Youth Arts Festival- Celebrating Humboldt County Youth in Visual and Performing Arts

February 19 through March 23

The Morris Graves Museum of Art in partnership with the Humboldt County Office of Education proudly presents the Youth Arts Festival; a celebration of student creativity in visual, media, and performing arts. This exhibition features various styles of visual artworks in both traditional and communication media created by Humboldt County pre K-12 students in their public and charter classrooms during the school year. The exhibition highlights the promise of equity and access in quality arts education for all students preK-12, in every school, every day, made real by Humboldt County’s Arts Education Plan. The festival itself is the living portfolio, where all who attend may see for themselves the inspiration and creativity inherent in all of Humboldt County’s Youth. We welcome students, parents, teachers, artists, and community members to see, hear, and feel what has been taught and experienced in so many classrooms across Humboldt. Become the beneficiary as you stand in wonder at what our children are capable of; the enormity of their creative dreams becomes immediate and evident, viewed in the context of a historical museum. Join us in this annual culminating event that celebrates the creative power of all students of Humboldt County.

28th Annual Images of Water

Photography Competition & Exhibition

March 15 through April 20

Thonson Gallery

After a pandemic-related hiatus, the HAC is excited to bring back one of our longest running juried exhibitions--Images of Water! Celebrating 28 years of creative visions of water, this annual competition highlights the inspiring beauty of water. From images of lakes and streams to ice-cube trays and snow, Images of Water is a fun, theme-based show to take part in or to just take a look at. Open to all photographers and photography disciplines, this is an exciting opportunity for the residents of California to become involved in the arts on the North Coast.

The juror for Images of Water is Rebekah Burgess. Rebekah was born and raised in Humboldt County, taking up photography at a young age. She received a PhD in Photo History and has worked in Photography, Drawings, Prints, and Maps collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Life Magazine, and the New York City Department of Parks. With decades of hands-on work with some of the world’s finest prints, Rebekah brings a thoughtful and enthusiastic eye to the boundless possibilities of creativity within the photographic medium.

Water is a magical element, providing us with endless image making opportunities!

Dana Mano:

Whispers of the Earth: Impermanence Through a Wabi-Sabi Lens

Knight Gallery

March 29 through April 27

In Whispers of the Earth: Impermanence Through a Wabi-Sabi Lens, Dana Mano-Flank invites viewers to pause and reflect on the quiet, transient beauty of nature through the prism of the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi. Rooted in an appreciation for impermanence and imperfection, Dana’s mixed-media paintings celebrate the delicate balance between nature’s cycles and humanity’s place within them. Drawing on the rich textures and organic forms found in natural materials—whether sourced from forests, quarries, or oceans—Dana integrates these elements with pigments and pastes to highlight the inherent beauty of the weathered, the worn, and the ephemeral. Through her thoughtful exploration of materials and color, she evokes a sense of reverence for the simple yet profound details that are often overlooked: the crumbling bark of a tree, the fading edge of a stone, the soft fall of autumn leaves. At the heart of Dana’s work lies a deep reflection on our fragile relationship with the earth. Each piece is an invitation to see beyond the surface, to contemplate the subtle rhythms of the natural world and the marks of time and use that bind us to it. By honoring the often-overlooked imperfections, she encourages a broader awareness of the environmental connections that shape our lives and challenges us to consider the ethical implications of our impact on the planet. This exhibition embodies a dynamic and intuitive process where abstraction meets the spiritual sensibility of wabi-sabi. Dana’s paintings are more than visual compositions; they are a dialogue between color, texture, and material, a manifestation of the delicate interplay between human existence and the natural world. Whispers of the Earth seeks to deepen our understanding of the beauty found in transience and to foster a renewed appreciation for the ephemeral world around us. Dana’s work has been featured in over fifty juried museum exhibitions across the U.S., as well as numerous solo and invitational shows.

Ten Thousand Gates - a Celebration of Humboldt Asian American Artists

Thonson Gallery

April 26 through June 8

In 1994, Karla Kaizoji Austin and Amy Uyeki assembled the first show of Asian Artists in Humboldt County entitled Made in America at the old Ink People gallery. Fast forward 31 years and this is one of the follow up shows to the original. Over the years times have changed and artists and media have changed. However, the creativity, artistry and intent remain. The selected artists all present a strong sense of creativity, originality and their work reflects their cultural roots. The work ranges from traditional style landscape/portraits to contemporary street art. Included are painters, ceramicists, mixed media artists, digital artists, photographers and videographers. They work in various media including Chinese Brush painting, ceramics, photography, spray paint, mixed media sources from nature, airbrush, and digital media. There are a wide variety of backgrounds ranging from a self taught Sennsei Japanese artist to national and international artists. This show aims to showcase a sampling of the work of these artists. Artists include: Karla Kaizoji Austin, Cate Be, Jeremy Hara, Ted Hsu, the late Suk Choo Kim, Ali Lee, Thao Le Khac, Amy Leon, Annette Makino, Yoshiko Skelton, Amy Uyeki and Libby Yee.