News from PAC
CALL FOR ART - Youth Arts Exhibit "ART Connects Us"
PAC is now accepting submissions for the 2024 Youth Art Show.
Learn Classical Painting with Maggie Parr
Learn Classical Painting with Maggie Parr
Join us for a 6-week class at the Arts Center, from 12-2 PM on Saturdays (Feb 10 and 24, March 2, 9, and 23, April 6). Students will learn the basics of indirect painting in oil, starting with value studies and continuing through to a final portrait. This class is ideal for self-taught artists looking to level up, and pros who want to learn classical techniques in a fun, friendly environment. Cost: $75 per class or $450 for six classes. The price includes all supplies. A discount is available for PAC artist members.
Year-End Celebration and Auction Winners Announced
Thursday, December 14, 5:30-7:30pm
This is the end of our 15th Anniversary Year. A toast to PAC, to the community, and to the end of the season
Members Exhibition 2023 - Call For Art
Our Members Show is happening soon. Art intake happens on November 12th & 13th. Reception happens on November 16th, and the show runs until December 16th. Here are all the details…
Idea Lounge
Wednesday, October 25th
6:30-8:00pm
Join us for an Idea Lounge conversation with Greg Knight and Matthew Harris. Come for drinks and mingling at 6:30pm, and enjoy the program from 7:00-8:00pm.
Idea Lounge
Wednesday, September 27th
6:30-8:00pm
Join us for an Idea Lounge conversation with Cat Alden and Josh Petersen. Come for drinks and mingling at 6:30pm, and enjoy the program from 7:00-8:00pm.
Idea Lounge
Wednesday, August 23rd
6:30-8:00pm
Join us for an Idea Lounge conversation with Bess Eiermann and Suzanne Kimbel. Come for drinks and mingling at 6:30pm, and enjoy the program from 7:00-8:00pm.
Idea Lounge
Wednesday, July 26th
6:30-8:00pm
Join us for an Idea Lounge conversation with Emma Logan and Marja Tarr. Come for drinks and mingling at 6:30pm, and enjoy the program from 7:00-8:00pm.
Book Sale Fundraiser
Friday and Saturday, July 14 to July 15 from noon to 4pm
The Petaluma Arts Center is pleased to announce its first-time ever art book sale! This event is a fundraiser for the center and an opportunity for the community to meet and mingle over the love of books and art.
Idea Lounge
Wednesday, June 28th
6:30-8:00pm
Join us for an Idea Lounge conversation with Lisa Lightman and Karleen Arnink-Pate. Come for drinks and mingling at 6:30pm, and enjoy the program from 7:00-8:00pm.
Art Exchange
Thursday, May 11, 2023
5:30 - 6:30pm
“Understanding the Intricacies of Framing Your Artwork”
With Hamish Hafter of The Edge Gallery
Idea Lounge
Wednesday, May 24th
6:30-8:00pm
Join us for an Idea Lounge conversation with Sara Downing and Amy Atchley. Come for drinks and mingling at 6:30pm, and enjoy the program from 7:00-8:00pm.
“Auto-Mobility”
PAC is now accepting submissions for the Auto-Mobility Show which runs from May 18th to June 24th.
Idea Lounge
Wednesday, April 26th
6:30-8:00pm
Join us for an Idea Lounge conversation with Anne Digges and Stacey Earl. Come for drinks and mingling at 6:30pm, and enjoy the program from 7:00-8:00pm.
Opening Reception: Youth Arts Exhibition
Thursday, March 23 at 5:30pm
Join us for the Opening Reception of ART CONNECTS US: Youth Arts Exhibition
“Petaluma Collects” Discussion Panel
Why Do We Collect Things: A Panel Discussion
Saturday, March 11, 1-2:30pm
Special curator's tour to follow panel discussion.
Art Exchange: Creating digital Fine Art prints of your Artwork
with Bill Kane, co-founder of Digital Grange
FREE for Artist Members, $10 General
CALL FOR ART - Youth Art Show "ART Connects Us"
PAC is now accepting submissions for the 2023 Youth Art Show.
Wine Label Auction Series
PAC's 15th Anniversary Wine Label Series - June’s label is "Rebirth" by Sabrina Campbell.
Original art & bottle of wine with custom label, signed by the artist.
Bidding open now!
Opening Reception - Petaluma Collects
Plus works by Marilyn Dizikes & Kris Ekstrand in the North Gallery
Thursday January 19, 5:30-7:30pm
Join us for the opening reception for Petaluma Collects.
FREE
Art & Flowers Subscription
Flower arrangements inspired by PAC exhibitions!
Every eight weeks The Petaluma Arts Center opens a new exhibition. Subscribe and with each show receive an exciting bouquet inspired by the art on display.
Idea Lounge
Wednesday, March 22nd
6:30-8:00pm
Join us for an Idea Lounge conversation with Kary Hess and Kevin Jones. Come for drinks and mingling at 6:30pm, and enjoy the program from 7:00-8:00pm.
CALL FOR COLLECTIONS
CALL FOR COLLECTIONS
Every collection tells a story. Petaluma Collects is an exhibition about what members of our community collect.
We are looking for submissions of personal collections to display and share from our community.
CALL FOR ART - Members Only
PAC invites all members to submit work for a 15th anniversary wine label series at Barber Cellars. 12 winners will be chosen, and unique wine labels printed at Barber Cellars.
Members Exhibition 2022 - Opening Reception
Join us for the opening reception of the 2022 Members Exhibition
November 17, 5:30-7:30pm
FREE
Art of Color Workshop
This workshop is intended to help anyone interested to understand how color affects our lives, our moods, and our decisions.
All ages welcome!
1000 Bowls Decorating Party
1000 Bowls Decorating Party
Saturday, November 5, 2022
1:00-3:00 pm
Join PAC and Petaluma People Services Center,
1,000 Petaluma Bowls, directly supports PPSC programs that bring healthy meals to our community’s most vulnerable and food insecure individual.
VTS at Petaluma Senior Center
Experience VTS at the Petaluma Senior Center!
Last Wednesday of every month at 12:30pm
FREE. All welcome.
Call for Art - Members Exhibition 2022
CALL FOR ART - Members Exhibition 2022
Calling all local artists and makers! It's that time of year again for the Petaluma Arts Center Members Exhibition. This annual exhibition showcases the growing community of artists who are members of PAC and shares their collective creative spirit and work with the wider community.
Call for Art: Bus Shelter Project
Call for Art: Bus Shelter Project
All Petaluma students are invited to submit their work.
Community Tasting
Showcasing local food products and the artisans who create them! At Hotel Petaluma.
Panel Discussion with Local Farmers
Suzanne Grady (Petaluma Bounty), Aaron Gilliam (Sweetgrass Grazing) and Sarah Keiser (Wild Oat Hollow) discuss our region's agricultural roots, present identity and future priorities around food, culture, economy and the environment.
Lexicon of Sustainability
Douglas Gayeton and Laura Howard-Gayeton discuss three short films from the Lexicon of Sustainability
Agri-CULTURED in the News!
Agri-CULTURED on the cover of Bohemian and in the Argus-Courier
SERIES OF EVENTS FOR Agri-CULTURED
Poetry Reading, Lexicon of Sustainability, Panel Discussion with Local Farmers, Architectural Walking Tour, Community Tasting
PAC Artist Membership
ARTIST MEMBERSHIPS OFFER GREAT BENEFITS
Consider a PAC Artist Membership and gets mixers, a directory and a classroom!
OPENING RECEPTION
Opening Reception
AUGUST 11, 2022 5:30-7:30pm
Agri-CULTURED explores the food roots of Sonoma County - past, present and future, through the lenses of Environment, Culture and Economy.
The Idea Lounge
Wednesday, October 26
6:30 - 8:00pm
ART- Edwin Hamilton - Stonemad: Ruminations on a 38-year Journey with Stone
LIFE- Joe Kinyon - Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mapping our Reach
We're Recruiting VTS Guides. Join us!
We're Recruiting VTS Guides. Join us!
Whether it's a heartwarming comment by a first grader - "I can feel my brain!" - or a non-verbal memory care patient who smiled and said the words "like" and "texture", astounding her caregiver, every session offers something new. As one of our Guides said, "After welcoming these classes of students and hearing what they say, I feel like there is still good in the world".
Recent Works by David Brunhofer & Lisa Lightman
Recent Works by David Brunhofer & Lisa Lightman
In the small gallery through July 23
Curated by Carin Jacobs
Common Threads: Art & Fiber plus Recent Works by David Brunhofer and Lisa Lightman Opening Reception
Common Threads: Art & Fiber
June 11 - July 23, 2022 Opening Reception June 11 5:30-7:30pm
A Night Out at PAC
We're having a party! Join us for a summer solstice fundraiser as we celebrate the arts and Petaluma's creative community.
Welcome Lance Kuehne, New Operations Manager
Welcome Lance, our new Operations Manager! He co-founded the Riverfront Art Gallery which was voted the "Best Gallery in Sonoma County" by the readers of The Bohemian, and "Petaluma's People Choice" by the readers of the Argus-Courier.
New Perk for Artist Membership
PAC is extending a new perk to our Artist Members of 8 hours free usage of the PAC classroom!
“Art Connects Us” Opening Reception
“Art Connects Us” Opening Reception
Thursday April 14 @ 5:30pm
Youth Art Exhibition 2022
“Integrating Practice” Closing Reception
“Integrating Practice” Closing Reception
Saturday, March 19, 2022
5:00 PM 7:00 PM
Join us for the closing reception for Integrating Practice
The Idea Lounge
April Idea Lounge with Natalie Vinueza and Alfie Turnshek
April 27 @ 6:30pm
Tickets available now
Art Exchange
Thursday, October 27, 2022
5:30 - 7:30pm
“How to Create a Website For Your Art.” with Lance Kuehne
“Integrating Practice” Panel Discussion
“Integrating Practice” Panel Discussion
Saturday, March 5, 2022
5:30 PM 7:00 PM
Join artists from the exhibition as they reflect on their teaching careers and pride of place in the North Bay.
PAC in the News
PAC in the News! Thought Experiments and more.
Read the three recent articles in the Argus Courier.
Thought Experiment
PAC has started a series of Thought Experiments designed to engage our community in thinking about place and about the arts. The questions rotate every quarter.
Our current Thought Experiment is: "What are three special places that should be on any map of Petaluma?"
Click here to share your reflections with us.
PAC in the Argus
A wonderful article in the Argus Courier about our Integrating Practice exhibition
The Idea Lounge Returns
Join us for the first Idea Lounge of 2022. With David Templeton & Karen Petersen
February 23 @ 6:30pm
Tickets available now
Bohemian Article About Idea Lounge
“Essential Pairing—Petaluma’s Idea Lounge Brings Together Life and Art” By Michael Giotis
A great article about PAC’s Idea Lounge!
Holiday Shopping at PAC
PAC is your one-stop shop for all your holiday gifts! Shop local and support the arts.
The Boutique - find unique hand-made accessories, objects d’art, and more!
Art-To-Go Wall- Select a small work of art from the wall.
Members Exhibition - All works of art are for sale at the PAC Members Exhibition.
PAC Membership - Don’t forget, a membership to PAC makes a creative holiday gift.
Giving Tuesday
We are excited to reveal our new “Support PAC” pages on our website. There are so many ways to offer your support, and now they are all at your fingertips!
PAC Members Exhibition
This year, the Members Exhibition includes performing and literary artists! Every Saturday throughout the exhibition, guests will be treated to an extra spark of creativity. Click here for the schedule of performances.
New Board Member: Irma Vega Bijou
Irma is a Californian, born in San Diego, and has lived both in Mexico and the United States. This heritage goes back to the late 19th century with family roots in both countries, owning ranches in Sonora Mexico and citrus ranches in Orange County.
UnPACking Art
Gather in small groups to view selected artwork; comments and discussion ensue, based on 3 questions: What's going on in this picture? What do you see that makes you say that? What more can we find?
PAC in the Bohemian
If there is one common thread that crosses ideological, cultural and political lines in this time of Covid, it’s that art heals. Streaming services subscriptions surged as the pandemic took hold last year. Fans of theater and live music tentatively reserved tickets for shows and crossed their fingers that the events would actually happen. Social media is awash with people creating and sharing for the first time.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at PAC
The Petaluma Arts Center (PAC) acknowledges there are influential elements within political, cultural, and economic systems that grant access and recognition unequally. This can result in limited representation of diverse community members. As a community arts center, we resolve to create a space where people feel a sense of belonging, of feeling seen, heard, and understood.
When Form Meets Function
Petaluma’s Argus Courier digs into PAC’s new exhibition By Hand: Makers Among Us, exploring the kinds of questions that inspired the show.
“What is art? What part does beauty play in our definition of art? When does a maker of beautiful things — even things not generally displayed in an art gallery — earn the right to be called an artist?”
The Idea Lounge Returns
Idea Lounge is a traveling series of unexpected conversational pairings rooted in Petaluma. It may pop up in an old barn, in a bookstore, in a gallery, in a distillery or in any number of other unique spaces interested in the generation of creative capital. A movable feast of thought experiments, Idea Lounge pairs two unlikely speakers musing on unrelated topics, then invites the audience to uncover unexpected connections through questions and continued conversation.
By Hand: Makers Among Us
August 14 - September 18, 2021. By Hand: Makers Among Us will look at the work of Petaluma creatives whose craft may be seen as tangential to the fine art world. In an effort to expand our definition and perception of the arts, we shine a light on these makers from our local community.
PAC voted Best Art Gallery
Petaluma Arts Center has been voted Best Art Gallery in the 2021 Petaluma People’s Choice Awards. Thank you to our wonderful local community for voting for PAC, and thank you to Petaluma Argus-Courier and Petaluma 360 for hosting the annual People’s Choice Awards.
Argus-Courier Interviews PAC ED
The Petaluma Argus-Courier interviewed new PAC Executive Director Carin Jacobs to learn more about Jacobs’s journey to the role, and about her present and future goals for PAC.
The Gallery Boutique seeks Member Artists
The Gallery Boutique features high quality and affordable ceramics, jewelry, textiles and note cards created by Petaluma Arts Center member artists. With our reopening August 14th, PAC seeks member artists work to fill the Boutique and Art “To Go” wall.
PAC Welcomes Carin Jacobs as Executive Director
The Board of Directors of the Petaluma Arts Center is pleased to announce that the long vacant position of Executive Director has been filled by veteran arts administrator and supporter Carin Jacobs. Carin brings her experience, wisdom, and vision to help lead us forward as we continue to define the PAC as Petaluma’s artistic and cultural hub, and as we continue our mission of building our community’s creative capacity.
Undertakes to Answer
LGBTQIA+ Artists (and Allies) of the U.S. West + East
[Carol Ceres and her circle]
June 5 - July 10, 2021
ACT: Climate Action Now - “Climate Action Adds Up”
Petaluma Arts Center is proud to present the next chapter in our community outreach program DEEDS: Art As Action, entitled ACT: Climate Action Now. In collaboration with 350 Petaluma, and in celebration of Earth Day, April 22nd, 2021, PAC will host the multi-day program“Climate Action Adds Up!”
Pianos of Petaluma
Petaluma River Promenade presents Pianos of Petaluma, the annual exhibition of Petaluma’s own artist-painted street pianos. Pianos of Petaluma has been showcasing a collection of these well known works of musical public art for the past decade, and this year’s exhibit finds its way to the Petaluma Arts Center main gallery beginning April 1st, 2021, with almost 30 hand-painted pianos to view and play.
Members Exhibition 2020/2021
For more than a decade Petaluma Arts Center has hosted the annual Members Exhibition show. Members of Petaluma Arts Center are asked to create one piece for the collection, untethered by theme, resulting in a wide variety of works, artistic mediums, and spotlighting the abundant artistic talent in our area. For the first time, with over fifty pieces in the collection, the 2020/2021 Members Exhibition will exhibit online. Although the show has been installed in the main gallery at PAC, with the county temporary closure visitors local and farther afield will still be able to tour this prolific collection.
Celebrating Family: Black History Month 2021
In honor of national Black History Month, Petaluma Blacks for Community Development (PBCD) and Paige Green Photography have co-created the exhibit Celebrating Family. The show features over 70 black and white portraits of diverse Petaluma families, who each share what “family” means to them. Over 46 storefronts in downtown Petaluma are displaying the portraits from January 29th to March 15th, 2021.
Petaluma Loves Art: Auction + Stories
The Petaluma Arts Center presents our inaugural Petaluma Loves Art: Auction + Stories fundraiser. On December 1st – 7th, we will host an online silent auction, including over 25 stunning works of art donated generously by local collectors and artists. Add to your collection or purchase a special holiday gift while knowing your purchase is supporting the arts in Sonoma County!
Hidden Petaluma
The Petaluma Arts Center, in collaboration with the Petaluma Public Art Committee, presents Paint Petaluma: Hidden Petaluma. Twenty-five Sonoma County artists reflect on the hidden aspects of this wonderful city.