Press Room

For more information, images or to join the Manetti Shrem Museum's media list, please contact Laura Compton, Communications Director, at llcompton@ucdavis.edu.

April 1, 2024

UC Davis Honors Its Iconic Eggheads and Arts Heritage

Campus Marks 30th Anniversary of Robert Arneson’s Creations With Egghead Merchandise, Museum Display, Special Events

March 28, 2024

Selections From Wayne Thiebaud’s Personal Art Collection Come Home to UC Davis, Honoring Family’s Legacy

Art works by world-renowned 20th century luminaries Willem De Kooning, Richard Diebenkorn, Giorgio Morandi, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso will elevate the Fine Arts Collection at the University of California, Davis, thanks to the generosity of Wayne Thiebaud’s family in carrying on his legacy.

March 7, 2024

Manetti Shrem Museum Announces Four New Advisory Board Members

The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum at the University of California, Davis, has added four new members to its Advisory Board who bring deep experience and a passion for the arts, philanthropy and education. The appointments coincide with the start of the 2023-24 academic year.

February 13, 2024

UC Davis Art Professor Tapped for International Venice Biennale Exhibition

UC Davis art professor Beatriz Cortez has been invited to participate in the prestigious Venice Biennale arts and culture showcase, marking the first time in 40 years a current faculty member has been tapped for the honor.

December 18, 2023

Shiva Ahmadi: Strands of Resilience Opens Jan. 28 at Manetti Shrem Museum

The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at the University of California, Davis, is proud to present Shiva Ahmadi: Strands of Resilience, opening Sunday, Jan. 28. Ahmadi, a professor of art at UC Davis, uses painting as a form of truth-telling, combining luminous colors and mystical beings with violent imagery to draw attention to urgent global issues of migration, war and brutality against marginalized peoples.

Oct. 23, 2023

Manetti Shrem Museum honors Deborah Butterfield, Clint Reilly and gifts of art at annual Fall Gala

The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, at University of California, Davis, celebrated artists, gifts of art and champions of the UC Davis arts legacy at its annual fall gala on Oct. 21, 2023, in Davis, Calif. More than 150 supporters from the worlds of art, philanthropy and academia raised $400,000 for the museum’s mission of free educational programs and exhibitions.

Sept. 19, 2023

Manetti Shrem Museum Mounts Surveys of Deborah Butterfield and Malaquias Montoya Oct. 1

The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at the University of California, Davis, opens its fall season with exhibitions focused on internationally acclaimed sculptor Deborah Butterfield, pioneering Chicano activist artist Malaquias Montoya, and abstract painter Ayanah Moor. The exhibitions start Oct. 1.

August 1, 2023

‘Malaquias Montoya and the Legacies of a Printed Resistance’ Illuminates Multigenerational Quest for Social Justice

The influential printmaking career of activist artist and UC Davis Professor Emeritus Malaquias Montoya will be explored this fall in Malaquias Montoya and the Legacies of a Printed Resistance, opening October 1 at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, at the University of California, Davis.

May 25, 2023

Arts and Humanities Graduate Students’ Work Takes Center Stage With Annual Exhibition

Many universities hold annual Master of Fine Arts exhibitions showing what students have accomplished during their studies. The model is more expansive at the University of California, Davis, showcasing the breadth of work from students in departments across the College of Letters and Science.

April 24, 2023

Now Extended: 'Mike Henderson: Before the Fire, 1965–1985' at the Manetti Shrem Museum

The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at the University of California, Davis, is extending the run of “Mike Henderson: Before the Fire, 1965-1985” to July 15.

February 14, 2023

Maria Manetti Shrem to Receive UC Davis Medal

University of California, Davis, Chancellor Gary S. May announced today (Feb. 14) he will award the 2023 UC Davis Medal, the university’s highest honor, to international arts patron and philanthropist Maria Manetti Shrem.

January 9, 2023

‘Mike Henderson: Before the Fire, 1965-1985’ Opens Jan. 30 at Manetti Shrem Museum

A new exhibition featuring pioneering artist Mike Henderson’s rarely seen contributions to the history of contemporary painting and filmmaking, radical Black politics and to the story of California art opens Jan. 30 at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at the University of California, Davis. This ambitious exhibition, “Mike Henderson: Before the Fire, 1965-1985,” marks Henderson’s first solo U.S. museum exhibition in 20 years. He is a UC Davis professor emeritus of art.

October 24, 2022

Manetti Shrem Museum Honors Artist Mike Henderson at Fall Gala; Announces Fundraising Challenge Gift

The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, at the University of California, Davis, celebrated UC Davis Professor Emeritus Mike Henderson, the museum’s recent recognition for its daring architecture, and a surprise announcement of a $3 million commitment to its endowment fund at its annual gala on Oct. 22, 2022.

August 25, 2022

Manetti Shrem Museum Announces Trio of Vibrant Fall Exhibitions

The Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at the University of California, Davis, announces a fall season that brings together acclaimed artists seeking to define and reclaim identities, histories and visual vocabularies through media ranging from oil paintings and pastel drawings to lithographs. (Download a PDF version of news release here).

June 27, 2022

‘Young, Gifted and Black’ Opens July 28 at UC Davis Manetti Shrem Museum

A wide-ranging exhibition that highlights artists of African descent whose work explores identity, politics and art history makes its West Coast debut July 28 at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, at the University of California, Davis.

May 23, 2022

UC Davis Humanities Graduate Show Shines Light on Excellence from Art to Music to Political Science

University of California, Davis, College of Letters and Science graduate students will share their work with the public again as the multidisciplinary “Arts & Humanities 2022 Graduate Exhibition” returns to the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art in June following two years of virtual exhibitions due to COVID-19.

April 26, 2022

Going, Going ... 'Gong'! Wiley's Interactive Sculpture Is Moving On

After eight years on campus, William T. Wiley’s beloved Gong artwork is being moved to a new public home. The interactive sculpture, created in 1986, made its official campus debut at the ceremonial groundbreaking for the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art in March 2014.

Feb. 4, 2022