CANCELLED | Making Ornament Art with Cydney Miller
CANCELLED | Making Ornament Art with Cydney Miller

Enjoy a relaxing afternoon making two different style ornaments with artist and instructor Cydney Miller! Get in the holiday spirit and learn how to collage gold and silver leaf ornaments and then try your hand at elegant origami cranes and butterflies with festive specialty papers and decorative accents. Create one-of-a-kind holiday gifts or keep them up year-round as beautiful wall hangings! Class participants will make two of each style ornament, taking home four works of art in total.

Class registration fee is $35 and includes all required supplies and materials. Suitable for students ages 12 (with supervision) to adult, limited to 12 participants.

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Ruben MislangCydney Miller, Ornaments, Art Class, Origami
December 4th | Holiday Marketplace
December 4th | Holiday Marketplace

Join us at the Wildling Museum as we kick off the holiday season with our 11th Annual Holiday Marketplace! We look forward to welcoming you back to this favorite museum tradition on Sunday, December 4th, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mark your calendars for this not-to-be-missed shopping event!

Enjoy one-of-a-kind shopping featuring talented local artisans and unique gifts that celebrate wildlife, nature, and the outdoors.

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangHoliday Marketplace, Holidays
November 6th | Gallery Talk & Book Signing with Hilary Baker
November 6th | Gallery Talk & Book Signing with Hilary Baker

Join us for a special gallery walkthrough of the Wildling Museum’s new fall exhibition Wildlife on the Edge led by artist Hilary Baker on Sunday, November 6th, 3 - 4 p.m. Learn more about the inspiration for her ongoing Predators series and enjoy the opportunity to hear firsthand stories behind the works on view.

Following the gallery talk will be a book signing of Baker’s recently published book Hilary Baker: Predators and Other L.A. Stories (2021)

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangHilary Baker, Gallery Talk, Artist Talk
October 20th | Dan Gerber: The End of Michelangelo
October 20th | Dan Gerber: The End of Michelangelo

Join the Wildling Museum for a special poetry reading on Thursday, October 20th, 5:30 - 7 p.m. by Santa Ynez Valley-based poet Dan Gerber as we celebrate the release of his new collection, The End of Michelangelo.

Reading the poetry of Dan Gerber, we are summoned to this larger truth: Though we live in fraught times, on the tipping point of human self-destruction, we and our planet are still very much alive. General admission is $10.00. Current Wildling Museum member admission is $5.00. Seating is limited - advance registration is highly encouraged.

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangPoetry, Spoken Word, Daniel Gerber, Dan Gerber
Fire & Ice: Our Changing Landscape
Fire & Ice: Our Changing Landscape

April 9 - September 26, 2022

First Floor Main Gallery

The Wildling Museum is pleased to announce Fire & Ice: Our Changing Landscape, on view April 9 - September 26, 2022, featuring a wide diversity of artwork, including video installations, photography, paintings, mixed media, and more, illustrating aspects of fire and ice.

While aesthetically appealing, these dramatic visuals also invite conversations about how increasingly frequent and severe fires are altering our landscape, particularly in the Western United States. Equally concerning is the retreat of glaciers and shrinking snowpack, and warming permafrost in our colder climes. Also included in the exhibition is “Letters to the Future,” an on-site installation by artist Xavier Cortada of the University of Miami, which invites visitors to write down their own efforts to help mitigate climate change.

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Past ExhibitRuben MislangClimate Change, Fire and Ice, Environmental Alliance of Santa Barbara County Museums, Environment, David Paul Bayles, Xavier Cortada, Zaria Forman, Amiko Matsuo, Anna McKee, Ethan Turpin, The Environment Makers, Suze Woolf
September 15th | The Magnitude of the Problem: Wildfire in Beloved Places
September 15th | The Magnitude of the Problem: Wildfire in Beloved Places

Join us via Zoom on Thursday, September 15th, 4 - 5 p.m. for a virtual presentation with Suze Woolf, artist, and Lorena Williams, author and former wildland firefighter, as they discuss their work featured in the Wildling’s current exhibition, Fire & Ice: Our Changing Landscape, and wildfire in general.

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangClimate Change, Fire and Ice, Forest Fires, Lorena Williams, Suze Woolf
Corazón del Pueblo: Nuestra Lotería
Corazón del Pueblo: Nuestra Lotería

June 30 - September 4, 2022

Second Floor Valley Oak Gallery

The Wildling Museum is excited to be exhibiting a selection of climate and community-focused works from Corazón del Pueblo, a cultural and creative arts center based in the Santa Maria Valley.

​These works were created in 2021 as part of a collaboration with the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District. Corazón del Pueblo worked with Ethnic & Gender Studies (EGS) teachers to develop and implement a rigorous art project involving students from Santa Maria, Pioneer Valley, and Ernest Righetti High Schools.

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Community Exhibits, Past ExhibitRuben MislangCommunity, Corazon del Pueblo, Santa Maria
Recent Acquisitions
Recent Acquisitions

March 4 - September 4, 2022

Second Floor Valley Oak Gallery

The Wildling Museum’s focus is to inspire a conservation ethic by bringing art and nature together through our collection and exhibitions. While the Wildling’s permanent collection includes 145 pieces, the artworks highlighted in Recent Acquisitions represent the newest additions to the collection, all acquired in the last five years. Collectively, they highlight our institution’s efforts to represent art or artists of our region, as well as broader California and its environment.

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Past ExhibitRuben MislangPermanent Collection
Featured Local Artist | Debbie MacInnis
Featured Local Artist | Debbie MacInnis

Enjoy new eco-printed and natural material artworks created by Santa Barbara-based artist Debbie MacInnis in the Wildling Museum Store from August 2022 - January 2023!

More than 15 framed eco-prints and cacti artworks are now available, along with a variety of eco-printed scarves, greeting cards, and mousepads. Explore works in person during your next visit, or browse available inventory in our online store.

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangFeatured Local Artist, Museum Store, Debbie MacInnis
June 15th | Following Fire: Documenting a Forest's Uncertain Future
June 15th | Following Fire: Documenting a Forest's Uncertain Future

Join the Wildling Museum on Wednesday, June 15, 5 - 6 p.m. for a special Zoom presentation by current exhibiting photographer David Paul Bayles and ecosystem scientist Fred Swanson as they share more about their work together, which weaves a complex story of forest resilience – retention of carbon, nutrients, and abundant life – countered by the challenges posed by a legacy of land use in an age of climate uncertainty.

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangDavid Paul Bayles, Fredrick J. Swanson, Forest Fires, Climate Change
Spring - Summer Featured Local Artist | Holly Hungett
Spring - Summer Featured Local Artist | Holly Hungett

This spring and summer, enjoy new plein air works by featured local Santa Barbara-based artist Holly Hungett in the Wildling Museum Store! More than 15 framed paintings showcasing local coastlines, landscapes, and skylines are now available. Explore works in person or view available inventory in our online store.

Join us for a special meet and greet with Holly Hungett on Sunday, May 22 from 2 - 4 p.m., where she'll be at the Wildling Store to share more about her work.

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangHolly Hungett, Featured Local Artist, Museum Store, Plein Air Painting
Poetry Competition | Climate Change: Our Impact
Poetry Competition | Climate Change: Our Impact

The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature is pleased to announce its 2022 poetry competition, Climate Change: Our Impact. The competition is a celebration of Earth Day, and will culminate in a celebration hosted by Community Environmental Council (CEC) taking place on Saturday, April 23, 2022 at the Arlington Theatre in Santa Barbara. This competition is intended to highlight the importance of standing up to protect the planet’s dwindling natural resources and working against the threats of climate change.

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Past Programs/EventsRuben MislangPoetry, Earth Day, Climate Change, Community
Sharing the Light: Ansel Adams & Alan Ross
Sharing the Light: Ansel Adams & Alan Ross

September 25, 2021 - March 20, 2022

First Floor Main Gallery

The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature is pleased to announce Sharing the Light: Ansel Adams & Alan Ross, on view September 25, 2021 - March 20, 2022 in the Wildling Museum’s main gallery. The exhibition will explore the American West through the lenses of both Ansel Adams and Alan Ross, and also includes selections from Ross’ international photography projects. The Wildling Museum’s exhibition marks the first institutional show dedicated to the two photographers’ works.

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Past ExhibitRuben MislangAnsel Adams, Alan Ross, Photography, Landscape Photography
Close to Home, Three Printmakers
Close to Home, Three Printmakers

October 9, 2021 - February 28, 2022

Second Floor Valley Oak Gallery

The Wildling Museum is pleased to announce its upcoming Valley Oak Gallery exhibition, Close to Home, Three Printmakers, featuring artists Claudia Borfiga, Karen Schroeder, and Sara Woodburn, on view October 9, 2021 - February 28, 2022.

The works of Borfiga, Schroeder, and Woodburn center on a recurring theme of nature as a place of solace and beauty where growth and change can seem intimate or expansive. Layers of color, pattern, and printmaking are the dialogue these artists use to share stories of Earth. They value natural areas and seek to bring inspiration to the viewer.

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Past ExhibitRuben MislangClaudia Borfiga, Karen Schroeder, Sara Woodburn, Printmaking