Nature Takes the Wheel marks the Wildling Museum’s first public art initiative in collaboration with the City of Buellton Arts and Culture Committee. The installation features more than 55 upcycled hubcaps on view now at the Santa Ynez Valley Botanic Garden and on display in the Wildling Museum’s windows through October 31, 2020.
Read MoreHelp us celebrate 20 years of art and nature! Grab a glass of something delicious and join our first ever online fundraising event on Friday, October 16, 2020, 5 - 6 p.m.!
Read MoreSeptember 1, 2020 - January 10, 2021
Juried Online Exhibition & Competition
The Wildling Museum of Art and Nature is pleased to present its 11th nature photography competition. Our 2020 competition highlights the native critters that call the Tri-County region home.
Winners from both the adult and youth categories will be displayed in an online exhibition through January 10, 2021.
Read MoreAugust 25, 2020 - February 7, 2021
Juried Online Exhibition in Collaboration with Allan Hancock College
The Wildling Museum is delighted to collaborate with Allan Hancock College this summer featuring highlights from adult education instructor Michael Messina’s photography class. The students’ photography was first intended to be a Barbara Goodall Education Center exhibition, but with the intrusion of Covid-19, it has now evolved into an online Wildling exhibition.
Over the course of the spring semester, Messina’s class persevered online, adapting to Zoom and learning new skills and methods as they completed their course while navigating the pandemic, culminating in this virtual exhibition documenting various scenes of nature and wildlife captured as close as the students’ own backyards, as far as Africa, and as deep as beneath the ocean’s surface.
Read MoreThe Wildling is thrilled to welcome artist Holli Harmon for our next Zoom presentation on Wednesday, August 19, 2020 at 4 p.m. Harmon previously exhibited at the Wildling Museum as part of The River's Journey in 2018 and on July 31st, she opens a new exhibition at Santa Barbara's Sullivan Goss Gallery featuring her most recent body of work, Califia.
We'll talk to Harmon about her artistic process and enjoy an up-close look at her many different techniques, including monoprinting, oil painting, mixed media, and more.
Read MoreJoin us for a spectacular presentation by nature photographer Nic Stover on Tuesday, July 14 at 4 p.m. via Zoom!
Stover, whose work was highlighted in the Wildling Museum’s 2019 Celebrating the National Lands of California exhibition, will lead a discussion about his work capturing California’s Central Coast and beyond, including some of our state’s most iconic parks and landscapes.
Read MoreJoin us for a breathtaking presentation by night sky photographer James Studarus on Wednesday, June 24 at 4 p.m. via Zoom!
Studarus, whose timelapse video footage of the Aurora Borealis is included in our Starry Nights: Visions of the Night Sky exhibition, will lead a discussion about his experiences traveling the northernmost parts of the globe to capture the glow of the Northern Lights across Alaska, Canada, Iceland, Norway, and beyond.
Read MoreApril 4 - December 31, 2020
Tower Gallery & Online Exhibition
Opening concurrently with 20/20: A Retrospective, is the Wildling Museum’s inaugural Tower Gallery exhibition featuring Remembering Bud Bottoms: A Legacy of Art and Activism. The exhibit features sea life sculpture works by the Santa Barbara artist locally-renowned for his iconic Dolphin Family sculpture installed at the base of Stearns Wharf in downtown Santa Barbara.
Read MoreJoin the Wildling for a special Noontime Concert in the galleries with Opera Santa Barbara on Wednesday, March 25, 12 - 1 p.m.
This free concert will feature selections from Opera Santa Barbara’s upcoming production of Charles Gounod’s Romeo & Juliet and will include performances by Opera Santa Barbara’s four Chrisman Studio Artists: Julia Metzler, soprano; Kelly Guerra, mezzo; Chandler Johnson, tenor; and John Allen Nelson, baritone.
Read MoreJoin us for a special presentation on Sunday, March 15, 2020, 3 - 4:30 p.m. by acclaimed equine author and photographer Deborah Kalas as she shares her background and highlights from her new book, The Wild Herd: A Vanishing American Treasure.
Books are available for purchase from the Wildling Museum Store.
Read MoreJoin the Wildling on a day trip in partnership with Buellton Parks and Recreation to visit the incredible Piedras Blancas Lighthouse, see Elephant Seals on the coast, and enjoy stops in the creative towns of Cambria and Harmony on Tuesday, February 11, 2020, 7 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Read MoreJust in time for Valentine’s Day! Join us on Saturday, February 8, 2020 for a unique natural perfume workshop at the Wildling Museum, led by artisan perfumer and owner of Sol Aromatics, Susan Farber, MFT.
Two sessions offered: morning workshop 10 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. or afternoon workshop 2 - 4:30 p.m.
Read MoreJoin the Wildling for a special Noontime Concert in the galleries with Opera Santa Barbara on Wednesday, February 5, 12 - 1 p.m.
This free concert will feature selections from Opera Santa Barbara’s upcoming production of Daniel Catán’s Il Postino and will include performances by Opera Santa Barbara’s four Chrisman Studio Artists: Julia Metzler, soprano; Kelly Guerra, mezzo; Chandler Johnson, tenor; and John Allen Nelson, baritone.
Read MoreFebruary 1, 2020 - January 31, 2021
First Floor Main Gallery
The expanse of the open night sky has served as source of wonder for artists, poets, and scientists across cultures and millennia. Join us in celebrating the awe-inspiring beauty and mystery of the night across a range of media, including nocturne painting and photography, as well as poetry by Dan Gerber.
Read MoreFebruary 6 - May 31, 2020
Third Floor Barbara Goodall Education Center
Inspired in Nature, features photography by 29 Solvang School Yearbook and Media students. The students, grades 7 – 8, were inspired by American transcendentalist writer and philosopher Henry David Thoreau’s quote: “All good things are wild and free.” Students turned their lenses to nature, many finding inspiration in their own backyard with subjects ranging from pets and family members, to local landscapes and sunsets captured in both color and black and white.
Read MoreJoin the Wildling for the closing weekend of Celebrating the Naitonal Lands of California on Sunday, January 19, 2020, 3 - 4:30 p.m. as we sit down with featured exhibition artists Patricia Hedrick, James Hodgson, Alan Sonneman (First Place), and Nancy Yaki (Third Place) for a fascinating panel discussion.
Learn about the artists' individual processes and inspiration, as well as their own personal experiences in California's national lands.
Read MoreThe Wildling Museum of Art and Nature is pleased to announce Holiday Family Day, taking place Saturday, December 7, 2019 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Wildling Museum. Watch the Wildling’s holiday float in Solvang’s annual Julefest Parade at 11 a.m., then visit the museum to meet our parade characters and enjoy an afternoon of special holiday activities suitable for the whole family.
Beginning at 1 p.m. families are invited to stop by for a special meet and greet photo opportunity with the Wildling Snow Queen, courtesy of Parties and Paint by Kate, along with a polar bear. At 1:30 p.m. the Snow Queen will lead a winter-themed story time in the second floor Valley Oak gallery. Then, enjoy family crafts from 2 - 4 p.m. in the Barbara Goodall Education Center.
Read MoreJoin the Wildling on a day trip in partnership with Buellton Parks and Recreation to visit the incredible Descanso Gardens on Tuesday, December 3, 2019, 8 a.m. - 6 p.m.
Experience the wonders of Descanso Gardens, home to North America’s largest camellia collection and many rare and beautiful plants from around the world. Visit the historic Boddy House and view art highlighting the intersection between contemporary arts and sciences in the Sturt Haaga Gallery as you walk the extensive grounds.
Read MoreJoin us at the Wildling as we kick off the holiday season on Sunday, December 1, 2019, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.! Enjoy one-of-a-kind shopping featuring 15 talented local artisans and unique gifts that celebrate wildlife, nature, and the outdoors.
Read MoreNovember 16, 2019 - March 30, 2020
Second Floor Valley Oak Gallery
Enjoy Santa Barbara County & Beyond: Recent Photographic Landscapes By George Rose on view in the Valley Oak Gallery, including new works featured in George Rose’s latest publication, WINE COUNTRY Santa Barbara County.
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