Catch 'Control/Shift' this week

Center for the Performing Arts, continuing Nov. 20, 21; 7 p.m.; Nov. 22, 2 p.m.

The UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance fall dance concert, Control/Shift, explores dance as it intersects with technologies of control — and for connection. This workshop-style performance takes place on Nov. 19, 20 and 21 at 7 p.m. and Nov. 22 at 2 p.m. in the intimate Vanderhoef Studio at the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at UC Davis. More information here.

Get a sneak peek in the video below.

‘Paradise Lost:’ Double Saxophones and Piano Thursday

Jazz Combos 

Institute for Sustainable Design, Fashion and Textiles launches, names endowed chair

The University of California, Davis, celebrated the grand opening of the Maria Manetti Shrem Institute for Sustainable Design, Fashion and Textiles on Thursday, Nov. 13 at its home in Cruess Hall. The institute will further advance wearable and smart textile technologies and promote sustainability across multiple facets of design.

An endowed faculty chair for the institute was also named. See the story here. 

'Good Fire: Tending Native Lands' now open at Oakland; UC Davis photos included

 1000 Oak Street, Oakland, Hours: Wednesday through Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m.

The Oakland Museum of California presents Good Fire: Tending Native Lands, a groundbreaking new exhibition illuminating how Native communities across Northern California have long used controlled fire — known as “good fire” or “cultural burning” — to care for the land and sustain vital cultural traditions. Having opened Nov. 7, this immersive experience invites visitors to explore the profound relationships among people, fire, and place — and to imagine a more regenerative ecological future for California.

At a time when wildfires dominate headlines, Good Fire reframes the story: fire is not only a force of destruction, but also a powerful tool for renewal, biodiversity and community wellbeing. Created in close collaboration with Northern Californian Native fire practitioners, artists, ecologists and cultural leaders, the exhibition weaves art, science, history, and storytelling together to reveal how cultural burning supports healthy landscapes and living traditions.

Good Fire: Tending Native Lands is on view through May 31, 2026. Step inside this exhibition and experience how California’s future can be guided by the deep, place-based wisdom of its firekeepers. More information here. 

UC Davis Professor of Native American Studies Beth Rose Middleton Manning, with students, at Cache Creek National Preserve, Woodland, participates in a controlled burn. This photo is part of the exhibition. (Alysha Beck/UC Davis)

Despite the Thanksgiving holiday, there will be an Arts Blog next week. Stay tuned for more museum information and a December preview of concerts and other entertainment.

Karen Nikos-Rose, Arts Blog Editor