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Thursday 11am - 5pm Friday 11am - 5pm Saturday 11am - 5pm Sunday 11am - 5pm

Museum of Northern California Art (monca)

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Chico, CA
Museum of Northern California Art (monca)

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The Museum of Northern California Art is a collection of Northern California art in Chico, CA

11/02/2026

On view November 5th to 15th: Colores De Unidad!

Colores de Unidad is presented by and . This exhibition brings together works from ten local artists of different backgrounds to explore death and celebrate life, in commemoration of Dia de los Mu***os. This exhibition seeks to showcase a diverse range of perspectives on how we honor those who have passed and how we find beauty in the transition between life and memory.

Visit these exciting and relevant works at monca from November 5th to 15th, from 11am-5pm.

10/29/2026

🎼 Upcoming concert alert! On November 14th, monca presents an evening of unique sound with Adam Del Monte, an internationally acclaimed flamenco guitarist and Hollywood session musician. Del Monte integrates years of traditional and leading-edge flamenco training, with an eclectic awareness of jazz, world music and other contemporary forms that offers audiences an inspiring experience.

🎵 Del Monte trained with such famed performers as Pepe “Habichuela”, Paco Cortez, Nino Miguel & Gerardo Nunez, with additional training in classical guitar at Chethams School of Music and at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, England.

🎶 Over the course of his career, Del Monte recorded “Avner’s Theme” by film composer John Williams for the soundtrack CD of the motion picture “Munich” by Steven Spielberg. Other film credits include featured participations in Films such as Knight and Day with Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz and Mr and Mrs. Smith with Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, music by John Powell, and Toy Story 3, music by Randy Newman.

🌟 The show runs from 7:00-9:00pm. Doors open at 6:30pm.

🎟 Tickets are available on our website or at the link in bio.

10/27/2026

✏Attention artists! On Friday, November 6th from 6-8pm, monca will host Drawn to the Museum, an evening of live figure drawing with artist . Come hone your eye through a medium of your choosing, be it pencil, charcoal, or even digital drawing!

Each pose features a dynamic mix of quick gesture drawings, ranging from 1- to 5-minute poses to capture movement and energy, followed by longer 10- to 15-minute poses for more detailed study.

This drawing session will be supervised but non-instructional. The artist will, however, be happy to offer basic guidance and answer questions during the session. To make this drawing session cost-effective, please bring your own art materials (dry mediums or tablets). No paints or inks at this time.

Tickets are available on monca.org or at the link in bio.

NOTE: This is an 18+ event as models will be n**e, in keeping with traditional figure drawing practices.

10/19/2026

On Friday, October 23rd from 6-8pm the Junior Board will be hosting Cocktails & Conversations, an opportunity to connect with fellow local artists and art lovers while delving into our current exhibitions, Alternate Visions and Unforgotten Stories! Come by for a beverage and find inspiration in some of the wonderful works we have on view.

This event is a fundraiser for monca, with 100% percent of the proceeds going to support continuing educational and cultural events at the museum.

10/15/2026

👻 Join us for a spooktacular Samhain Celebration and Fundraiser on Saturday, October 24th!

🍃Samhain (pronounced SOW-en) is a traditional Gaelic festival honoring the end of the harvest season and welcoming winter. We will celebrate the transition between seasons with traditional Celtic music and storytelling.

🎻 The evening will be hosted by Steve Swim and will feature performances by the Celtic Knights of the Sea and Corrib, followed by headliner Eamonn Flynn and Dublinesque.

Doors open at 6:30 PM, with music beginning at 7:00 PM.

No-host bar will be available. All proceeds from this event will go toward monca, helping us continue to foster community and creativity in the Northstate. Scan the QR code or visit our website for more information.

10/14/2026

Celebrate the cooler temperatures and join us this Sunday, October 18th for a tea blending workshop with !

Bring a gently loved book that you're ready to pass along, and spend the afternoon crafting a signature loose-leaf tea inspired by its story, characters, setting, or mood. You'll create a blend that captures its essence using a wide selection of premium herbs, roots, botanicals, and tea leaves.

At the end of the workshop, all of the books and tea blends are placed together for a community swap! You'll head home with new reading material and a cozy new tea blend to accompany it.
Workshop runs from 1-3PM. Tickets are available through Lagom Infusions at https://www.lagominfusions.com/shop/p/tea-book-swap

10/11/2026

🖼️🎨👀 Come with me on a Sunday art walk to the Museum of Northern California Art! Who knows what we’ll discover.

🗓️ Take your own art walk and visit monca from 11am -5pm today! Maybe you’ll even find a new favorite piece.

All works shown are from our current exhibitions, “Altered Visions” and “Unforgotten Stories: A Q***r Anthology for Our Collective Memory”.

10/06/2026

Looking for a fun way to get involved with the arts? Join the monca volunteer program!

We're hosting a drop-in orientation this Saturday, October 10th at 10 AM. No registration is required— just show up! We'll have some fun museum trivia, a primer on monca's history, and a brief overview of our operations. Once you've gotten oriented, our committed volunteers are eligible for special perks like museum merch, appreciation events, and more.

Can't make it this time? No worries— we'll be hosting orientation events on the 2nd Saturday of each month.

09/29/2026

🌈 🔭 monca invites you to join us at an opening reception for "Alternate Visions" and "Unforgotten Stories: A Q***r Anthology for Our Collective Memory" on Friday, October 2nd from 6 PM to 8 PM.

Admission to the opening reception is free. No-host bar will be available.

➡ "Alternate Visions" includes works by John Angell, Joseph Bellacera, Paula Bellacera, Valerie Birkhoff, June Daskalakis, and Dwight Head. This show presents a examination of color, space and time. Uniting the work is an underlying sense of humor, varying doses of surrealism and a commitment to an alternate view of the world around us.

➡ "Unforgotten Stories" is hosted by hosted by the Stonewall Alliance Center of Chico and features art works from our LGBTQ+ community highlighting their stories, their ancestors' stories, and their communities' stories, co-creating a Q***r anthology.

Unforgotten Stories will be on view from October 2 - November 1, 2026.

Alternate Visions will be on view October 1 - November 15, 2026.

09/29/2026

Put your best foot forward this October!

Join instructor Ray Hayes at monca for a monthlong series of dance workshops focused on salsa, bachata, and West Coast swing. Two left feet are welcome!

Classes take place every week on Thursday evenings starting at 6:30pm. Follow the QR code or check our website for information on classes, pricing, and more.

Address

900 Esplanade
Chico, CA
95926

Opening Hours

Thursday	11am - 5pm
Friday	11am - 5pm
Saturday	11am - 5pm
Sunday	11am - 5pm

Telephone

+15304877272

Website

http://www.monca.org/donate/

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