Explore the adventurous terrain of the MAH's biennial arts festival.
Focused on temporary and performative public art projects in rural, urban, and architectural spaces, the 10-day event features site-responsive installations and interventions across the area’s natural and built environments, connecting people, stories, and landscapes.
CommonGround is a mostly free event. While the majority of works can be visited at no cost, there is a small admission fee to the MAH to view supporting exhibitions and installations.
Visit the CommonGround event page.
The Pyramids
By Jim and Brighton Denevan
Cowell Beach
Sep 13–22 / FREE
Installation Dates: Sep 13–15, 8am-6pm
Sign-up to assist
Watermarks of the Last Chinatown
By Huy Truong, Susana Ruiz, and Karen Tei Yamashita
740 Front Street, Downtown Santa Cruz
Sep 13–22 / FREE
Monuments
By Craig Walsh
Evergreen Cemetery
Sep 13–22, 8–10pm / FREE
Portraits: Luna HighJohn-Bey, Jim Lorenzana, and George Ow, Jr.
Fathoming: Among Whales and Walls
By Angela Willetts
Davenport Jail
Sep 17, 19, 21 / FREE
Sep 17, 7:30–9pm, with guest artist Alicia Escott
Sep 19, 7:30–9pm, with featured artist Angela Willetts
Sep 21, 7:30–9pm, with guest artist Victoria Perenyl
Welcoming Our Relatives: The Kincentricity Garden
With Tribal Chairman Valentin Lopez
Garden Area, MAH
Sep 21, 1–2:30pm / FREE
I Belong Here
By Tavares Strachen
MAH
Aug 23–Dec 29 / $10 Suggested Admission
Young, Gifted and Black:
The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection of Contemporary Art
Solari Gallery, MAH
Aug 23–Dec 29 / $10 Suggested Admission
Of Love and Revelation: Learning Photography from the Land
Art Forum Gallery, MAH
May 24–Sep 29 / $10 Suggested Admission
Rising Tide
M.K. Contemporary Art
Sep 13–29 / FREE
Aug 23, 2024 – Dec 29, 2024
A traveling exhibition that champions an emerging generation of artists of African descent who are exploring identity, politics, and art history as they engage with the work of their predecessors across various media.
May 24, 2024 – Sep 29, 2024
An exhibition of contemporary photographic experiments reveal our entanglements with landscape, the power of arts pedagogy, and the trouble of settler colonialism.
Help fuel a strong and resilient MAH by becoming a MAH member or making a donation. Your contribution directly supports the future of the museum and connecting our community through art, history, and culture.