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Tag: Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA)
Feb. 22 — ‘Remixed: Entwined Histories and New Forms’ exhibit to open at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA)
Happy Holidays from the Santa Barbara Museum of Art!
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.
Italian Photographer Mario Giacomelli (1925–2000) highlighted at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art as part of celebrations around the centennial of his birth
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.
Feb. 15 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present artist Jane Dickson in Conversation
Feb. 20 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present Formosa Quartet — String Quartet Chamber Music Concert
Feb. 22 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) to present ‘Artist lectures at SBMA–Dario Robleto: The Signal’
March 15 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present ‘Earth as Living Element: An Artist Lecture with Jackie Amézquita’
March 16 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art offering free admission during SoCal Museums Annual Free-For-All Day
March 22 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art hosts launch of second novel by acclaimed author Sameer Pandya at Parallel Stories
Oct. 5 through Jan. 25, 2026 — Impressionist Revolution from Monet to Matisse at Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Bilingual report — Through Nov. 2 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present Free Family Days ‘Día de los Muertos’
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.
Jan. 4 — SBMA Art Matters explores the Past, Present, and Future of the National Gallery of Art and its Library
The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. is well known as one of the preeminent museums in the world. Perhaps lesser known is its internationally acclaimed art library that attracts users from all walks of life ranging from college students to highly recognized scholars of art.
Jan. 6 — SBMA presents Special One-Day Lecture Series on Flowers, Gardens, and Self-Reflection in Chinese Painting
SANTA BARBARA — The Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) will present a special one-Day lecture series on Flowers, Gardens, and Self-Reflection in Chinese Painting from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 6 at SBMA’s Mary Craig Auditorium, 1130 State St., Santa Barbara.
In conjunction with the exhibition Flowers on a River: The Art of Chinese Flower-and-Bird Painting, 1368–1911, expert art historians offer detailed glimpses into some of the many facets of the flower-and-bird genre in Chinese painting and reveal how these images of intimate nature can be thresholds to worlds rich with beauty and private emotions. Each talk will be approximately 30 minutes with a Q&A following.
Jan. 14 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s Parallel Stories to present ‘Seeing From the Rupture: A Reading and Conversation with Jenny Xie’
In this conversation, Jenny Xie opens up, as US Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera described, “multiple terrains of seeing.” With longing and memory, nuance and subtlety, the “anxiety of bilingualism,” and the unknowability of the self, Xie takes us deep into what is irreducible with pure piercing beauty.
Jan. 18 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present a Conversation with Artist Keith Mayerson and Curator of Contemporary Art James Glisson
Keith Mayerson has long swum in the sea of mass media that we exist in and reframing them by painting them, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art recently acquired his painting,Someday we’ll find it, the Rainbow Connection, the lovers, the dreamers, and me (2023). Whether now-iconic photographs of the Stonewall Riots in the summer of 1969, a view of the Grand Canyon, the crenellated skyline of Manhattan, or the Muppets, Mayerson takes subjects we already know—or think we know—and then personalizes them, filtering them through his choice of color and mark, highlight and shadow. We see them through Keith’s eyes and in so doing see them anew.
Jan. 28 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present Rock and Roll Hall of Famer John Densmore — ‘The Doors Unhinged’
Beloved by artists across the decades for his fierce, uncompromising dedication to art, John Densmore occupies a rarified space in pop culture. His musicianship landed him in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His writing consistently earns accolades and has appeared in a range of publications including the Los Angeles Timesand Rolling Stone. As his friend and American novelist Tom Robbins recently advised him, “If you keep writing like this, I’ll have to get a drum set.”
Feb. 27 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present the King Quartet
SANTA BARBARA — The Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present the Ying Quartet at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27 at SBMA’s Mary Craig Auditorium, 1130 State St., Santa Barbara.
The Ying Quartet occupies a position of unique prominence in the classical music world, combining brilliantly communicative performances with a fearlessly imaginative view of chamber music in today’s world.
March 7 — SBMA Presents New Understandings of Artemisia Gentileschi at the next Art Matters Lecture
Over the last 75 years, Artemisia Gentileschi has developed into an icon of female empowerment and the emotive drama of baroque painting. Identified with images of Judith decapitating the general Holofernes, she has come to be understood as a woman who succeeded in a man’s world, overcoming considerable obstacles to do so
March 21 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art presenting acclaimed Verona Quartet
Acclaimed as an “outstanding ensemble…cohesive yet full of temperament” (New York Times), the Verona Quartet has firmly established itself amongst the most distinguished ensembles on the chamber music scene today. The quartet received the Chamber Music America’s coveted 2020 Cleveland Quartet Award and has captivated audiences at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, and Wigmore Hall, as well as at numerous festivals worldwide.
March 26 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present ‘An Evening of West Coast Jazz at SBMA with Allison, Cardenas, & Nash’
The work of acclaimed Los Angeles-based artist Janna Ireland, currently on view at SBMA and MCASB, includes her photographic interpretation of the architecture of Paul R. Williams, the renowned 20th-century Black architect who designed many of Southern California’s iconic buildings. A gifted designer across genres, Williams transformed the face of Los Angeles, including chic celebrity spots like the Beverly Hills Hotel’s Polo Lounge, the Ambassador Hotel’s Coconut Grove, and the cool jazz corridors of Central Avenue.
March 28 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present Santa Barbara artist Joey Watson in conversation with SBMA Curator James Glisson
In conjunction with the exhibition Made by Hand/Born Digital (on view through August 25), enjoy this conversation between ceramic and performance artist Joey Watson and SBMA Curator of Contemporary Art James Glisson. Watson takes the often bizarre and hard-to-fathom forms that life takes in the natural world—whether insects, sea creatures, or microorganism—and reminds us that being human is just one way of being alive. Watson’s sculptures are also tour-de-forces of traditional and innovative techniques. Watson uses 3D printing, fired clay, dazzling glazes, plastic, metal, and silicon among many other materials to build his hybrid sculptures and realize his complex performances.
April 4 — SBMA Art Matters Lecture explores Pierre Bonnard’s Worlds
Over the course of his fifty-year career, Pierre Bonnard painted the spaces of his personal experience again and again. In complex compositions employing luminous color and sensitive brushwork, Bonnard explored the realms of his visual and sensory experience–from landscape to garden to terrace to house, looking along a path, through an open window, down at a tabletop or a bathtub, or into a mirror. George Shackelford will explore these worlds across time and place, through images drawn from the exhibition he organized for the Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, and The Phillips Collection, Washington. D.C.
April 25 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) to present ‘Born-Porcelain or Flowers: Yassi Mazandi and James Glisson in Conversation’
In conjunction with the exhibition Made by Hand/Born Digital (on view through August 25), this free flowing conversation between artist Yassi Mazandi and SBMA Curator of Contemporary Art James Glisson will cover her explorations with new technology, including NFTs, and her tendency to work with traditional mediums, like painting and ceramics, against the grain.
Through May 26 — ‘Serenity and Revolution’ at SBMA
Artists today struggle with the question of what kind of art to make in light of contemporary issues. A century ago, artists faced similar questions. This exhibition looks at how artists negotiated the extraordinary changes and tragedies of the early 20th century: the mass casualties in the First World War, economic despair because of worldwide depressions, colonized people struggling for freedom, and the rise of communism, fascism, and totalitarian dictatorships.
Aug. 8 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present docent recruitment reception
If you have a passion for art and are interested in serving the community, the SBMA Docent Program is a rewarding and supportive environment to learn and have fun. Volunteer docents engage with visitors of all ages through guided tours to make works of art accessible to everyone. An art background is not required.
Sept. 15 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) to present ‘Artist Talk — Elliott Hundley’
Elliott Hundley layers painting, sculpture, and found objects to create contained yet epic imaginary universes that recall the theatricality of the classical works that inspire him.
Oct. 13 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present ‘Mary Cassatt’s Alterity and her Radical Modernism’
Owing to her American passport, identity as an upper-class woman, family money, and her identification with the Impressionist group in Paris, Mary Cassatt’s choice of subjects, and the style of both her painting and intaglio printmaking were singular. The lecture will focus on the radical monstrosity of her so-called “mother and child” pictures, and the technical virtuosity and indirection of her intaglio prints.
Oct. 20 — 35th Annual Día de los Muertos Celebration at SBMA and MCASB
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.
Nov. 10 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present String Quartet Chamber Music Concert — Cuarteto Latinoamericano
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.
Nov. 16 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present free Holiday Market Showcasing Lynda Weinman and other Women Artisans of Santa Barbara
Kick off your holiday shopping with a curated shopping event featuring one-of-a-kind items with an emphasis on art, design and style by local creative women who have taken their art to the next level. Featured are 3D printed designs by Lynda Weinman, leather handbags from Barbara Flanagan, puzzles and notecards by the collage artist Athena Philippides, and edible delights from Marley Confections.
Nov. 17 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art presents Parallel Stories: Breaking the Cycle/Rewriting the Story With Alex Espinoza and Narsiso Martinez
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.
Dec. 8 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present ‘Parallel Stories Why Empathy Matters: A Conversation with Dario Robleto and Emily Rapp Black’
Artist Dario Robleto, whose work invites us to consider the questions above, is joined in conversation by award winning author Emily Rapp Black, whose searing, unblinking story dealing with death and grief combines an essayist’s willingness to lay herself bare on the page, a theologian’s search to plumb the mysteries of life told with a poet’s precision. Together they explore the Golden Record as the Washington Post described “as both a vessel of science and a leap of faith.”
Feb. 2 — SBMA Art Matters lecture explores Reimagining the Museum
SBMA Art Matters lecture explores Reimagining the Museum — Art Matters Lecture with Jan-Lodewijk Grootaers, Ph.D., Independent Curator at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 2 at SBMA’s Mary Craig Auditorium, 1130 State St., Santa Barbara.
Feb. 12 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present ‘Transformation: Personal Stories of Change, Acceptance, and Evolution.’ Free Concert with Ted Nash
This free concert features student composers, performers, and writers from a workshop led by Grammy Award-winning saxophonist and composer Ted Nash who joins them on stage. Responding in part to artist Joan Tanner’s unorthodox use of materials and inspired by Nash’s original composition first performed with Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, these young artists explore the idea of transformation, both personal and collective, bringing word and music together in this exuberant community-sourced celebration of the expressive and empathetic power of art.
March 16 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present ‘Couples with Cassandra C. Jones and Mikael Jorgensen’
The Santa Barbara Museum of Art will present “Couples with Cassandra C. Jones and Mikael Jorgensen” at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 16 at SBMA’s Mary Craig Auditorium, 1130 State St., Santa Barbara.
Inspired by the artistic collaboration of Ed Kienholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz and the SBMA exhibition Scenes from a Marriage: Ed & Nancy Kienholz, this series explores what happens in fiction and life when artist couples work together or in parallel, and sometimes within competitive creative spaces.
April 6 — SBMA Art Matters Lecture Explores the ‘School of New York Revisited’
April 30 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present acclaimed poet and art critic John Yau in conversation with artist Joan Tanner
Artist Joan Tanner joins acclaimed poet and art critic, John Yau, Professor of Critical Studies at Rutgers University, for a conversation. Tanner is currently the subject of a solo SBMA exhibition, Out of Joint: Joan Tanner (through May 14). Yau has edited the Brooklyn Rail and Hyperallergic Weekend, and has authored some 50 books of poetry.
July 23 — BEYOND CONVERSATION at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art presents Radiant Frequencies
SANTA BARBARA — At the invitation of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA), Awol Erizku, a noted photographer, sculptor, and painter and subject of a recent New Yorker profile, is collaborating with nine 2023 fellows at the Music Academy of Santa Barbara to plan a memorable one-night-only performance on July 23, that will bridge visual art and classical music.
Erizku is a natural choice for Radiant Frequencies project because music threads through his unusually varied and impossible to easily package practice. Nefertiti—Miles Davis Gold (2022) is a gold mirrored mosaic in the form of the ancient Egyptian queen, which also references Miles Davis’s album Nefertiti (1968). Moreover, the artist says that No Hesi(2022), from his new Cosmic Drill series, relates to Drill, a genre of hip hop. Both artworks are in the Museum’s collection and are currently on display. He is also widely known for his photographs of musicians, including Beyoncé, Nipsey Hussle, J-Cole and Bad Bunny.
Aug. 27 — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present ‘Dancing Out Loud: Free Public Performances’
SANTA BARBARA — Santa Barbara Museum of Art to present “Dancing Out Loud: Free Public Performances” at 5 and 5:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 27 at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art Front Terrace, 1130 State St., Santa Barbara.
Award-winning dancer, choreographer, and deaf artist and advocate Antoine Hunter is joined by members of the Urban Jazz Dance Company, which he founded, in an imaginative, joyful celebration to accompany the exhibition The Private Universe of James Castle: Drawings from the William Louis-Dreyfus Foundation and James Castle Collection and Archive. Enjoy the electric energy of dancing out loud with this free public performance that Mr. Hunter has said, “puts the capital D in Deaf, representing power, culture, and strength.”