The Sausalito Center For The Arts will be temporarily closed until Jan. 8.
During this time, we’ll be conducting essential maintenance to ensure we’re ready for an exciting and eventful 2026.
We look forward to welcoming you back soon!
Drawn from Life is this year’s theme of a curated annual exhibition showcasing figurative painting, drawing, and sculpture by a dynamic group of prominent Bay Area artists. Far from being a relic of the past, this work embodies the living, evolving spirit of the Bay Area Figurative Movement today. These artists are not merely capturing the human form, they are telling contemporary stories, exploring emotion, memory, and meaning through their craft.
Whether inspired by the natural world, live models, or the personal and collective struggles of our time, each artist brings a distinct, expressive voice to their work. Their practice reaches beyond academic precision, emphasizing connection, interpretation, and presence.
This exhibition celebrates a creative tradition that is very much alive—one that continues to grow, adapt, and inspire a passionate community of figurative artists. Drawn from Life honors those deeply committed to working from life, with each featured artist contributing five compelling pieces that affirm the enduring power and relevance of this art form.
Enjoy Haydn and Mozart’s piano works performed as they intended them to be heard — on a Viennese fortepiano.
Fortepianist Daniel Adam Maltz and soprano Jennifer Ellis Kampani present an evening of Classical-era music performed on an original Viennese fortepiano. This intimate concert offers audiences the rare chance to hear Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven as they intended them to be heard.
During the Classical era in Vienna, composers expected their keyboard music to entertain relatively small audiences in smaller-scale spaces than today’s large concert halls. And, the era’s pianos (known as “fortepianos”) are very different from modern Steinways.
Vienna-based fortepianist Daniel Adam Maltz specializes in historically informed performance. Called “the foremost performer in the world of the fortepiano” (Aspen Daily News), he has been praised for imbuing “[Beethoven’s] tenderness, longing, and frustration into the very notes” (Orlando Sentinel), for “lavish but tasteful” playing (Classical Sonoma), and as “a privilege to hear” (Marblehead Current). He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, and performs exclusively on historic Viennese fortepianos.
GRAMMY-nominated soprano Jennifer Ellis Kampani is known for her expressive interpretations of early repertoire. She has appeared at Carnegie Hall and performed with leading ensembles including American Bach Soloists, Apollo’s Fire, Opera Lafayette, and Portland Baroque Orchestra. She lives in Los Angeles and teaches at USC.
Fiber Dimensions brings together a dynamic collective of more than 35 Bay Area artists whose practices expand the very definition of fiber art. Through inventive techniques and bold three-dimensional concepts, these artists transform thread, fabric, and unconventional materials into sculptural works that challenge the line between craft and contemporary art.
Rooted in collaboration and creative exchange, Fiber Dimensions fosters a vibrant community where emerging and established artists alike push boundaries through shared critiques, experimentation, and exhibition. The result is an inspiring body of work that celebrates innovation, texture, and form—revealing the endless possibilities of fiber as a medium.
Learn More
Open Inquiry: UC Arts brings together a new generation of artists emerging from the renowned art practice programs at the University of California, Los Angeles, the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of California, Davis. The art departments at these universities have long been recognized as seminal hubs of artistic experimentation and critical thought, consistently incubating artists who leverage academic investigation with artistic rigor. This exhibition features current students and graduates from the last two decades, whose innovative practices carry forward the artistic legacy of the UC arts.
Grounded in the idea that research is not limited to laboratories or archives, Open Inquiry frames artistic practice as a vital mode of inquiry. Through multi-disciplined, critically engaged studio practices, the exhibiting artists question, test, analyze, and interpret—performing acts of research with their making processes. The art studio becomes a site for creative problem solving, where painting, sculpture, installation, performance, and digital media operate as tools of critical inquiry.
While support for arts funding and academic research faces mounting challenges, Open Inquiry underscores the essential role of public arts education. Across the UC system, art departments cultivate spaces for alternative learning rooted in material experimentation, social justice work, and personal exploration. Within these spaces, artists embrace the creative process as a methodology for challenging dominant narratives or making visible that which is obscured or dismissed.
Open Inquiry asserts that now, more than ever, the graduates of the UC arts programs are creating essential work for an uncertain world. Their practices embody the values of intellectual and creative freedom, reminding us of the crucial role of the arts within the broader landscape of higher education. The exhibition aims to center artists as researchers who challenge our expectations, generate debate, and lead us to vital discoveries.
275 artists of every stripe—including sculptors, potters, abstract and figurative painters, photographers, textile artists, and jewelers, to name just a few—are participating in the 32nd Annual Marin Open Studios, including 60 new artists.
Preview work from participating artists at the Marin Open Studios Preview Gallery, April 24 through May 10, at the Sausalito Center For The Arts. Samples of each artist’s work will be on display.
Marin Open Studios (MOS) exists to engage and support Marin County artists and their audiences through events, programs, and services. MOS champions a diverse and inclusive community art experience with direct connections to Bay Area audiences and patrons. For over 30 years, MOS has invited the public into artists’ studios, increasing art appreciation and building future artists and art lovers.
The National Sculpture Society (NSS) California Community and the Sausalito Center For The Arts is proud to present a juried sculpture show May 15 – June 7, 2026.
The show is open to all sculptors residing west of the Rockies. Participating works will have been juried into the show by NSS.
There will be a reception at the Center on the including sculpture demonstrations and talks. Other artists will be at the reception to discuss their work. A $1000 award for the Best in Show, as judged by the National Sculpture Society,