By: Alexandria Biliunas
UC Davis and the city of Davis have many different art installations on campus and are home to multiple museums. The Manetti Shrem Museum, the Gorman Museum of Native American Art, and the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology to name a few, are all great museums for enjoyment.
Specifically looking at the Manetti Shrem Museum, it hosts various events which students and the public can enjoy. The Davis community was able to check out a few Manetti Shrem Museum programs and events throughout this Winter Quarter and throughout the month of February 2024.
The Manetti Shrem Museum is a co-sponsor to the The California Art Studio in the Department of Art and Art History and will be displaying an event by Josiah McElheny on February 1st, showcasing the artist’s lecture at 4:30 p.m.
In addition to the lecture, the Manetti Shrem Museum is hosting the 2024 Templeton Colloquium in Art History exploring Chinese art and its influential effects across the globe. The UC Davis Art History department is known for its classes and breadth of valuable information, and the Colloquium was put together by UC Davis’ Professor Michael Yonan. This event will be held on February 23, 2024 in the Community Room in the Shrem Museum at 4 p.m.
A third event to check out was the Manetti Shrem’s Open Mic session on February 22 from 7 to 9 p.m. either sign up early to perform, or enjoy the tunes by people in the community.
The Wildlife and Fish Biology Museum, located on the UC Davis campus, is a museum specializing in wildlife and fish biology research and education. This year the museum is participating in the annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day which is held on February 10, 2024. This isn’t the only time the museum can be visited. In order to visit, a tour can be scheduled a month in advance by emailing mwfb@ucdavis.edu. Tours are free for UC Davis students and faculty. For the public, it costs four dollars per person, with a minimum of eight people.
While these programs and events are rotating at the Manetti Shrem Museum and the other museums around town, there are art pieces you can check out all year round on the UC Davis campus. The UC Davis campus is home to many different pieces of art and sculptures. Some pieces blend into the campus and others standout.
To start, one art piece is Bum, Bum, You’ve Been Here Before, by artist Tio Giambruni. This piece is located between the Art Building and Everson hall, where it gives an urban and contemporary edge to this part of campus. This art piece resembles a construction piece of a large metal tube that can go unnoticed if you do not know it is a piece of art.
Moving to a nearby location of Shield Library is Suspension, by artist Cedric Wentworth. This piece is of a head suspended from the ground mirroring itself at the top and is the same head upside down. It is viewable in the library in the center courtyard. Following the contemporary design pattern, this piece is timeless in its construction and is an icon to the campus library.
Another art piece that is on display is Stone Poem, by Steve Gillman. This piece is located near the Silo on campus and currently lives in the grassy part in the center of the bike path. This piece highlights eight vertical granite structures that can be seen behind the Silo and the bike barn towards the Chemistry building.
Moving to the UC Davis Veterinary Medicine area, Animal Anarchy by Nina Kaiser, is a grouping of bronze animals, and one bronze creature in particular is a pig leaning on top of a bench, making it a great photo spot.
Art can be seen all across Davis’ campus, whether it is a Manetti Shrem program or your own self guided tour of the campus art, art is readily available in different mediums and expressions.
Photo by David Phillips
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