Op, Kinetic, and Participatory Art at Mid-Century Art historian Alexander Alberro explores the development of a research-based artistic practice that fused abstract art with mathematics, science, and technology in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The stated goal of the artists involved was to demystify the creative process in favor of an objective investigation of …

SBMA and Opera Santa Barbara partner to present a season's sampling of art and music with a pop-up performance in the Museum's galleries. In September, enjoy a repertoire of music from around the globe, inspired by SBMA’s current exhibition Going Global: Abstract Art at Mid-Century. Free!

Art Matters Lecture with Chris Hallett, Ph.D. Professor of Roman Art with the Department of History of Art, University of California, Berkeley Julius Caesar spent a vast amount of money on building projects in the late 50s and early 40s BC, constructing an extension to the Roman Forum, a great Basilica in the Forum itself, …

Parallel Stories with Patricio Ferrari and Forest Gander. Polyglot poet, translator and literary editor Patricio Ferrari, is joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, novelist and essayist, Forest Gander in a conversation about poetry, translation, the loss of linguistic diversity, and the lyric passion of pure sound. $5 SBMA Members $10 Non-Members

Writers of all levels are invited to participate in this informal exploration of the Museum’s galleries as an impetus to writing. Monthly sessions are led by a visiting writer who begins with a conversation and prompt, partially inspired by works on view. Participants write on their own, then reconvene to share and comment on each …