Tag: Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA)

Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) — 1st Thursday Special Event: Robot Karaoke

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Exhibitions & Events
Sept 1 – 13
Sing Karaoke and
Create Your Own Art!
‘Robot Karaoke’ written in bold yellow and blue text over an image of silhouetted people singing karaoke.
Image courtesy of Jamie Brew
ROBOT KARAOKE
Thursday, September 3, 5 – 8 pm
On your 1st Thursday Art Walk, sing songs you know with never-before-sung lyrics generated from bizarre Internet datasets. Spam emails to the tune of “Sweet Caroline” OkCupid profiles in the style of “Pink Pony Club” The choice is yours! Comedian and writer Jamie Brew creates parodies for you to perform in real time using software from the utmost frontier of karaoke research. This event celebrates the final month of the special exhibition RANDOM-ACCESS MEMORY: Internet Art. FREE.
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Happy Holidays from the Santa Barbara Museum of Art!

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As we reach the end of the year, we are filled with gratitude for the community that surrounds and sustains the Museum. Your curiosity, your presence at our exhibitions and programs, and your belief in the power of art to deepen our lives have made 2025 a year of connection, discovery, and joy.

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Italian Photographer Mario Giacomelli (1925–2000) highlighted at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art as part of celebrations around the centennial of his birth

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SANTA BARBARA — Now open at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) is an exhibition of notable Italian photographer Mario Giacomelli (1925–2000). Through innovative darkroom techniques, he depicted the people and landscapes of Italy’s Marche region with high contrast and sharp psychological intensity. Celebrating a significant new gift to the museum as well as the hundredth anniversary of the artist’s birth, Mario Giacomelli: La Gente, La Terra features 36 photographs taken between 1955 and 1980—all from SBMA’s collection—including some of his most iconic images. The exhibition will be open until February 15, 2026.

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Bilingual report — Through Nov. 2 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present Free Family Days ‘Día de los Muertos’

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For the 36th year, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art honors the Mexican tradition of remembering the dead with a display of altars created by students in the Museum’s school and outreach programs and local community groups. Día de los Muertos inspired art activities for all ages will be offered in the Art Learning Lab.

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Oct. 20 — 35th Annual Día de los Muertos Celebration at SBMA and MCASB

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SANTA BARBARA — The Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) presents a free family day in celebration of Día de los Muertos on Sunday, Oct. 20, 11 am – 4 pm, in the Museum’s Front Terrace, Family Resource Center, and galleries. For the 35th year, the Museum honors the Mexican tradition of remembering the dead with a variety of family festivities include altar displays, art activities, live music, and dance performances. For the second year, a Day of the Dead Calenda, or procession, will travel from SBMA to the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (MCASB).Admission to the family event and to both museums is free.

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Nov. 10 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present String Quartet Chamber Music Concert — Cuarteto Latinoamericano

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Winner of the 2012 and 2016 Latin Grammys for Best Classical Recordings, this outstanding quartet will perform their TRIBUTE TO THE AMERICAS program, including Quartet No. 17 by Héitor Villa-Lobos, Lullaby by George Gershwin, Astor Piazzolla’s Four for Tango, Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings Op. 11, and Quartet Op. 96 in F Major “American” by Antonin Dvorak.

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Nov. 17 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art presents Parallel Stories: Breaking the Cycle/Rewriting the Story With Alex Espinoza and Narsiso Martinez

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Artist Narsiso Martinez and writer Alex Espinoza share their intersecting stories of family, place, identity, escape, and witness. In equally powerful narrative drawings and narrated words, these two artists create connections in situations and generations where disconnections often speak louder than truth or tenderness.

Book signing to follow.

Parallel Stories is a literary and performing arts series that pairs art and artists with award-winning authors and performers of regional, national, and international acclaim. This series functions as a multidisciplinary lens through which to view the Museum’s collection and special exhibitions.

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Oct. 22 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present ‘Día de los Muertos’ Free Family Day

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SANTA BARBARA — Santa Barbara Museum of Art will present a “Día de los Muertos” Free Family Day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 22 at 1130 State St., Santa Barbara.

For the 34th year, the Museum honors the Mexican tradition of remembering the dead with a display of altars created by students in the Museum’s outreach programs and community groups. Día de los Muertos inspired art activities for all ages will be offered on the Front Terrace and in the Family Resource Center. New this year, end the event at 3:45 pm with a procession down State Street to the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (MCASB) with Latinx Indigenous immigrant community members and traditional dances and music from the Mixtec and Zapotec region of Oaxaca.

For the procession, costumed participation (Catarinas, Calaveras, and skull or skeleton and human and animal inspired designs) is encouraged.

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Oct. 24 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present ‘Self-Portrait En La Cherry: In Conversation with Artist Narsiso Martinez’

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SANTA BARBARA — The Santa Barbara Museum of Art will present “Self-Portrait En La Cherry: In Conversation with Artist Narsiso Martinez” at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 24 at SBMA’s Mary Craig Auditorium, 1130 State St., Santa Barbara.

In conjunction with the exhibition Inside/Outside, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art is pleased to welcome back Narsiso Martinez for a public presentation. Martinez takes the produce boxes from grocery stores and paints portraits of the agricultural laborers many of whom are undocumented and subjected to terrible working conditions. These poignant images bring to the fore all the unseen labor that supports agribusiness and come from his experience as a worker in the fields up and down the West Coast.

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Santa Barbara Museum of Art Welcomes Visitors Back into the Galleries on May 11

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The Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) is pleased to welcome visitors back into the galleries on May 11, in accordance with the State of California and Santa Barbara County COVID-19 protocols.  

In order to ensure social distancing in the galleries, SBMA is recommending all visitors to make reservations through the online ticketing system at tickets.sbma.net, with admission being free for the foreseeable future. 

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SBMA Receives Charity Navigator’s Four Star Rating for Sixth Consecutive Year

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For the sixth time in consecutive years, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) has been recognized as a “Four Star Charity” by top non-profit evaluator Charity Navigator.  

Achieving a Four Star rating—the organization’s highest rating— in consecutive years is also deemed as highly significant. In a letter sent to SBMA, Michael Thatcher, Charity Navigator President and CEO, writes, “Only 11% of the charities we evaluate have received at least 6 consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that Santa Barbara Museum of Art outperforms most other charities in America. This exceptional designation from Charity Navigator sets Santa Barbara Museum of Art apart from its peers and demonstrates to the public its trustworthiness.” 

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Santa Barbara Museum of Art COVID-19 response

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SANTA BARBARA — In light of the recent developments with the COVID-19 in Santa Barbara County and in accordance with the CDC and State of California, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art has made the decision to close to the public…

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