INSIDE | OUT
A N E W STAT E O F M I N D AT T H E OA K L A N D M USEU M O F CA LI FO RN IA
all yours AT OMCA, YOUR VISIT IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT
IT’S A FESTIVE NIGHT OUT. Museum Members Phil Clark and Shakirah Simley enjoy Friday Nights @ OMCA.
Natural Wonder / The grand reopening of the Gallery of California Natural Sciences New Beginning / OMCA completes its revolutionary transformation SPRING 2013
WELCOME
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hat is your favorite place in California? Do you remember the first time you discovered a new destination? Where have you marveled at California's natural beauty—and where are you inspired to take action to limit our impact on the environment? We hope these are questions that you’ll ask—and share—in our new Gallery of California Natural Sciences, opening May 31. The opening weekend not only marks the celebration of the reinvention of the Gallery, but also culminates the Museum’s transformation. In a process that dates back a decade and began with construction five years ago, we have reinstalled close to 90,000 square feet of gallery space. More than just a platform to display California's natural sciences, history, and art, these galleries are places where we put our visitors at the center of the story of California. Memorable visits to museums, like memories of our favorite natural places, leave behind indelible marks on our lives. Were you taken to a treasured local museum as a child by a parent or grandparent? Do you recall field trips to museums in other cities where you learned about a different culture? Or do you remember having a great time (or a great date!) at a festival or evening party where the gathering brought the museum to life? These are experiences we see every day and every Friday night at the Oakland Museum of California. In many ways, the experiences of our visitors are common to museums around the world. But we believe the experience at OMCA is truly unique. I often hear that our Museum just feels … friendly. Welcoming. Unpretentious and approachable. I also hear that visitors have been able to make connections to their own stories and explore issues that are relevant in California today. Best of all, we hear that visitors are inspired and even transformed by their experiences at OMCA. As we celebrate our “Summer of Science,” there will be a range of activities to enjoy throughout the coming months. The May 31st weekend is also the closing of our we/customize exhibit, and many of our customizers-in-residence will be on hand to “customize” the weekend celebrations. And the exhibition that has received both critical acclaim and an outpouring of community response—Summoning Ghosts: The Art of Hung Liu—continues through June 30. It is not to be missed. We look forward to hearing your stories of California—the expressions of its natural beauty as well as the urgent calls for conservation and stewardship—beginning May 31 and beyond. As always, thank you for your support and participation. Lori Fogarty Director & CEO
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T O N Y L A B AT , B I G P E A C E I V, 2 0 0 8 . C O L L E C T I O N O F O M C A , P U R C H A S E D W I T H F U N D S F R O M T H E E D I T H F. B O N D I 1 9 6 6 G I F T T O T H E C H I L D R E N O F O A K L A N D T O M A R K H E R F I R S T 2 5 Y E A R S S I N C E H E R E S C A P E F R O M T Y R A N N Y TO T H E U N I T E D S TAT E S O F A M E R I C A , A N D T H E A R T D E AC C E S S I O N F U N D. P H OTO B Y S H AU N R O B E R T S .
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CONTENTS
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Museum Member Paul Bailey and his daughter Corryn draw on Chairs of the Board, a blackboard on OMCA's Oak Street Plaza.
features 6
departments
Natural Wonder Reopening this spring, the new Gallery of California
Natural Sciences is filled with thought-provoking ways to learn about and interact with our environment.
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4 Transformation This spring marks the completion of OMCA's reinvention,
One Museum, Three Ways
which has led to a thrilling new level of visitor engagement.
At OMCA, your visit is what you make it, from a
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festive date night to a fun-filled family outing to an inspiring day with friends.
Acclaimed earth scientist and UC Berkeley professor Norman Miller discusses climate change in the Bay Area.
19 Partnerships From community events to sponsorship opportunities, businesses large and small enjoy partnering with OMCA.
BOTTOM: MARC FIORITO, 2013, COURTESY OF OFF THE GRID.
20 Retail Tales The OMCA Store is proud to showcase original works by Oakland artist Mark Bulwinkle.
21 After Hours On Friday nights, OMCA is the place to be! Friday Nights @ OMCA feature Off the Grid food trucks, live music, hands-on activities, and much more.
The Story of California. The Story of You.
Oakland Museum of California
A guide to OMCA’s exhibitions, events, and programs.
Inside Out is published three times a year by the Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak Street, Oakland, CA 94607. museumca.org Š2013 Editor: Kelly A. Koski
Caption tk.
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Contributors: Lori Fogarty, Lisa Sasaki, Maggie R. Pico, Loretta Lowery, Joni Hess, Claudia Leung Photography: Terry Lorant Produced by: Diablo Custom Publishing dcpubs.com
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TO P : R AY M O N D S AU N D E R S , T H E G I F T O F P R E S E N C E , 1 9 9 3 – 9 4 . M I X E D M E D I A . 8 3 X 1 7 8 . 5 X 3 I N C H E S . C O L L EC T I O N O F O M C A . G I F T O F T H E C O L L EC TO R S G A L L E R Y. P H OTO B Y M I C H A E L C U F F E .
The Oakland Museum of California in 1969, the year the iconic building, designed by architect Kevin Roche, opened its doors.
This spring marks the completion of OMCA’s revolutionary transformation, which has taken the museum-going experience to a thrilling new level of visitor engagement
The Museum Redefined The first phase of the transformation was unveiled in the spring of 2010, with the reopening of the Gallery of California Art and the Gallery of California History. Longtime museum-goers found many of their favorite objects from the OMCA collection—along with new
A New Beginning
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n May, when the reconceived Gallery of California Natural Sciences opens its doors to the public, visitors will be able to enjoy the entire Museum—and all three of its main galleries—for the first time in five years. It’s a milestone for the Museum and represents the final phase of its reinvention, which was funded by a successful $63 million capital campaign. Yet, as OMCA Director and CEO Lori Fogarty likes to point out, this is only the beginning. “I see it as a finish line in some ways and a starting gate in others,” says Fogarty. “Now we want to keep finding new ways to enrich visitors’ experience at the Museum.”
TR ANSFORMATION
The transformation of OMCA has animated the collections in a way that has made it one of the most engaging of all museums in the region. —Nicole Taylor, President and CEO, East Bay
GREG HABIBY (TOP LEFT AND BOTTOM RIGHT) SHAUN ROBERTS & TONI GAUTHIER (TOP RIGHT AND BOTTOM LEFT)
Community Foundation
exhibits—presented in an altogether new light. The new galleries feature dozens of interactive exhibits, communal gathering areas, hands-on activities, and more. Due in large measure to the expanded features, research has shown that visitors frequently spend up to twice as much time in each Gallery as they did before the renovation. “Visitors tend to slow down, have conversations, and participate more,” Fogarty explains. “People have responded very positively to the fact that OMCA invites them to tell their own stories.” And it’s not just the visitors who have noticed the difference. Others in the museum field have lauded OMCA for its innovative approaches. Awards and accolades from such diverse organizations as the American Association of Museums, the American Institute of Architects, and the National Science Foundation have commended and supported OMCA’s vision. Partnerships with local organizations have also played a defining role in this transformation. Collaborations with California State University, the East Bay Regional Park District, the Friends of Sausal Creek, and the Oakland YMCA, among many others, have led to cocurated exhibits and activities featuring a multitude of perspectives. Of the People, for the People While OMCA’s transformation is a twenty-first-century paradigm of museum-going, it is also, in many ways, the natural evolution of the Museum’s original mission. When the Kevin Roche-designed building opened in 1969, it was conceived as “a museum for the people,” a cultural hub for the extraordinarily diverse demographic of the Bay Area. In keeping with this vision of inclusiveness, the Museum has brought this concept to an unprecedented level, inviting community participation in dynamic ways. Now, the new Gallery of California Natural Sciences completes the trio of interrelated galleries, allowing visitors to experience, enjoy, and reflect on the many ways that California sciences, art, and history are intertwined. And that’s why, as OMCA says of its reinvention, “there’s a new state of mind at the Oakland Museum of California.”
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The Oakland Museum of California took a courageous approach: they made the museum more engaging—more accessible, more relevant. The key is to create something meaningful of value. There is no question that OMCA has accomplished this. —Nina Simon, Executive Director, Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History and author of Museum 2.0
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Underwater media art installation by artist Olivia Ting.
Reuben Neugass adds ground texture to a mountain lion platform in the Oaklamd section.
Julie Starr works on bay leaves to reconstruct a California bay laurel tree.
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hen people think of places to connect with the natural world, Oakland might not come immediately to mind. That’s one of the biggest surprises of the Museum’s new Gallery of California Natural Sciences, opening this spring. Sometimes thought of as thoroughly urban, Oakland is home to many kinds of flora and fauna, even right in the middle of the city. There are still coast live oaks, for example, from which the city got its name, and even forests with 150-foot-tall redwoods. And while the mighty trees once used as landmarks by ship captains are long gone, their offspring remain. “You have to begin with places as they are,” says Don Pohlman, senior exhibit developer. “Oakland is home for many of OMCA’s visitors, and while it’s not pristine, it is a great place to develop a relationship with the natural world. For example, one of the points we are conveying in the new Gallery is that the redwood forest is still here in Oakland. You just have to know where to look for it.” The expansive new Gallery offers a thoughtful representation of the interaction between humans and the rest of the natural environment. A huge walk-through culvert reminds us that most of Oakland’s natural streams have been
Reopening this month, the Gallery of California Natural Sciences offers visitors an exciting new way to experience our environment
A “fire goat� in the Oakland part of the Gallery. These animals help clear dry brush in fire-prone areas.
Preparators Jenny Cole (left) and Jaime Lakatos (right) put the finishing touches on a California redwood grove.
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C I T I Z E N SC I E NC E Visitors to the new Gallery of California Natural Sciences can do more than look at exhibits. The Gallery offers a wide range of interactive fun, including projects that get visitors involved in the science behind the displays.
Citizen science projects ask people to be the eyes and ears in the collection of scientific data out in nature,” says Pohlman, “but the data is not the only benefit. Getting people involved with science and scientists in the natural world is equally important.
DEAD SKUNK IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD It may not be the most uplifting way to document wildlife, but surveying carrion, often referred to as roadkill, can give important clues to which species live where. Citizens’ observations can piece together valuable outlines of animals’ habitats. “You don’t need a PhD or even much time to take part in this kind of project, which benefits enormously from community participation,” says Pohlman. For more information, visit wildlifecrossing.net/california.
LAND OF OAKS One project asks where the remaining coast live oaks in Oakland can be found. The huge job of documenting the trees’ locations has become a community effort. Once participants have honed their perceptions of what coast live oaks look like, they might realize that some of the trees stand in their own yards and neighborhoods. Checking a website, you can see if the trees you’ve found have already been documented. If not, you can map them. “By aggregating these individual observations,” Pohlman says, “what will result is a pretty complex map of all the coast live oaks in Oakland.” For more information, visit oaktree.org/map.
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channeled underground through man-made, engineered structures. A large-scale model of a house in the East Bay hills captures the desirability of living amid scenic views, but the inside of the model is burned out, acknowledging that hillsides in a Mediterranean climate are meant to naturally burn cyclically, their native species having adapted to a pattern that wreaks havoc for humans. In another corner of the Oakland area, the front end of an SUV contains roadkill specimens sure to engage visitors, especially younger ones, in their own “I think it was a raccoon” version of CSI. The new Gallery visits other locations, too, including Sutter Buttes, Shasta, Yosemite, and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Two more sections, on the Tehachapis and Coachella Valley, will open later this year. The Gallery will even include a preparation lab, allowing visitors to experience the ongoing processes, such as taxidermy, used to create the exhibits and prepare specimens for the collections. Together, the seven areas make up a fairly complete sampling of California, a land that is world-class in its density of biodiversity—and, at the same time, one of the world’s more threatened environments. The new Gallery acknowledges that the state’s 38 million humans are responsible for a large part of the environmental problems, but it also highlights the voices of those who are working hard to save, preserve, and celebrate the environment in which we live. To continue the conversation, the Gallery invites visitors to share their views, concerns, and ideas.
The new Gallery reuses almost 70 percent of the more than 120 original dioramas from the former Gallery, some of which date back to the 1960s and remain among the most sophisticated museum displays of California’s biodiversity to this day.
Media support for the Gallery of California Natural Sciences is provided by the San Francisco Chronicle; SFGate; and KTVU, Channel 2.
A life-size metal oak tree replicates the city of Oakland’s iconic logo.
BOTTOM: COLLECTION OF OMCA, GIFT OF GRACE DECKER MEYER IN MEMORY OF HER HUSBAND
Opening Events!
Thomas Hill, Land’s End (Land’s End, San Francisco), n.d. Oil on canvas, masonite.
Bring out your inner party animal to celebrate the new Gallery of California Natural Sciences with a wild week of opening events! The weekend kicks off with previews for Donors and Members and a critter-and-creature-filled opening during Friday Nights @ OMCA, and culminates in Free First Sunday. With live music, animal costume contests, dancing, food trucks, all-ages face painting, and family-friendly activities throughout all three levels of the Museum, there’s something for everyone.
Friday, May 31 Member Preview: noon–7 pm Friday Nights @ OMCA: 5 pm–midnight Opening Ceremony: 7 pm Saturday, June 1, 11 am–5 pm Regular Museum hours Sunday, June 2, 11 am–5 pm Free First Sundays Visit museumca.org for a full schedule of events and activities.
SPECIAL EXHIBITION INSPIRATION POINTS: MASTERPIECES OF CALIFORNIA LANDSCAPE ART Friday, May 31–Sunday, Aug. 11 The first special exhibition to be featured in the new Gallery of California Natural Sciences, Inspiration Points: Masterpieces of California Landscape Art explores the human presence in the natural world. OMCA opens its vaults to showcase approximately sixty of the finest landscape paintings, photographs, and works on paper in the Museum’s collection. Featured artists include Ansel Adams, Albert Bierstadt, David Hockney, Richard Misrach, and many others.
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1 IT’S A FESTIVE NIGHT OUT.
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2 IT’S A PLACE TO CONNECT WITH FRIENDS.
AT OMCA, YOUR VISIT IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT.
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IT’S A FUN DAY FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY. 3
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How to plan your OMCA date night! • Visit the galleries, open on Fridays until 9 pm. • Enjoy drinks at the Blue Oak Beer Garden. • Take dancing lessons. • Savor delicious treats from a variety of food trucks. • Take part in the Makers & Tasters Series, featuring local artisans leading DIY projects.
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hen Phil Clark and Shakirah Simley met six years ago, they immediately realized that they were kindred spirits. Phil, 30, designs custom software for socially conscious enterprises; in his spare time, he mentors at-risk high school students. Shakirah, 27, develops programs that increase access to healthy foods in San Francisco’s neighborhoods; in her spare time, she gives cooking classes to pregnant and parenting teens. “We are both committed to public service,” Phil says. “And we do it through the fields we are good at: tech and food.” Recently, this smart, stylish couple stopped by Friday Nights @ OMCA, the Museum’s weekly, late-night happening, to enjoy live music, great food, dance lessons—and get a sneak peek of the renovated
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Gallery of California Natural Sciences. They stopped by the Oakland section and the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary exhibit, a mesmerizing combination of videos, interactive displays, and a lush representation of an underwater reef. After the Gallery visit, the couple strolled out to the Blue Oak Beer Garden by the Museum’s Koi Pond. They arrived just in time for salsa dancing lessons and joined a crowd that included everyone from young kids to hip-shaking seniors. As dusk fell, Phil and Shakirah walked out to 10th Street, which was closed to traffic for Off the Grid, the weekly food fest. Some 10 tantalizing food trucks were parked in front of the Museum, representing a variety of cuisines and specialties, including Korean, Peruvian, and Vietnamese dishes as well
as cupcakes and—yes— fried chicken with donuts. Shakirah sees Off the Grid as a great opportunity to expose visitors to locally sourced edibles. “I have seen the food business from all sides,” she says. “I’ve been an artisanal jam producer and am now the community coordinator at Bi-Rite. I love Off the Grid because it’s a way to support local businesses. And I am happy that these fabulous food trucks are at OMCA every Friday night!” For this special couple, an evening at OMCA proved to be an ideal “date night.” Not only did Shakirah and Phil dance and dine under the stars, they also felt like they were a part of something much bigger than themselves. “OMCA gives us a great way to participate in our Oakland community,” Shakirah says. “And Phil and I are all about that.”
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1. Phil Clark and Shakirah Simley stroll along 10th Street, where the Off the Grid food trucks are parked. 2. They share a laugh at the Museum’s Oak Street entrance. 3. In the Gallery of California Natural Sciences, they are mesmerized by a media installation by artist Olivia Ting. 4. A crowd assembles to take salsa dancing lessons under the stars. 5. Phil and Shakirah study the migration patterns of creatures to and from the Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary. 6. The Gallery of California Natural Sciences invites visitors to explore Oakland. 7. Souvenir mugs and other items from the OMCA Store are available for sale at Friday Nights @ OMCA. 4
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1. Docent Tom Coulter shows Piper McNulty Woman with Elbow on Raised Knee, a 1994 sculpture by Viola Frey. 2. Maude Pervere and Darshana Nadkarni admire glassware in the OMCA Store. 3. Piper, Maude, Darshana, Georgia Cassel, and Rick Kappra enjoy the view of Lake Merritt. 4. Darshana and Georgia enjoy a light-hearted moment in the Museum’s sculpture-filled gardens. 5. Georgia sits in Sam Durant’s 2004 sculpture, Proposal for a Monument to Huey Newton at the Alameda Courthouse, while Rick, Barbara, and Darshana look on. 6. The visitors examine a Discovery Drawer. 7. Thanks to Barbara’s expertise, Darshana, Georgia, and Maude gain new insights into the collection. 8. The friends savor lunch in the Blue Oak café. 7
How to plan your visit with friends! • Enjoy a delicious lunch at the Blue Oak café. • Tour the galleries with a knowledgeable docent. • Explore and engage in the exhibits—especially those that have a special meaning to you.
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• Visit the OMCA Store, where there are always new, local, and artisanal items.
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isiting OMCA with friends—especially ones with similar interests—can be an unexpectedly rich experience. Just ask Piper McNulty, who recently organized an outing to OMCA with four of her dearest pals: Maude Pervere, Georgia Cassel, Rick Kappra, and Darshana Nadkarni. “The five of us have a lot in common,” says Piper, who teaches intercultural communication at De Anza College in Cupertino. “We all have a background in social justice. And we’ve all lived in the Bay Area for years, so the Museum’s locally oriented exhibits have a special poignancy for us.” So, at Piper’s urging, the fivesome met at the Blue Oak café one Sunday afternoon to begin their exploration of the Museum. After lunch, they took a tour of the Museum gardens. Rick, an English teacher at City College of San Francisco, admired Tony Labat’s sculpture Big Peace IV (2004), and Georgia, a
>> retired psychotherapist, particularly enjoyed Viola Frey’s Woman with Elbow on Raised Knee (1994). They continued on to the Gallery of California Art, where docent Barbara Flores served as their guide. When they came upon Sam Durant’s bronze peacock chair, titled Proposal for a Monument to Huey Newton at the Alameda Courthouse (2004), Barbara invited them to sit in it. This prompted Maude, a law professor turned fine art photographer, to share her memories of coming of age at the height of the Black Panther movement. They stopped to study Albert Bierstadt’s luminous Yosemite Valley (1868), which inspired Darshana,
a recruiter for biotech companies, to reflect on how she has learned valuable lessons from nature. “I’ve learned the importance of being flexible by watching trees and plants survive in all kinds of conditions,” she said. “This beautiful painting made me think of that.” In the section called Self-Taught Artists, the five friends enjoyed the interactive display called Visionary Road Trip, which features a map of iconic works of outsider art, such as Salvation Mountain and Grandma Prisbrey’s Bottle Village. “You and I must plan a road trip to visit these wonderful creations!” Darshana exclaimed to Piper, who nodded in quick agreement.
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or years, Amelia Bailey, a third-grade teacher at Oakland’s Henry Kaiser Elementary School, has been bringing her students on field trips to OMCA. “The kids love it,” she says. “They love the hands-on activities, especially if things have moving parts to play with.” It’s not surprising, then, that Amelia and her husband, Paul, a BART station agent, consider OMCA to be a wonderful resource for their own family. The Baileys arrived at OMCA one sunny Saturday with their two daughters, seven-year-old Jocelyn, a first-grader at Henry Kaiser, and four-year-old Corryn, who attends Pumpkin Seed Preschool in Oakland. Amelia knew from past visits that the Gallery of California History is filled with activities for kids, so the family made it their first stop of the day. The girls made a beeline for Creative Hollywood, an interactive section of the Gallery. Jocelyn and Corryn were awed by the Animation
Studio, where they chose different objects to feature in a cartoon, and the Costume Design Studio, where they drew outfits for princesses. In the Chevron History Hangout, they solved puzzles and studied a case filled with tiny objects. They marveled at a psychedelic light show in We Were There, which covers the 1960s and ’70s, and fiddled with gizmos in Advancing Technology, which is inside a reimagined Silicon Valley garage. After ordering lunch from the Blue Oak café and enjoying it outside on the Oak Street Plaza, the Baileys added their names to the chair-studded blackboard titled Chairs of the Board (2011), designed by Jensen Architects. Sensing that her little girls might be growing tired, Amelia suggested they make one last stop before leaving. She brought her daughters to the Koi Pond, where Jocelyn and Corryn squealed with glee when they saw two mallard ducks that have been coming to 1
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OMCA each spring for the past seven years. On the way out, Amelia and Paul asked their daughters what they enjoyed most about this magical afternoon. “The plane ride!” Corryn and Jocelyn cried, remembering an exhibit in the Gallery of California History. “It was my first flight ever!” Corryn added. And with that, two adorable little girls and their proud parents headed home after a satisfying and delightful day.
a family affair
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1. The Baileys—Amelia, Corryn, Jocelyn, and Paul—have a magical day at the Museum. 2. Paul, Amelia, Corryn, and Jocelyn observe the creatures that make OMCA’s Koi Pond their habitat. 3. Corryn and Jocelyn enjoy an exhibit in We Were There. 4. Paul and Jocelyn listen to an audio presentation in the Gallery of California History. 5. In Creative Hollywood, Jocelyn and Corryn sketch costumes of princesses. 6. The family boards a plane in the Gallery of California History to listen to stories of immigration. 7. In the we/customize exhibition, Amelia and Corryn play with a one-of-a-kind “sound station.” 8. Jocelyn and Paul explore the Chevron History Hangout.
How to plan a family day at OMCA!
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• Enjoy OMCA’s many interactive exhibits. • Don’t miss Creative Hollywood, where kids can animate cartoons, play with sound effects, and design costumes. • Enjoy lunch from the Blue Oak café. • Get creative by drawing on Chairs of the Board on the Oak Street Plaza. SPRING 2013
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THOUGHT LE ADER
A CONVERSATION WITH NORMAN MILLER THE ACCLAIMED EARTH SCIENTIST DISCUSSES CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE BAY AREA
Norman Miller, a climate scientist at the UC Sierra Nevada Research Institute and adjunct UC Berkeley geography professor, is among the world’s top experts on human-induced climate change. As an advisor to the Museum, he has provided content expertise to help develop climate change scenarios for the new Gallery of California Natural Sciences. We recently caught up with Miller to ask a few questions. HOW AWARE OF CLIMATE CHANGE DO YOU FEEL PEOPLE ARE IN THE BAY AREA COMPARED TO OTHER PARTS OF THE WORLD? In California, the passage of AB 32 [the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006] was a very big step. The Bay Area has been very supportive of that, but outside the bigger cities, even in California, there has been more reluctance. External to the United States, there seems to be good recognition of the realities of climate change. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE WE’RE ALREADY SEEING HERE IN THE BAY AREA? We are observing earlier snow melt, warmer nights, and more days of extreme heat. There is evidence of this in the blooming of flowers coming earlier, for example. WHAT ARE SOME THINGS WE CAN ANTICIPATE SEEING LOCALLY IN THE FUTURE? There will certainly be more extreme heat in the summer and more above-melting days in the winter. There is going to be an increase in intense precipitation days, but the overall amount of precipitation isn’t likely to change much. So when it does rain, it will rain more heavily than it does now. ANY PRACTICAL TIPS YOU’D GIVE PEOPLE TO HELP SLOW HUMAN-INDUCED CLIMATE CHANGE? Carpooling or embracing public transportation will be a huge reduction. Learning to live with more temperature variation inside our homes would be a big step, too. Eating local—instead of buying fruits from Chile and New Zealand—and eating less meat would reduce our personal carbon footprints. These are the first things I would tell people to start thinking about.
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PARTNERSHIPS
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OMCA and the Corporate Community INTERESTING SYNERGIES RESULT FROM THE VARIOUS WAYS BUSINESSES CAN SUPPORT THE MUSEUM
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TOP: SHAUN ROBERTS; BOTTOM: GREG HABIBY
hen cable television network HBO wanted to screen its documentary The Weight of the Nation in Oakland, OMCA seemed like just the place to do it. The program organizers were looking for a venue that would turn the screening into a full-on community event. As it turned out, the event, which drew a crowd of Oaklanders and community leaders, morphed into a mini festival, with live music, a farmers’ market, and information kiosks. “The Museum was so open-minded and flexible,” says HBO’s Suzanne Baum, who works in corporate affairs and public relations for the cable network. “It was a neat way of building community.” HBO’s experience is one of many in which businesses collaborate with and support OMCA—and in doing so reach a large audience. IKEA recently provided in-kind support to OMCA in the form of furniture used in the we/customize project. Participants took apart the furniture and created new objects out of it. “We loved the interactive part of it,” says Lisa Finnin Ciccoli, marketing
specialist at IKEA Emeryville. “Having people put their own spin on an IKEA product is a great way to add to the design process.” Opportunities for collaboration exist for companies of all sizes and provide benefits such as free admission for employees and invitations to networking events. Wells Fargo is a longtime supporter of the Museum through its sponsorship of Free First Sundays. Corporations also support the Museum through sponsorship of its biennial gala, which raises funds for education programs. Smaller businesses such as Crogan’s Restaurant offer discounts to Members through the OMCA Perks program. Many companies match employees’ donations to OMCA, which can “really increase their impact,” says Julia Zolinsky, OMCA’s corporate relations manager. Donations of employee time are also welcomed and can offer opportunities for team building through events such as the Museum’s community celebrations for Lunar New Year and Días de los Muertos. To learn more, visit museumca.org/corporate-partners.
“Working with OMCA provides opportunities for us to work with the same client base. We encourage the appreciation of fine art, antiques, and unusual items, and we highlight in our brochure that we are big supporters of OMCA.” —Redge Martin, owner, Clars Auction Gallery
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RE TAIL TALES
Visit the new and improved online OMCA Store to browse more local, artisanal items! Visit shop.museumca. org today!
Mark Bulwinkle’s iconic images on 6" x 6" clay tiles (above); and on assorted small clay tiles (left).
AT THE OMCA STORE: YOUNG AT ART CHECK OUT OUR COLLECTION OF PLAYFUL DESIGNS BY OAKLAND ARTIST MARK BULWINKLE
MARK BULWINKLE: PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST Mark Bulwinkle is perhaps best known for his playful steel artworks that grace Emeryville Plaza. Combining a background in fine arts (he attended the San Francisco Art Institute) and industrial welding (he spent twelve years working in shipyards), Bulwinkle continues to create a mad profusion of whimsical metal sculptures, ceramic tiles, paintings, and prints out of his wildly adorned Oakland studio and home, which he calls Bulwinkleland.
Whimsical steel sculptures (far left) and ceramic tile by Mark Bulwinkle.
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AF TER HOURS
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OAKLAND’S HOTTEST BLOCK PARTY IS HAPPENING AT OMCA
Local food trucks, live music, dance lessons, and interactive art converge at Friday Nights @ OMCA
MARC FIORITO, 2013, COURTESY OF OFF THE GRID
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ur vibrant California culture comes alive at Friday Nights @ OMCA, a series of get-yourself-out-there celebrations held every Friday night from 5 to 9 pm. People of all ages enjoy, engage, and interact when the Museum stays open late for these weekly events. Hands-on activities are available to anyone feeling creative, and local winemakers, brewmasters, food artisans, and gardening experts provide demonstrations and tastings as part of the Museum’s Makers & Tasters Series. “The crowd is full of families; it’s strollers; it’s hipsters; it’s walkers and wheelchairs. It’s a cross section of the community,” says Cynthia Taylor, assistant director of public programs at OMCA. Each month of Friday Nights has a different musical theme with dance lessons starting at 6:30 pm, and in-gallery talks and demonstrations introduce Friday Nighters to new topics. Off the Grid food trucks line 10th Street between Fallon and Oak streets during the events, with vendors featuring locally sourced ingredients and sustainable practices. In addition, the Blue Oak Beer Garden serves California beers and wines, as well as specialty cocktails and coffee drinks, by the Museum’s Koi Pond. Museum admission to the event is half off for adults, and free for Members or anyone 18 and under. Garage parking after 5 pm is just $5 for the entire evening. “It’s affordable, fun, and beautiful,” says Taylor. “It’s all about Oakland sitting together at a community table at OMCA.”
Friday Nights @ OMCA is made possible in part through the generous support of the Walter and Elise Haas Fund. Media support is provided by the East Bay Express.
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CALENDAR
Check out the full lineup of events and programs at museumca.org.
EXHIBITIONS, EVENTS, AND PROGRAMS
Made possible through the generous support of the Walter and Elise Haas Fund. Presented in partnership with Off the Grid: Lake Merritt.
OMCA Family is made possible by generous support from Chevron and the Institute for Museum and Library Services. Free First Sundays are made possible in part by Wells Fargo.
OMCA FAMILY
Summer Reading Celebration Sunday, Aug. 4, 12–4 pm First Sundays are always FREE! Join OMCA for the annual Summer Reading Celebration with the Oakland Public Library in the Museum gardens. Children who complete the Summer Reading Program will receive a certificate of achievement.
Gold Panning Sundays, May 5–26, 12–4 pm; Friday, May 31, 5–8 pm; Saturday, June 1 & Sunday, June 2, 12–3 pm Pan for gold, forty-niners style, in the Museum gardens—and keep all you find!
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OAKLAND MUSEUM OF CALIFORNIA
TOP: MARK FIORITO, 2013, COURTESY OF OFF THE GRID; BOTTOM (2): SHAUN ROBERTS & TONI GAUTHIER
Friday Nights @ OMCA Fridays, 5–9 pm Join OMCA and Off the Grid on 10th Street every Friday for music, art activities, and more! Don’t miss the Makers & Taster Series, and starting in June, Pub Trivia with Senior Curator of Natural Sciences Douglas Long.
CURRENT AND UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS we/customize
Waterfront Celebration Sunday, June 9 Come enjoy Lake Merritt Boulevard—the beautiful transformation of 12th Street into a tree-lined boulevard! The festivities, which will include food trucks, live music, children’s activities, and boating on Lake Merritt, will take place in the newly created Shoreline Park, across the street from OMCA. For more information, visit waterfrontaction.org.
Through Sunday, May 26 - Customizer-in-Residence Open Studio Series Friday–Sunday, May 5–26 Fridays | 5–8 pm Saturdays and Sundays | 1–4 pm - OMCA In-the-Mix: we/customize Saturday, May 11 | 1–2 pm - we/customize Closing Weekend Friday, May 31–Sunday, June 2
Summoning Ghosts: The Art of Hung Liu Through Sunday, June 30 - Member Tours Saturday, May 18 | 11:15 am
Beth Yarnelle Edwards: Suburban Dreams Through Sunday, June 30 - Member Tour Saturday, June 15 | 11:15 am
Inspiration Points: Masterpieces of California Landscape Art Friday, May 31–Sunday, Aug. 11 - Member Tour Saturday, July 20 | 11:15 am
Peter Stackpole: Bridging the Bay
Above left: Hung Liu, Chinese Profile III, 1998. Oil on wood. Collection of Hung Liu and Jeff Kelley. Right: Arthur Mathews, Youth (Dancing Girls #4), c. 1916. Gouache on paper.
MUSEUM HOURS Monday
Closed
Tuesday
Closed
Wednesday
11 am–5 pm
Thursday
11 am–5 pm
Friday
11 am–9 pm
Saturday
11 am–5 pm
Sunday
11 am–5 pm
Friday, July 19, 2013–Sunday, Jan. 12, 2014 - Member Tour Saturday, Aug. 17 | 11:15 am SAVE THE DATE!
Above and Below: Stories of Our Changing Bay Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013–Sunday, Feb. 23, 2014 Opening Weekend Events: - Member Preview Friday, Aug. 30 | 3–7 pm - Open During Friday Nights @ OMCA Friday, Aug. 30 | 7 pm–midnight - Museum Hours Saturday, Aug. 31 | 11 am–5 pm - Free First Sunday Sunday, Sept. 1 | 11 am–5 pm - Special Labor Day Hours Monday, Sept. 2 | 11 am–5 pm
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NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE Oakland Museum of California 1000 Oak Street Oakland, CA 94607-4820
DON’T MISS OMCA’S NEW APP! If you enjoy Inside Out, you’ll love the new, enhanced digital version for your mobile device, available May 19. Just search for OMCA at the App Store. To learn more, visit museumca.org/app.
PAID
SALT LAKE CITY, UT PERMIT NO.6563
INDIVIDUAL $60 • Unlimited yearlong admission for you and a guest • Subscriptions to Inside Out and eNews • Invitations to previews and special events • 10 percent discount in the OMCA Store, additional savings on special Member Sale Days • Free admission to public programs • Discounts at Bay Area businesses through the OMCA Perks program
FAMILY $75 All Individual Member benefits for two adults plus: • Unlimited free admission for two adult guests and Members’ children
DON’T MISS OMCA’S NEW APP!
MEMBER LEVELS AND BENEFITS
or grandchildren under 18, when accompanied by a cardholder • Advance notice of family events and programs • Two one-time-use guest passes
SUPPORTER $150 All Family Member benefits plus: • Free admission to more than 650 participating museums in the North American Reciprocal Museum program • Two additional one-time-use guest passes (total of four passes)
SPONSOR $300 All Supporter Member benefits plus: • Guest privileges (two additional guests per membership when accompanied by cardholder) • Acknowledgment in Annual Report
PATRON $600 All Sponsor Member benefits plus: • A private docent-led tour for up to ten people
DONOR FORUM $1,250 All Patron Member benefits plus: • Unlimited guests when accompanied by cardholder • Invitation to the annual Leader Lunch with a California visionary • Special opportunities to interact with curators and artists • Recognition on the Museum’s Donor Wall • Four VIP parking passes for the Museum garage
If you enjoy Inside Out, you’ll love the new, enhanced digital version for your mobile device, available this spring. Just search for OMCA on the App Store. To learn more, visit museumca.org/app.
SPECIAL MEMBERSHIPS Proof of status required • Golden State $50 All Individual Member benefits for residents living more than ninety miles outside of the 94607 zip code • Individual Senior $45 | Student $45 | Educator $45 All Individual Member benefits • Dual Senior $55 All Individual Member benefits for two seniors
ALL MEMBERSHIP GIFTS ARE FULLY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE AS PROVIDED BY LAW.
HOW TO JOIN OR RENEW To learn more about Membership, call us at 510-318-8520, please visit museumca.org/membership, or stop by one of our ticketing desks during your next visit to the Museum.
CULTURAL PASSPORT As part of the North American Reciprocal Museums (NARM) program, OMCA validates Supporter level and above membership cards with a special NARM sticker. Members who present this card at any of the more than 650 participating museums receive free admission and discounts at museum shops. (Please note that some museums restrict benefits, and family benefits are defined by each institution.)
GO GREEN! Members at any level can choose to receive all communications
MEMBER LEVELS AND BENEFITS
DON’T MISS OMCA’S NEW APP!
electronically, including Inside Out. Email membership@museumca.org to find out more.
JOIN AN OMCA GUILD Explore California and the world of art, history, and natural sciences with OMCA’s Guilds. In addition to providing valuable support to the Museum, the Guilds offer Members many special learning opportunities, including out-of-town and day trips. Annual dues are $20 per Guild in addition to OMCA Membership contributions. For information and travel schedules, visit museumca.org/travel-guilds. To join a Guild or renew your Guild dues, please contact us at 510-318-8520.
If you enjoy Inside Out, you’ll love the new, enhanced digital version for your mobile device, available this spring. Just search for OMCA at the App Store. To learn more, visit museumca.org/app.