The Crocker Art Museum's birthday cake did not have any candles, but those gathered to celebrate the museum's 125th birthday didn't seem to mind as they sang "Happy Birthday." Above: Birthday cake. The birthday party took place from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and attracted 831 people for performances, exhibits and celebration. Above: The Crocker Art Museum exterior. For $1.25, attendees found period actors roaming the grounds, and activities in the courtyard, California Gallery, Cowell Gallery, Ballroom, J. Brown Maloney Room and in the rose garden. Above: Period actors enjoying birthday cake. Crocker’s courtyard hosted Folklorico Latino de Woodland’s performances at 12:30 p.m. and

Free video chat by Ustream   Join us for the 4th Annual Celebrate Oak Park Party in the Park Saturday, May 8, 2010. The Sacramento Press will be live streaming video of ' The Party in the Park' today from 12 pm to 5 pm at McClatchy Park, 35th Street and 5th Avenue. Celebrate Oak Park brings residents from all neighborhoods together to celebrate the diversity and beauty of the Sacramento's oldest suburb . This wonderful family friendly event includes performances by local musicians, great food, and information about various organizations and agencies geared to enhancing our community. Kids will love the UC Davis Med Center Passport Play area featuring a Rock Climbing Wall, V

On June 6, the Crocker Art Museum will close its exhibits in preparation for an Oct. 10 reopening that will unveil a 125,000-foot expansion. During the four-month closure, new exhibits will be installed and many existing installations will be moved. "We're closing all of our galleries, but we're still going to be open for programing like Third Thursday Jazz," said Lial Jones, museum director. "During the time we're closed, the first floor of the building gets renovated and turned into an education center. All of the artwork in this building has to be moved out for construction and then all of the collections will be rehung because pieces will not be where you've known them to be." Jones

The Crocker Art Museum will be one of more than 40 sites worldwide to host Slow Art Day in 2010, an initiative that encourages visitors to slow down and spend quality time looking at a single artwork. Slow Art Day will take place on Saturday, April 17, starting at 11 a.m., at the Crocker. “The majority of museum visitors view an artwork for less than 30 seconds,” said Christian Adame, manager of life-long learning at the Crocker Art Museum. “But it is easy to miss the artist’s message during such a quick look. This event is designed to help participants see art in a new way – to focus, contemplate and discuss their ideas.” The Slow Art session at the Crocker will focus on three artworks

Today's Conservation of Public Art Walkabout showed art in public places that have deteriorated via nature and the elements, as well as actions by humans, over time. Sharon Kilgore, a volunteer with the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, described how the ceramic tiles on a wall art by Peter Vandenberge displayed at  the Downtown Plaza-Westfield Shoppping Mall-shows signs of degradation; cracks, grount missing and colors changing. The untitled art wall of glazed tiles was installed in 1977.   The Clock Tower created by R.M. Fischer from New York was installed in 1993. This towering art piece is a mixed media high-voltage tower adorned with floating planets, a clock forever frozen

“Public Art Walkabout tours are a great way to exercise your mind and body while learning more about Sacramento,” said Christian Adame, manager of lifelong learning at the Crocker Art Museum. The program was piloted in September 2009 before going on hiatus during winter. Adame talks to today's Walkabout participants in front of the Crocker. The Crocker's Permanent Collection Artists were featured. Our first stop was at 300 Capitol Mall to view David Von Schlegell stainless steel water fountain created in 1985.     The shaking hands in front of 555 Capitol Mall were our next stop (artist info unavailable).   U.S. Bank Tower at 621 Capitol Mall has two artists' works featured; Tor

The Crocker Art Museum is hosting a new children's program combining books and art projects at local libraries. The series of free events will kick off at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Colonial Heights Library on Stockton Blvd. The idea of a series event stemmed from Wee Wednesdays, a free event inside the museum for kids ages 3-5. Emma Moore, manager of Experiential Learning for The Crocker Art Museum, has teamed up with local librarians to create "Stories and Art." Each library features a different storybook that will be read aloud by a librarian and serves as the inspiration for a different on-site, hands-on art project for the children that will follow each story. Moore said she believes

Matt Isble, Exhibition Designer and Lead Prepartor Justin Marsh, Museum Experience Facilitator work on the interior design in the New Crocker. The Interior of the existing Crocker will also have a makeover.   "The new Anne and Malcolm McHenry Works on Paper Study Center (above) will enable the Museum to share the Crocker Art Museum's fine early collection of European drawings in the United States", says Kathleen Richards,Crocker Marketing Communications Coordinator.  In addition to two dedicated galleries for special exhibitions, the state-of-the-art facility comprises a 926-square-foot storage room and an 810-square-foot study room for scholars, artists, and the public by appointment.

In case you missed this earlier, let me clarify the newly coined term "greenwash". If whitewashing is to 'gloss over or cover up a crime or a scandal', then "greenwashing" would be the use of money in an attempt to gloss over or cover up a crime or scandal. When our family read that the new wing at the Crocker Art Museum was going to be named The Teel Family Pavilion, we became unglued. This is the same family that owns the Raley’s Supermarket chain of stores. Joyce Raley Teel’s $13 million dollar donation enabled them the honor of having the new addition named after them. As you know from my previous articles about Raley’s and the Teel’s, a crime was committed against my father and our

Concert pianist Sachiko Kato will perform Bach’s Goldberg Variations on Sunday, December 20, at 3 p.m. The hour-long performance will take place in Capistrano Hall at Sacramento State. Concerts are free to members of the Crocker Art Museum, $12 for nonmembers and $5 for students and seniors. Free parking is available in Parking Structure I, which is adjacent to the Hall. The Goldberg Variations, composed in 1742, is one of Bach’s masterpieces, but it is not often performed in concert due to the complexity and length of the work. Kato will open the concert with a work by contemporary Japanese composer Somei Satoh titled Hashi (Bridges) II. A native of Osaka, Japan, Kato grew up in Los Ang

The new entryway of the New Crocker is worked on. A fountain (under yellow beam) will be featured in the courtyard, between the existing museum and the expansion. The expansion of the Crocker: Triples the size of the existing facility  Quadruples the square footage for exhibition space  Accommodates “blockbuster” exhibitions  Preserves the historic Art Gallery Building as the architectural centerpiece with its classic, contemporary design  Provides a café with indoor and outdoor seating, a 300-seat auditorium and art classrooms  Allows for secure collections care and storage space that is not susceptible to flooding  Includes a striking two-story atrium for events that can seat 40

More than 95 regional artists and craftspeople will offer their unique gift items during the Crocker Art Museum’s Holiday Art & Craft Festival at the Scottish Rite Center, located across from the main entrance of California State University, Sacramento, at 6151 H Street. Visitors will support the Crocker and local artists while they shop for everyone on their holiday list with an array of gift items and price ranges. The artist’s creations for sale include jewelry, ceramics, paintings, gourmet food, a variety of unique holiday items and more. You can also capture the holiday season by having photos taken with a Victorian Santa Claus in the front lobby. Attendees will also enjoy free parki

This fall the Crocker Art Museum will host a daylong festival of contemporary films by female directors exploring the roles of Japanese and Japanese American women. Held to coincide with the Crocker’s exhibit of contemporary ceramics by Japanese women, Soaring Voices, the festival will include four film screenings at the Guild Theater, located at 2828 35th Street, on Saturday, October 17. Local filmmakers, artists and scholars will introduce and offer insight on each film. “Soaring Voices tells the story of Japanese women breaking into the male-only ceramic world, and these films expand on that story by looking at the position of women in Japanese society as a whole,” commented Christian

High energy and fun brought Old Sacramento to life at the Second Annual Sacramento World Music and Dance Festival.  The two-day festival kicked off Saturday at the Benvenuti Performing Arts Center, which featured Angentine tango champions Miriam and Leonardo.  Festivities continued Sunday in Old Sacramento. Both days were a celebration of international cultures through ethnic dancing, musical performances, historical storytelling and traditional reenactments of stories and folktales from all over the world. Despite the sweltering Sacramento heat, close to 5,000 attendees managed to stay cool under the shade of large tents and trees, and with the aid of popsicles and cold drinks sold by s

 Nearly 100 panels of reflective glass are installed in the wall of the new expansion facing the existing Crocker Art Museum today. The older structure reflects off the panels. The reflective material inside the panels has a dotted look, a halftone pattern, when see upclose.  The glass is triple-paned, and it has a couple layers of special coatings that have reflective qualities meant to limit the amount of heat entering the Museum.It will be comfortable temperature- and vision-wise while sitting inside the new Crocker's atrium/cafe area.   Workers will be working over the weekend and should be finished with the glass panels installation by Tuesday. Photos | Kati Garner  

Delve into the romance of the Viennese operetta with tenor Hannes Busch, soprano Rufina Anatolevan-James and pianist Schinnerer Deffner. This Sunday, September 27 at 3 p.m., enjoy a luxurious hour of 13 operettas by timeless composers Emmerich Kálmán, Franz Lehár, Johann Strauss Jr. and Carl Zeller. The Classical Concert is presented by the Crocker Art Museum. Due to construction for the Museum’s expansion, the concerts now take place on the Sacramento State campus in Capistrano Hall. A renowned opera and concert singer, Busch was educated at the Opera Studio of Hannover, Germany, where he was later engaged as a soloist for operettas. He has also been a recipient of the prestigious Puccin

Workers prepare the window frames in the New Crocker Art Museum's cafe/atrium area. Windows will be installed in the expansion wing within several weeks. Drywall has been installed in office spaces and the new art galleries and storage areas. The bathrooms are tiled. A new waterfall fountain will be part of the courtyard linking the new and existing Crocker.  Photos | Kati Garner    

Sections of the historic structure receive a fresh coat of paint (top photo). Colors were inspired from the original Victorian palette and complement the materials of the new construction. Two artistis  stand on the sidewalk in front of the existing Crocker and paint the scenery around them (middle). A crane delivers a heavy load of drywall to workers above the entryway of the New Crocker (bottom photo). Windows will be installed in the new expansion soon. Photos | Kati Garner

Jazz keyboard master Roger Smith will perform during the Crocker Art Museum’s Third Thursday Jazz Summer Concert Series on September 17 from 5:30-8 p.m. Smith and his band will bring their lively spirit and exceptional talent to perform an array of melodies ranging from R&B to smooth jazz. This is the final concert of the Summer Concert Series before it takes a hiatus during the winter months. During his 30 year career, Smith has released five CD recordings and collaborated on countless others. His Off the Hook was a smash, No. 1 hit on Billboard’s contemporary jazz singles chart in 1999 and stayed in the top 10 for nearly 20 weeks. Smith returned to the charts in 2004 with the 14-track s

Construction is underway for the Crocker's first water feature. This rounded rectangular wall will have water gently cascading over the side. Patrons can enjoy both the sight and sound while relaxing in the new courtyard.  Photos | Kati Garner