UC Merced Arts

10/26/2026

🎶🌿 NO-NO BOY: CONCERT & ARTIST RESIDENCY | NOVEMBER 3–5!
Join UC Merced Arts and C-VIBE Project | Community Voices Inspiring a Better Environment for three days of music, storytelling, creativity, and community with No-No Boy, the acclaimed Smithsonian Folkways project of songwriter, storyteller, and scholar Dr. Julian Saporiti! Dr. Julian Saporiti

Blending original music, historical research, and field recordings, No-No Boy explores histories of immigration, displacement, and resilience, alongside our relationship with the natural world.
In partnership with the UC Climate Action Arts Network (UC CAAN), the C-VIBE Project, and our community partners, we’re excited to offer a series of FREE workshops and campus events, culminating in a special concert at the Merced Theatre!

FULL EVENT SCHEDULE:
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3
10 AM–12 PM | Guided Nature Walk & Creative Workshop
-UC Merced | Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve
-FREE | RSVP Required
2–3:30 PM | Campus Talk: Music, Memory & the Natural World
-UC Merced | Classroom & Office Building 2, Room 392
-FREE | RSVP Required
5:30–7:30 PM | Collective Songwriting Workshop
-Merced Multicultural Arts Center (The MAC)
-FREE | RSVP Required

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4
5:30–6:30 PM | Public Conversation with Dr. Julian Saporiti & UC Merced Faculty in Arts, Humanities, and Sciences
-The Art Kamangar Center at the Merced Theatre
-Concert Ticket Required
7:30 PM | No-No Boy Concert
-The Art Kamangar Center at the Merced Theatre
-Concert Ticket Required

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 5
5:30–7:30 PM | Collective Songwriting Workshop
-Merced Multicultural Arts Center (The MAC)
-FREE | RSVP Required

Register and Learn More through the Link in our Bio!

Space is limited for the free workshops and campus talk, so we encourage you to register in advance! Visit the link in our bio or scan the QR code on the flyer for full details.

This concert and residency are produced in partnership with UC Merced Assistant Professor of Music Patricia Vergara, the C-VIBE Project (Community Voices Inspiring a Better Environment), and the UC Climate Action Arts Network (UC CAAN), with support from UC Merced’s Center for the Humanities.

10/24/2026

Our community ofrenda dedicated to artists and activists is now open at La Galería! 🌼🕯️

We invite our Merced community to bring photos, decorations, or offerings honoring artists and activists who made a lasting impact on your life as we prepare for Día de los Mu***os.

While Día de los Mu***os has deep roots celebrated across Mexico and Latin America, its public, community-centered presence in the United States owes much to Chicano artists and activists. In the 1970s, organizations like East Los Angeles’s Self Help Graphics & Art transformed private, family traditions into large-scale cultural events which used art and community altars to honor heritage, reclaim indigenous roots, and build solidarity. Many of the works in “Permanent Collection: Chicano Prints” were produced at Self Help Graphics, carrying forward a history of printmaking and community engagement.

📍 Visit La Galería to visit the exhibition and our ofrenda during our open hours:
Wed - Sat, 12-6
El Portal 120
Parking in Bellevue lot is $2 on weekdays, and free on Saturdays

10/24/2026

🎨🌼Learn how to carve your own printmaking block to create frames and decor for Día de los Mu***os with La Galería!
Plus, get inspired by the artwork on view in Permanent Collection: Chicano Prints and visit our ofrenda dedicated to artists and activists. 🖼️
All workshop materials will be provided. This workshop is limited to 24 participants. Please RSVP at the link in our bio to attend.

📍October 29
6-8 p.m.
El Portal 120

10/12/2026

🪩 Celebrate the opening of Permanent Collection: Chicano Prints with La Galería at our next Late Night event this Wednesday, October 14th!

🔊 Live DJ set by Third Hour Collective
🎨 Printmaking and art activities
🩵 Free La Galería tote bags to the first 50 guests!

When: 7 - 9PM
Where: La Galería, El Portal 120

10/02/2026

Permanent Collection: Abstractions closes tomorrow, October 3rd at 6pm. Visit La Galería to see these works before it’s too late

Gallery Hours: 12pm - 6pm
El Portal 120

Today we’re featuring the artist behind one of our recent acquisitions:
André Butzer (Stuttgart, Germany b.1973)

German painter André Butzer bridges historical Expressionism with contemporary pop imagery through a self-defined framework he calls “Science Fiction Expressionism.” Operating between total abstraction and figurative motifs, Butzer uses bold color, heavy paint application, and graphic forms to build imaginative worlds beyond our own, lingering between dreams and reality.

[Slide 1: Close up gallery installation image of ‘Untitled’, 2019 by André Butzer.

Slide 2: André Butzer sits underneath a painting of his, installed at Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid. Photo: André Butzer Archive

Slide 3: John Miller’s ‘Untitled’, 2009 (a statue made of a pile found objects, including a plastic knife, coated in gold leaf) sits in the foreground. Behind it, André Butzer’s ‘Untitled’, 2019 can be seen.]

10/02/2026

✨Up next at UC Merced Arts - FLOR DE TOLOACHE!✨

Flor de Toloache, New York City’s groundbreaking all-women mariachi group, brings soaring vocals, fearless musicianship, and a fresh perspective to the Merced Theatre. From NPR Music’s Tiny Desk and the White House to Coachella, Austin City Limits, and the Kennedy Center Honors, Flor de Toloache has emerged as one of the most celebrated groups in contemporary Latin music.

TICKETS - LINK IN BIO
$20 general | $5 student/child | Free for UC Merced & Merced College students with ID.
Save with a Season Flex Pass!

This performance is supported in part by Creative West which receives support in part from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The 2026/27 UC Merced Arts Season is sponsored by UC Merced’s Division of Equity, Justice, & Inclusive Excellence (EJIE), with additional season support from UC Merced’s School of Social Sciences, Humanities, & Arts (SSHA), and generous support from Friends of UC Merced Arts.

09/16/2026

Permanent Collection: Abstractions
Featured Artist: Albert Contreras (1933 - 2017)
▶️Swipe to read more!

Background photo: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times

Contreras first made a name for himself as a Minimalist artist in the 1960s, painting monochromatic canvases featuring a suspended central orb that decreased in size over time until it disappeared altogether.
Despite a nine year residency in Stockholm and sucess in Europe, Contreras stopped painting altogether and moved back to Los Angeles in 1972.

He spent the next 20 years working for the City of Santa Monica as a full time employee, driving garbage trucks and resurfacing asphalt streets.
It wasn’t until 1997, 5 years after retirement, that Contreras decided to begin painting again. Rather than returning to his minimalist compositions, he used bright, shiny colors and thick paint to create sculpture-like abstract paintings.

In these last years, Contreras made over 2,000 paintings in this style. ‘24 untitled works’ was donated to UC Merced in 2006.

Background photo: Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times

Don’t miss ‘24 Untitled Works’ by Albert Contreras at Permanent Collection: Abstractions at La Galería.
On View through October 3rd, 2026
Gallery Hours: Wed - Sat, 12pm - 6pm

09/16/2026

We can't wait to welcome Flor de Toloache to Merced on October 16! Tickets available at https://ucmercedarts.vivenushop.com/event/flor-de-toloache-1xn54a

✨ TOUR ANNOUNCEMENT! ✨
✨NOS VAMOS DE GIRA✨

We’re so excited to share our Fall 2026 Tour with YOU — our amazing fans! ❤️‍🔥🎻

And what better way to kick things off than celebrating Mexican Independence together! 🇲🇽💚🤍❤️ A celebration of our music, culture, roots, and the traditions that continue to inspire Flor de Toloache.

¡Y qué mejor manera de arrancar que celebrando juntas la Independencia de México! 🇲🇽💚🤍❤️

We’re returning to some of our favorite cities, but we can’t visit them all… yet! 👀 Keep your eyes open for more special announcements, our 2027 shows, and a few surprises still under wraps.

Coming to one of these shows? Holler below and tag the friends you’re bringing! It’s going to be a whole VIBE! 💃🏽🎻🔥

Compartan en los comentarios que ciudad quieren que vayamos próximamente. 🔥
Want Flor de Toloache in YOUR city? Drop it in the comments! The cities with the most likes might just land on our “Where to Next?” list. 😉

✨ Plus, two very special double bills:
🇲🇽 Aida Cuevas — Bronx, NY
🌉 Mireya Ramos — San Francisco, CA

🎟️ Tickets + details: scan the QR code!

¡Nos vemos en el camino! 🌹🔥

Mariachi WomenInMariachi Tour2026 LatinMusi

09/10/2026

The Merced Symphony returns to UC Merced on September 24 for our annual Side-by-Side Concert!

Join us on September 24 at 7:30 PM for the opening concert of the UC Merced Arts 2026–27 Season at UC Merced’s Wallace–Dutra Amphitheater. Symphony musicians will perform alongside student musicians from UC Merced and Merced College for a special evening celebrating music, mentorship, and community. Adult tickets start at $20 and tickets are FREE for all students and children!

Open to everyone with free parking in the Bellevue Lot starting at 6pm. Get your tickets through the link in our bio or at arts.ucmerced.edu.

The 2026/27 UC Merced Arts Season is sponsored by UC Merced’s Division of Equity, Justice, & Inclusive Excellence (EJIE), with additional season support from UC Merced’s School of Social Sciences, Humanities, & Arts (SSHA), and generous support from Friends of UC Merced Arts.

[Video Description: A vertical promotional video for the UC Merced Arts Season Opening Celebration with the Merced Symphony. The video shows scenes from a previous outdoor Merced Symphony concert at UC Merced, including the orchestra performing onstage, conductor Ming Luke leading the ensemble, student and professional musicians performing together, and audience members seated on the lawn. On-screen text announces that the Merced Symphony returns to UC Merced for the annual Side-by-Side Concert featuring UC Merced and Merced College students alongside professional musicians, followed by event details for September 24, 2026, at 7:30 PM.]

09/09/2026

La Galería will be closed Thursday, September 10th

Our regular gallery hours resume Friday:
Wednesdays through Saturdays, 12pm to 6pm

🖼️ Do you still want to get inspired by art in the Central Valley tomorrow? While we’re closed, visit Guerrilla Girls: The Art of Behaving Badly - Artist talk and opening reception Fresno State College of Arts and Humanities

📌 Or stay local and visit Fine & Performing Arts for Los Tres: an exhibition inspired by Yehuda Sharim (filmmaker) ‘s documentary film, featuring the work of Frank Ayala, Abel Corchado, and Ruben A. Sanchez

Background artwork:
‘Untitled’ by Gronk. 2014, acrylic on canvas.