Natural Sciences Guild for their support of the Mother's Day reception.

Thursday, May 15
The Making of a Wildlife Refuge
Lecture
12:30 p.m.
Leora Feeney, from the Golden Gate Audubon Society, and Susan Euing, from theU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, talk about the Alameda wildlife refuge and its star inhabitant, the California Least Tern. Presented by Natural Sciences Guild. Free.

Saturday, May 17
Golden Gala 2008: Birth of the Cool
Gala
The evening is inspired by the opening of the Birth of the Cool exhibition, which celebrates California's art and design at midcentury. Cool live jazz accompanies martinis, mai tais, and hors d'oeuvres in the gardens. Dinner is in a tented garden pavilion designed by Robert Fountain and Flying Colors, with a menu by chef Paul Canales of Oliveto and a “cool” dessert created for the Gala by Mary Canales of the Berkeley sweet shop Ici. The evening continues with dancing to the eclectic (read: fun, bluesy, cool and funky) band Wall Street, a live auction, and a North Beach-style coffee gallery. Go all out with iconic '50s dress or optional black tie.

Poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti is Honorary Chair and Wachovia is presnting sponsor of the Gala, which benefits the Oakland Museum of California's renowned public school education programs. For information and to receive an invitation, contact Camille Guimaraes at 510/238-7425 or cguimaraes@museumca.org.
Related Exhibit: Birth of the Cool

Saturday, May 17
Birth of the Cool
Exhibition Opens
Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design, and Culture At Midcentury takes a look at the broad cultural zeitgeist of “cool” that influenced the visual, graphic, and decorative arts, furniture, architecture, music, and film produced in California in the 1950s and early 1960s. The exhibition, organized by the Orange County Museum of Art, includes a jazz lounge; a media bar with film, animation, and television programming; a period art gallery of hard-edge abstract paintings; selections of art, architectural, and documentary photography; and an interactive timeline that highlights examples of California, national, and international culture and history in the 1950s. Birth of the Cool examines the dynamic community of artists who overlapped and interacted in Southern California at midcentury-Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Charles and Ray Eames, John Lautner, Richard Neutra, Helen Lundeberg, and others who played a germinal role in the development of this iconic style of high modernism. Through August 17, 2008.

Saturday, May 17
Cool Remixed
Exhibition Opens
This exhibition continues the conversation about what’s “cool,” putting a contemporary spin to the Birth of the Cool exhibition with graffiti, DJs, lounges, street fashion, scraper bikes, video, skate culture, and artwork created on a range of media —from car hoods to sneakers. Curators Evelyn Orantes and Christine Lashaw from the museum’s Education Department are working with East Bay Asian Youth Center (EBAYC), Visual Element of East Arts Alliance, Town Park, Youth Radio, Youth UpRising, Oakland High School’s Visual Arts Academy (VAAMP), and local artist Estria— to sample and mix today’s art, music, design, fashion, and culture. Through August 17, 2008.
Related Exhibit: Cool Remixed

Saturday, May 17
Museum Closes at 3 p.m
Early Closing
The museum will close at 3 p.m. today to prepare for the Golden Gala benefit this evening.

Saturday, May 17
Birth of the Cool
Exhibition Opens
Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design, and Culture at Midcentury features the visual, graphic, and decorative arts, furniture, architecture, music, and film produced in California in the 1950s and early 1960s. The exhibition, organized by the Orange County Museum of Art, includes a jazz lounge; film, animation, and television programming; a period art gallery of hard-edge abstract paintings; selections of art, architectural, and documentary photography; and an interactive timeline that highlights examples of California, national, and international culture and history in the 1950s. Birth of the Cool examines the dynamic community of artists who overlapped and interacted in Southern California at midcentury-Chet Baker, Gerry Mulligan, Charles and Ray Eames, John Lautner, Richard Neutra, Helen Lundeberg, and others who played a germinal role in the development of this iconic style of high modernism. Through August 17, 2008. Included with museum admission.
Related Exhibit: Birth of the Cool

Sunday, May 18
Bike Tours of Oakland
Bike Tour
10 a.m.
Explore Oakland and its environs with the museum's bike-tripping docents the third Sunday of the month as we leisurely wend our way through downtown, Fruitvale, the Port of Oakland, West Oakland, Brooklyn, or Lake Merritt.. Meet at 10th Street entrance at 10 a.m. Reservations preferred, but if you forget, come anyway: docentcenter@museumca.orgor 510/238-3514. Free.

Tuesday, May 27
Craft Kills: New Directions in Craft Practices
Lecture
7 p.m.
Craft Kills: New Directions in Craft Practices in the 21st Century Has craft become a dirty word? At the same time that institutions are dropping the word "craft" from their names, it has become a buzzword on the alternative scene as contemporary artists work with materials and techniques associated with craft. Jennifer Scanlan, associate curator at the Museum of Arts & Design in NY, offers an alternate vision for the future of craft in the works of some of the most exciting artists-both established and emerging-working today. The California Crafts Endowment Lecture is free.

Saturday, May 31
ART SAVES LIVES: 2008 Oakland Youth Arts Festival
Festival
noon–9 p.m.
A multimedia festival showcasing Oakland’s youth with art, exhibits, and performances inspired by the exhibition Cool Remixed at the Oakland Museum of California. Sponsored by the Oakland Unified School District; hosted by Mind Power Collective. 2008 Oakland Youth Arts Festival Partners include: City of Oakland, Alameda County Office of Education's Alliance for Arts Learning Leadership, Oakland Museum of California, Museum of Children's Art, Attitudinal Healing Connection, and Opera Piccola. Free