Manetti Shrem fall celebration this weekend for 'OJO' and 'Breathe'

Museum Opening Celebration Sunday, Sept. 28, 2-5 p.m.

Two exhibitions that invite visitors to reflect on the present by considering the past and shared future are on view this fall at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at University of California, Davis. The exhibitions have their grand opening this weekend, and are on view through Nov. 29. 

• Opening event featuring exhibiting artists including Julio César Morales and curators; a DJ set by artist Juan Luna-Avin; and an eco-friendly art activity. (Sunday, Sept. 28)

About the exhibitions

 “OJO” Julio César Morales explores the U.S.-Mexico border as a lived human experience. Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice, a groundbreaking group exhibition from the Hammer Museum at UCLA, connects social and environmental injustice. A free public opening celebration with artists and curators, art making and music takes place from 2 to 5 p.m. at the museum Sunday, Sept. 28, coinciding with the start of the university’s academic year. 

“OJO” Julio César Morales comprises more than 50 works.

According to the exhibition description: the lungs of our planet — oceans, forests and the atmosphere — are under threat, invaded by carbon emissions, plastics and man-made pollutants. The act of breathing was rendered even more perilous by the COVID-19 pandemic and encounters with escalated police violence that became a focus of the COVID period. Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice considers the connections between social and environmental injustice through the lens of contemporary art. 

•  Full story and the rest of the event schedule for fall.
• Art Spark for September: Drop in for a weekend afternoon of art making at the museum’s Carol and Gerry Parker Art Studio inspired by this fall’s exhibitions. Each month, they offer a different activity that explores ideas, materials and processes connected to works of art on view. All ages and skill levels are welcome. Making art is for everyone.  All activity supplies provided. September: Glowing Words — Practice your calligraphy (or decorative swooshes) with a black light art-making session inspired by Julio Cesar Morales’ neon artworks.
• Looking ahead: Art Spark for October: Woven Connections
  October 4, 11, 18 & 25
  1-4 p.m.

Follow the threads between fiber artworks in the exhibition Breath(e): Toward Climate and Social Justice that explore relationships, including Sarah Rosalena’s milestones of space exploration, Roxy Paine’s mycelium networks, and Tiffany Chung’s maps of global dynamics.   

New hours starting next week

Following the Fall Season Celebration on Sept. 28, the museum will be open from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and closed to the public Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. The free weekend art-making sessions, Art Spark, will continue on Saturday from 1–4 p.m.

New Hours at the Manetti Shrem Museum

• Now open Wednesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
• Closed to the public Sunday, Monday and Tuesday
• Open Monday and Tuesday exclusively for UC Davis classes by appointment
• Open Monday–Friday for regularly scheduled academic courses
• Fall exhibitions end Nov. 29

Gorman opens fall season with Bartow

The Gorman Museum of Native American Art opened this fall with a solo exhibition featuring artworks by award-inning artist Rick Bartow, considered one of the most important leaders in contemporary Native American art.

The exhibition runs through Jan. 18. 

Bartow was a Vietnam veteran, a life-long musician, song writer, widower and enrolled member of the Mad River Band of Wiyot Indians in Humboldt County. Many of the artworks on exhibit were gifted to the Gorman Museum by the Richard E. Bartow Estate and Froelick Gallery, with additional pieces on loan from private collections.

Talk Oct. 18

Join in a reception and discussion 1-3 p.m. Oct. 18 with Charles Froelick, discussing the work and life of Rick Bartow. Froelick is the owner of Froelick Gallery in Portland, Oregon, and will discuss his unique and longstanding professional and personal relationship with artist Rick Bartow. 

Artist's statement

Using Coyote's tail for a brush and Raven's beak to make my marks, I am blind to my destination. I begin to erase marks, attempting to cover my tracks and, like forgetful Coyote, I lose my way. Yet the record of my comings and goings is visible like the lines left by the tide as it advances and recedes.

Drawing comes from inside my head, down my arm, to my hand. As the work begins to intensify, there is little of importance below the armpits. My legs carry me back and forth in front of the drawing. Occasionally I blindly run into objects, cussing and moving on from the shock of the collision.

The marks become little dictators. They demand my attention and, sometimes, even my blood as fingers crack and bleed. Still I believe in the power of drawing as medicine.

In my life I have used this medicine to overcome many obstacles—alcohol, drugs, cigarettes—everything but the death of my beloved wife. Here I found the therapeutic limit, the end of the rope... or so I thought. For even as I dangled over the dark abyss, clinging to the end of that rope with my left hand, the right hand began to draw the horrifying final moments of my lover's life.

Eventually I worked free of that great sadness. Drawing wouldn't allow it to be more than what it was: a cold, hard fact that all of us—like the lines I draw— come to an end, some more abruptly than others. Then the eyes and hand move on to a new sheet of paper, to begin yet another work. I draw because I have no choice: it is my blessing, it is my curse.
          -- RIck Bartow, 2011

More information on the museum site. 

Also on view is Indigenous Futurisms from the Museum collections

The exhibition brings together graphic works that engage with aliens, superheroes, and Native American interpretations of Star Wars themes and characters.  

 Works by:  Andy Everson, Jason Garcia, Duhon Lee James, Steven Paul Judd, Diego Romero, Ryan Singer, Arigon Starr, Michael Toya, and Jeffrey Veregge.

Coming in October

• The KVIE Art Auction starts next week
• The Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts starts its season Friday, Oct. 3, with “Stop Making Sense,” a film by Jonathan Demme and Talking Heads. Talking Heads performed at UC Davis in 1983 as part of the University’s 75^th anniversary celebration just days before making the film in Los Angeles. Watch this space for for details on the season next week. That Sunday, Oct. 5, Grammy-winning vocalist Ledisi pays tribute to Dinah Washington, the legendary blues and jazz singer. Get more details on Mondavi season and tickets here.

Theatrical and narrative design practices explored in UC Davis Design Museum installation

Oct. 8-Nov. 5, Design Museum, 124 Cruess Hall, UC Davis

The UC Davis Design Museum opens its 2025-2026 season with Embodiment, an installation that incorporates theatrical and narrative design practices. This unique project opens Oct. 8. 

Embodiment, created and curated by UC Davis MFA Design student Emily Tonnos, explores the intersectionality of exhibition, theatrical, and narrative design practices to create an immersive experience through human emotion, multisensory perception, and a journey through personal struggle and growth. 

“Through working to create Embodiment, I have had the opportunity to learn about and bridge together several design disciples from lighting and sound design to construction and graphics,” said Tonnos. “My research in design phenomenology, exhibition design, and theatrical design come together at the crossroads in which tools of scenography are used to tell stories. By crafting the environment of space, building all the props, and developing a narrative, I hope to show visitors the value in how physical multisensory exhibitions can be used to bring messages to life, and how this can be possible in a unique way by using theatrical practices to create immersive experiences. I hope that Embodiment shows that by uniting different design disciplines and seeing how they can be changed and used in tandem with each other, we can reflect on how this beauty of change and togetherness mirrors itself in our personal lives too.”

Tonnos, a multidisciplinary designer with a passion for narrative experience design, uses storytelling as a design mechanism. She has experience working to design various architectures, exhibits and themed spaces with specialized skills in 3D modeling, prototyping, and scenography. As a competitive figure skater and Disney College Program alumni, Tonnos’ interests in theater and themed experiences fuel her love for design.  

Running Oct. 8 through Nov. 5, the exhibition is free and open to all. However, times and hours are limited. Schedule will be available at designmuseum.ucdavis.edu. 

The museum is in 124 Cruess Hall. 

The museum’s season will continue in Jan. 2026 with Village Homes: A Radical Plan, which celebrates the 50th anniversary of an innovative west Davis community.

The Design Museum in the Department of Design is part of the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis. 

-Michael G. French

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