Transformative Currents: Art and Action in the Pacific Ocean examines the historical causes and ongoing effects of the cultural and environmental devastation of the Pacific Ocean and harnesses art’s potential to enact positive ecological change, both planetary and local.
Covering nearly one-third of the earth’s surface, the Pacific Ocean is home to thousands of interconnected peoples, species, and ecosystems—all under threat from climate change, industrial pollution, and overfishing. Works in diverse media by 21 contemporary artists and collaborative teams are organized around the theme of ocean currents, which traverse the Pacific and suggest fluidity, interconnectivity, and collective responsibility. Each project addresses a specific issue affecting the oceanic environment; together, they highlight the interdependency of resources and the impact of local actions on global problems.
At a time when the health of the Pacific Ocean is in a fragile and volatile state, Transformative Currents: Art and Action in the Pacific Ocean unites art, science, and Indigenous knowledge systems to raise awareness and improve coastal conditions. In addition to the Oceanside exhibition, there will be two satellite presentations at the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Costa Mesa and the Crystal Cove Conservancy in Newport Beach.
Pictured: Paul Rosero Contreras, Dark Paradise 2 (Above); Angela Tiatia, Still from Holding On (Below, top); Genevieve Robertson, Sea Lettuce (Below, bottom).
Events and Programs
Join us for exciting events and programs themed and celebrated around Transformative Currents.
Art for All | Sunday, September 1, 2024, 12:00-2:00pm
OMA invites our community to a free, intergenerational art-making experience for all levels. Participants are encouraged to spark inspiration by visiting current exhibitions. Explore different art-making materials through creative projects at each session while learning from local and regional artists. This month we will focus on the Transformative Currents exhibition with featured guest artist Isabel Beavers. Beavers (she/they) is a transdisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles. Through non-linear storytelling their work challenges us to imagine adaptive climate futures–ones that rely on alternative modes of knowing as structures for living.
In this Art For All workshop, participants will make their own nodule sculpture using 3D printed bases, and various treatments like copper leafing, oxidization and paint. Participants will also learn about how polymetallic nodules are created at the bottom of the ocean, and why they are being mined for their metal interiors. Free.
Street Level | Friday, September 20, 2024, 6:00-9:00pm
Taking inspiration from our current exhibitions to transform OMA into a stage for the discovery of performers, DJ’s, culinary entrepreneurs and artists from across the street to all across Southern California. Bring your family, meet new friends, or roll in with your crew. Create your own O’riginal experience at OMA’s biggest social events of the summer.
September’s event highlights themes from the Transformative Currents exhibition, turning our focus to the Pacific Ocean as muse with two Oceanside born and raised acts to close out the season. Singer-songwriter Lea Love’s multi-layered artistry draws from her rich Hawaiian, Japanese, and Samoan heritage. Musical artists We the Commas bring their unique experience and perspective as “beach boy surfers” with a personal mission to break down racial and social constructs. The exhibition curators Cassandra Coblentz and Aaron Katzeman will introduce visitors to the exhibition, exploring art’s potential to enact positive ecological change, both planetary and local. $15 Adults, children under 18 and museum members free. Register here.
Exhibition Celebration | October 5, 2024, 5:00–7:00pm
Join us for an evening of art and drinks as we celebrate the opening of our newest exhibitions: Transformative Currents: Art and Action in the Pacific Ocean and My Intimate Partner. Discover and connect with fellow artists, dedicated curators, and a vibrant community as you explore the art and stories of Southern California artists in three new exhibitions at OMA. Members free, $15 Visitors. Register here.
Off the Wall: Transformative Currents | Thursday, October 17, 2024, 6:00-7:30pm
Off The Wall is a conversation series that brings together community leaders, artists, and curators to engage in discussions about current affairs affecting our region's creative health and well-being, both now and in the future. This series explores the museum's role in uniting art and community to champion culture. Part moderated conversation and part audience participation, every discussion aims to bring art off the walls and into our daily lives.
Featuring the lead curator of Transformative Currents Cassandra Coblentz, exhibition artist Fran Siegel, LA Times environmental reporter Rossana Xia, and OMA’s Director of Exhibitions and Collections Katie Dolgov, this round-table discussion will focus on the intersection of sea level rise and Southern California’s art community, while exploring how science and art can bring awareness and enact change. $15 Visitors, $10 Members, $5 Artist Alliance / Students. Register here.
ART AFTER DARK | Saturday, October 26, 2024, 6:00-10:00pm
Part epic party, part runway show, part costume contest, OMA's biggest 21+ event of the year is back! Inspired by the Transformative Currents exhibition, ART AFTER DARK transforms the museum into a creative hub full of awe-inspiring wearable art costumes, live music, inspired spooky good libations, and the largest costume contest in the region. Early Bird Tickets $225 VIP, $115 Visitors, $95 Members. Register here.
PST:ART Regional Weekends, November 2-3 (South Bay/Orange County/North San Diego) and November 23-24 (San Diego)
PST:ART exhibitions throughout the defined regions will be activated by the artists and curators during the featured weekends.
Art for All | Sunday, November 3, 2024, 12:00-2:00pm (PST Regional Weekend)
OMA invites our community to a free, intergenerational art-making experience for all levels as part of the November 2-3 PST Regional Weekend - South Bay/Orange County/North San Diego. Engage with Transformative Currents collaborating artists L. Frank and Jane Chang Mi. Drawing from their work in the exhibition, múyuki hísh pó’ putíi’un (she will dream many things), L. and Jane will host a workshop making clay sculptures of Tamawumal’s people. The effigies represent Tamawumal’s prayers that she will see her people again when they return to Minar, an offering of healing for Tamawumal, Minar, and the Indigenous peoples of Southern California. Free.
Regional Weekend Workshop | Saturday, November 2, 2024, 12:00-3:00pm (PST Regional Weekend)
OMA invites our community to a free, drop-in art-making experience for all levels as part of the November 2-3 PST Regional Weekend - South Bay/Orange County/North San Diego. Engage with Transformative Currents collaborating artists L. Frank and Jane Chang Mi. This workshop seeks to re-indiginize participants: departing from the museum and taking place at the Pacific Ocean just down the street, participants will build and paddle a sand canoe and consider the ocean as ancestor. Free with admission.
Art for All | Sunday, November 3, 2024, 12:00-2:00pm (PST Regional Weekend)
OMA invites our community to a free, intergenerational art-making experience for all levels as part of the November 2-3 PST Regional Weekend - South Bay/Orange County/North San Diego. Engage with Transformative Currents collaborating artists L. Frank and Jane Chang Mi. Drawing from their work in the exhibition, múyuki hísh pó’ putíi’un (she will dream many things), L. and Jane will host a workshop making clay sculptures of Tamawumal’s people. The effigies represent Tamawumal’s prayers that she will see her people again when they return to Minar, an offering of healing for Tamawumal, Minar, and the Indigenous peoples of Southern California. Free.
Regional Weekend Workshop with Marcos Lutyens | Saturday, November 23, 2024, 12:00-3:00pm
OMA invites our community to a free, drop-in art-making experience for all levels as part of the November 23-24 PST Regional Weekend - San Diego. Engage with Transformative Currents artist Marcos Lutyens on the 23rd. Lutyens’ artwork includes installations, sculptures, drawings, films, writings, and performances. He envisions consciousness to be the sole common denominator of experience in a sea of environmental, social and technological change, and places his artistic efforts at that point of convergence.
In this workshop, participants will be guided through a brief meditation before modeling clay into oceanic forms that they visualize. Free with admission.
Regional Weekend Workshop with Ana Andrade | Sunday, November 24, 2024, 12:00-3:00pm
OMA invites our community to a free, drop-in art-making experience for all levels as part of the November 23-24 PST Regional Weekend - San Diego. Engage with Transformative Currents artist Ana Andrade. Andrade’s work investigates ways to dissolve limits of time and space. She mixes different levels of memories such as macro/micro cosmic, geological, regional, sociocultural, ancestral, and genealogical to create reality-based fictions.
This workshop invites participants to explore and visualize their environment on a microscopic scale. During a 15-minute walk, participants will collect tiny, often invisible fragments from their surroundings. Participants will learn the photomicrographic technique, including how to use 4X and 10X microscope lenses and capture images with a camera attached to the microscope. Some of these images will be printed to create a collaborative photomicrographic map of the walk. This activity will encourage reflection on our bodies, memory, space, and dimensions. Free with admission.
ArtQuest, November, 2024 through January, 2025
ArtQuest enhances fifth-grade learning by integrating the arts into STEAM-focused experiences aligned with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The program turns OMA galleries and museum visits into interactive learning laboratories, allowing students to use art for experimentation, problem-solving, and critical thinking. Welcoming up to 2,500 fifth-grade students from October 2024 to December 2024, this fall's program seeks to create cultural competency around climate change. Contact abigail@oma-online.org for information.
Discovery Art Tours, November, 2024 through January, 2025
This youth program offers teacher-led tours of the Transformative Currents exhibition, and can include a hands-on art project to the field trip experience . Open-ended and exploratory, students learn the tools necessary for looking thoughtfully at art through looking strategies, describing, imagining, and responding. Contact amelia@oma-online.org to learn more and schedule your tour.
Self-Guided Visits, September, 2024 through January, 2025
Visit the museum galleries at your own pace, with your own lesson. Experienced museum educators are available to help plan your self-guided experience. Contact amelia@oma-online.org to learn more and schedule your tour.
Extend your stay when visiting Oceanside Museum of Art!
Visit Oceanside, take advantage of a special discount and extend your stay by the Pacific Ocean while experiencing Transformative Currents: Art and Action in the Pacific Ocean. Immerse yourself in the coastal beauty of Oceanside, which perfectly complements the exhibition's theme. Enjoy a range of activities, from thrilling water sports to delightful dining options. Plus, Oceanside is conveniently located near popular attractions like Legoland, the San Diego Zoo, and more!
EXHIBITING AT OMA
Jake Atienza & Martha Atienza / DAKOgamay in collaboration with GOODLand
AT ORANGE COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART
AT CRYSTAL COVE CONSERVANCY
THANK YOU TO OUR EXHIBITION SPONSORS
Lead Sponsor
Transformative Currents is among more than 70 exhibitions being presented at institutions across Southern California as part of PST ART: Art & Science Collide, presented by Getty. This landmark regional event explores the intersections of art and science, both past and present. For more information about PST ART: Art & Science Collide, please visit: pst.art
Title Sponsors
This project is supported in part by
the National Endowment for the Arts