This weekend, there's art, of course, and then there's the Super Bowl. There's art near the actual Super Bowl too. SFMOMA offers art and activities related to their nextdoor neighbor his year (in Santa Clara). The Manetti Shrem Museum at UC Davis, not to be left out, offers a nod to football in one of its works in "Backstory." If wings and ranch dip are not your jam, you can also go see art only and have nothing to do with the more ubiquitous big game. Have a great weekend and read on. Karen Nikos-Rose, Arts Blog editor
Native American artist, composer to give art talk and have music performed at 2 events this week
Talk is 4:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 5, Manetti Shrem Museum; music is Friday, Feb. 6 at 4 p.m., Gorman Museum courtyard (In case of inclement weather, the performance will be held in the Ann E. Pitzer Center.)
Raven Chacon (Ramsay de Give)
Raven Chacon, a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, performer, and installation artist born at Fort Defiance, Navajo Nation, will give a talk as part of The California Studio: Manetti Shrem Artist Residencies in the Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program at UC Davis on Thursday, Feb. 5 in the Ann E. Pitzer Center. The lecture begins at 4:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public. Doors open at 4 p.m.
Shinkoskey noon concert Thursday
Adam Moezinia Folk Element Trio
Feb. 5- 12:05 pm - 1 p.m., Recital Hall, Ann E. Pitzer Center, free
Adam Moezinia, guitar
Emiliano Lasansky, bass
Marcello Carelli, drums
Moezinia’s trio is rooted in the jazz tradition but is influenced by folk music from all over the world including West Africa, South Africa, the Caribbean, the UK and Appalachia, and explore the unique relationship between jazz and folk music — sharing those discoveries with audiences across the globe. Program to be announced from the stage.
A recording artist over the span of 24 years, Chacon (Dine') has appeared on more than 80 releases on national and international labels. He has exhibited, performed, or had works performed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, or LACMA, The Whitney Biennial, Borealis Festival, SITE Santa Fe, Swiss Institute Contemporary Art New York and more. As an educator, Chacon is the senior composer mentor for the Native American Composer Apprentice Project, or NACAP. In 2022, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in Music for his composition Voiceless Mass, and in 2023 he was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship.
Chacon is the winter quarter spotlight artist in The California Studio: Manetti Shrem Artist Residencies. His artist talk is made possible with additional support from the Department of Music’s William E. Valente Endowment.
Student ensemble performs his music Friday
On Friday, Feb. 6, the Gorman Museum of Native American Art will host a student ensemble from the Department of Music performing Chacon’s American Ledger No. 1 in the Gorman courtyard. The piece is about 20 minutes and begins at 4 p.m. In case of inclement weather, the performance will be held in the Ann E. Pitzer Center. Organized by The California Studio: Manetti Shrem Artist Residences in the Maria Manetti Shrem Art Studio Program.
SFMOMA offers programs, free public viewing of official Super Bowl LX Roman Numerals and other events
SFMOMA, in San Francisco, invites visitors and locals to enjoy a photo opportunity with the official Super Bowl LX Roman Numerals, on view for free in the museum’s Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Atrium through Feb. 8. To celebrate the game and spotlight what makes the Bay Area a beacon in the fields of art, culture, technology and sports, SFMOMA will also offer a range of programs, events, and products as part of its broader partnership with the Bay Area Host Committee.
Family Studio: Sports Pennants
Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026, 10 a.m.–1 p.m., Floor 2
Calling all football fans. Join SFMOMA’s Koret Education Center for a special Family Studio with SCRAP where visitors can design and make their own pennants for their favorite (or made-up) sports team. Participation in this program is free and does not require museum admission. More information here.
Ongoing art exhibitions at UC Davis
Follow the links:
Manetti Shrem Museum opens digitizing collection, and “Sahar Khoury” continuing
Design Museum Showcases Village Homes
Contemporary Native American Art at Gorman Museum and their latest exhibition
Okaidja Afroso Ensemble at Mondavi
Experience the soul of Ghana with the Okaidja Afroso Ensemble. Born into a family of musicians and storytellers, Afroso honors his roots in the coastal town of Kokrobite through rhythm, song, and movement.
Friday, Saturday, Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, UC Davis, event information here
Often performed in his native language, Afroso’s genre-defying songs convey a whole spectrum of emotions—joy, harmony, tragedy, and hope—that embrace what he calls “the rich complexity of the integrated world we inhabit.”
Through his distinctive style that combines percussion instruments, vocals, guitar, and dance, Afroso preserves the vibrant customs of his ancestors while creating a contemporary African oral tradition.
Running time is approximately 75 minutes.
Featuring: Okaidja Afroso, Janet Quaye, and Francis Osei. Next week
Film screening next Thursday
Feb. 12, 4 to 6 p.m., Cruess Hall
The UC Davis Department of Cinema and Digital Media invites all to a film screening and in-person conversation with Emily Cohen-Ibañez, the director of the feature documentary FRUITS OF LABOR, a coming of age story, which addresses food systems, labor, and precarity –— co-written with the film’s teenage lead participant, Ashley Pavon. Screening is Feb. 12 at 4 p.m. in Cruess Hall 1002. Free.
Co-sponsored by the Department of Chicana/o/x Studies, the screening is followed by an in-person conversation with Emily Cohen-Ibañez, the director of the feature documentary.
The film follows the day-in-a-life of a young farm and factory worker in California, who dreams of being the first in her family to graduate from high school and go to college.
Media Resources
Karen Nikos-Rose, Arts Blog Editor, kmnikos@ucdavis.edu, 530-219-5472