Invest In OMA

INVEST IN A BRIGHT FUTURE AT OMA

We can all agree that 2020 has been a challenging year, and yet through it all, we have proven as a community just how resilient we can be. The OMA team worked overtime to offer inspiration during isolation and to find new ways to offer the museum’s programs so you could still experience the delight art has to offer. We’ve even transformed critical educational programs into virtual experiences for the youngest and most vulnerable in our community. As a team, we willingly took some risks and put our hearts into keeping the OMA spirit alive. You responded wholeheartedly by participating and providing support. 

OMA attracts people to the region and offers meaningful ways for them to connect with one another. Those bonds are not only important for community connections, they also provide equally beneficial economic benefits as arts patrons venture to nearby restaurants, shops, and attractions in connection with their museum visit. OMA is centerstage in Oceanside’s designated California Cultural District and a key partner in the City of Oceanside’s cultural master plan—a civic nod to the value the arts play in the life and welfare of a community. Your donation will help us be there as fresh as ever in 2021.   With you, we can do this! Click here to invest in OMA.

Let's use all of the lessons from 2020 to fuel our inspiration for the coming New Year! There is art and there are artists in our region yet to celebrate. Let’s not stop now! We ask that you join us to keep the fun-loving spirit of creativity alive by investing in the OMA community. Our creativity is overflowing with what comes next. Please make your year-end donation and invest in OMA’s sustainability in 2021 so that collectively we can bring our friends and neighbors more inspiration and joy!

Support Art And Artists Through Challenging Times

An integral part of OMA’s mission is supporting local and regional artists. Offering exhibition opportunities and professional development, Artist Alliance connects artists with one another as well as collectors and art lovers. Events like the Biennial Art Auction and Night of the Living Art provides exposure and financial benefits for both established and emerging artists to an even wider audience with virtual and live-streamed programming as well as onsite exhibitions at the museum.

Image: Pinion Queen (detail) by Saki, from Night of the Living Art. Photo by Christyl O’Flaherty.

“I love Oceanside Museum of Art…I joined the Artist Alliance...and a friend from the alliance encouraged me to submit...to the [Night of the Living Art]...As a disabled transgender person, Halloween gave me an opportunity to be anyone I wanted to be, and was often the only time I can wear a respirator mask and still fit in…”

—Sean-Michael Gettys, artist

Image: Oceanside fifth-graders arriving at OMA for an ArtQuest field trip.

“The Literacy Through Art program was so beneficial to the third-grade students in Oceanside...I have a struggling reader in my class who, when he saw the artwork at OMA, he was so excited to be able to talk about his thoughts and to examine the stories in each painting...He just felt so proud of himself!”

Luz Miller, third-grade teacher at Mission Elementary School

Build Connections That Help Young People Thrive

Art has the power to transform lives. Reaching thousands of students annually, our education initiatives tackle some of Oceanside’s most critical needs head on, such as the growing literacy crisis and lack of STEAM teaching methods that connect students with language and next generation science standards. Successfully engaging this year with students and educators through a combination of in-person and digital programs, we are eager to continue playing a vital role in our community to provide young people with the skills necessary to succeed in both school and life.

Make A Positive Economic Impact In The Community

OMA attracts people to the region and offers meaningful ways for them to connect with one another. Those bonds are not only important for community connections, they also provide equally beneficial economic benefits as arts patrons venture to nearby restaurants, shops, and attractions in connection with their museum visit. OMA is centerstage in Oceanside’s designated California Cultural District and a key partner in the City of Oceanside’s cultural master plan—a civic nod to the value the arts play in the life and welfare of a community.

Image: Gallery view of Art Auction 2020.

“[Having my work purchased by the Oceanside Beach Resort hotels] proves commercial value, so needed for the survival of the artist, both mentally and financially...[It] provided a temporary relief to my finances through the pandemic. The timing was perfect.”

—Julia San Román, artist

Image: View of SmallTalk: Hotel Sneak Peek virtual program featuring work by artist Courtney Mattison.

“Thank you for the wonderful job you are doing keeping us connected to art, OMA,
and each other during the pandemic…I’m grateful for everything that OMA brings to me and look forward to us all being together again. ”

—San Hicks, OMA member

Create Community In The Face Of Isolation

In the first weeks of the governor’s Stay-At-Home Order, decisions at OMA were made quickly in an environment that was changing hourly. Waiting it out wasn’t an option as it would have left a critical hole in the social and economic fabric of our community. In response to these challenges, we quickly rallied to reach audiences at home and provide inspiration as well as meaningful and even lighthearted diversion with live-streamed and virtual cultural experiences that helped people cope, reduced anxiety, and alleviated isolation using the healing quality of arts engagement.

Invest In These Transformative Points Of Impact

Why invest in OMA? OMA’s mission as a small 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is to celebrate art through engagement, education, and innovation. The museum’s innovative education initiatives are key to developing the community’s engagement with the arts and providing vital learning experiences for youth. The OMA experience stimulates imagination, presents new ideas, and challenges the familiar in a welcoming environment for those new to art, longtime museumgoers, artists, art students, or simply the curious.

Image: Members, visitors, and artists at the February 15 exhibition reception. Photo by Joe Dusel.

“Everyone at OMA—this really tough time in all our lives has been lightened by your constant dedication to OMA, the arts and the people of our communities. A donation to the museum is the least we could do. We are most grateful for your steadfastness and good deeds. All our love.”

—Alexia and Ray Markarian