Dec. 13 — Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara invites you to our Posada Holiday Party, more news
by Community Contributor • • Comments Off on Dec. 13 — Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara invites you to our Posada Holiday Party, more news
Join us for a heartwarming community holiday party at the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, an evening of delicious food, music, and togetherness to close our year with joy, connection, and collective care. This event is inspired by traditions that remind us we don’t have to face hard times alone. Across cultures, people have gathered in winter to share warmth, food, and song, restoring hope through community.
You are invited to join us in celebrating and supporting your museum that continues to serve as a cultural anchor for our community.
Additional event details below. Tickets for additional activities may also be purchased on site when you arrive.
Food & Tradition by Chef Bany Vargas
Tamales & Champurrado Fundraiser
Prepared lovingly by MCASB Board Members as part of our final fundraising efforts of the year.Experience contemporary Oaxacan cuisine crafted by Chef Bany Vargas, including a mezcal tasting curated from small local mezcalerlos across Oaxaca. Bany brings flavors that honor Indigenous foodways, community, and resilience.
Martha Alicia Cruz Jiménez: Mujer Barro
Featured Artist & Community Workshop
Martha Alicia Cruz Jiménez is a multidisciplinary Oaxacan artist whose work moves through clay, ritual, poetry, and memory. Now based in Los Angeles, she has found in her artistic practice a language to converse with her maternal lineage and with the land itself.
From her studio Tierra Mariposa in Papalutla, she preserves family objects and intimate recollections, shaping a living archive that connects body, community, and territory. Her practice rooted between Oaxaca and California transcends aesthetics to become an act of resistance and reclamation: an art that challenges stereotypes, affirms the presence of women in the arts, and cultivates deep bonds with her audience.
Workshop: “Create a Cuenco with Mujer Barro”
Community members are invited to join Martha Alicia Cruz in crafting a small clay vessel (cuenco) that will become part of a collective bowl, a community artwork that will live at the museum and exhibit on Arte del Pueblo exhibition 2026. This workshop centers on shared creativity, connection, and the grounding power of clay.
Free Exhibition Planning Symposium on Sunday, December 14, 10:00 am – 3:00pm
Are you curious about the process for building a contemporary art exhibition at a museum? Are you curious about hearing from artists about their interests and processes? Join us for a free exhibition planning symposium.
MCASB FUTURE FUND
Make a sustaining gift to the MCASB Future Fund:
$50/month or $50/year (as little as $5/month) celebrating MCASB’s 50th anniversary, and honoring it’s past, present, and future. Monthly gifts provide the most stability – choose your frequency!
Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara is a tax-exempt organization as defined by IRS Section 501(c)(3), Tax ID: 95-03384859.
