Visual art
Kate Tova: 'A Place to Rest (My Tired Mind)'
For artist Kate Tova's new exhibition, she connects the astonishing fire-following regrowth of local flora with the way people might approach healing from burnout. Tova is particularly interested in burnout on a societal, collective scale. Her paintings are vivid, impressionistic floral landscapes, occasionally interrupted by a strange and somewhat unsettling presence — like a field full of humans lying facedown in the blossoms. An exhibition celebration for five distinct shows coincides with Tova's opening night.
5-7 p.m. Saturday, May 2; through Sept. 27 | Oceanside Museum of Art, 704 Pier View Way, Oceanside | Free-$20 | MORE INFO
San Diego Printmaking Society: Print Day in May 2026
Learn printmaking with free hands-on workshops and printmaking demonstrations — like button making with Inside:Art, community printmaking with Hello Barkada, botanical printing with Bogdana Voitenko and more — or just browse and shop a wide variety of artist and printmaker booths. DJs will spin vinyl throughout the day.
2-8 p.m. Saturday, May 2 | Union Hall Gallery, 2323 Broadway #201, Golden Hill | Free | MORE INFO
Katy Crowe: 'Lunae Orbitae'
Abstract painter Katy Crowe will be in town to discuss her exhibit, "Lunae Orbitae," at Oolong Gallery with San Diego-based artist Raul Guerrero. Crowe's oil paintings, though abstract and geometric, seem soft and almost reactive, with muted hues and inexact round shapes and lines brimming with movement and direction.
1 p.m. Saturday, May 2; through May 31. Gallery hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday | 6030 La Flecha, Rancho Santa Fe | Free | MORE INFO
Mingei: ‘To Catch a Fish’
A new exhibit at the Mingei includes objects used in fishing — or that otherwise connect humans with our scaly, aquatic neighbors. Installations by Marianne Nicholson, Robert Lang, Aidelen Montoya are shown alongside the exhibit's more than 60 craft, art and functional pieces from around the world.
May 2 - Nov. 1 | Mingei International Museum, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park | $5-$8 | MORE INFO
'Ruins: Performing Queer History'
Curated by Nathan Storey, this new group show at Best Practice features artists exploring complex queer experiences, archives, histories and residual traumas. Artists include Amy Adler, Ken Gonzales-Day, Cat Gunn, William E. Jones, Morgan Lieberman, Stephen Milner, Darian Newman, Matt Savitsky and Best Practice cofounder Joe Yorty.
5-8 p.m. Saturday, May 2; through June 13 | Best Practice, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights | Free | MORE INFO
Faith Ringgold Closing Celebration
"Faith Ringgold: Full Circle – The Teachings and Her Legacy" is an impressive retrospective of the career, teachings and life of pioneering Black craft and textile artist Faith Ringgold. Ringgold was a professor at UC San Diego from 1984 to 2002. Known for her narrative quilts and sculptures, Ringgold's work spans painting, textiles and assemblage. The closing celebration will feature performances and a discussion with curator Mashonda Tifrere and Kamaal Martin of Art Power Equity.
6-8 p.m. Thursday, April 30 | Mandeville Art Gallery, 9390 Mandeville Lane, UCSD| Free | MORE INFO
Music
Phil Geraldi and Marguerite Brown
Ambient and experimental artist Phil Geraldi performs at the Burn All Books & Friends Gallery to celebrate his new Americana-tinged album, "Rural Deceased Undiscovered." Composer and multi-instrumentalist Marguerite Brown, a current Ph.D. student in music at UCSD, will also perform.
7 p.m. Friday, May 1 | Burn All Books & Friends Gallery, 3133 Adams Ave., Normal Heights | Free | MORE INFO
'The Heavenly Life'
The La Jolla Symphony and Chorus and San Diego Youth Symphony & Chorus will perform together under the direction of Sameer Patel. The supergroup will perform works by Andrea Casarrubios, Osvaldo Golijov and Gustav Mahler.
7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 2, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 3 | Mandeville Auditorium, 9500 Gilman Drive, UCSD | $22-$48.50 | MORE INFO
The Wood Brothers and Olive Klug
Long-standing roots band The Wood Brothers signed with Blue Note Records for their 2006 release "Ways Not To Lose." The group will perform at the Belly Up alongside folk singer-songwriter Olive Klug. Klug's music is gorgeous — raw, authentic emotion bottled in pristine, captivating melodies.
8:30 p.m. Saturday, May 2 | Belly Up, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach | $45+ | MORE INFO
Bach Collegium: 'Far Beyond the Skies'
Early music ensemble Bach Collegium San Diego will perform works by prolific Baroque masters G.P. Telemann and J.S. Bach, alongside traditional African American spirituals. Directed by Ruben Valenzuela, the group is committed to historically accurate performances, including early instruments.
7 p.m. Saturday, May 2, at The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, 7600 Fay Ave., La Jolla | 4 p.m. Sunday, May 3, at All Souls Episcopal Church, 1475 Catalina Blvd., Point Loma | $15.53-$72.45 | MORE INFO
Dance
City Ballet of San Diego: 'The Firebird'
City Ballet of San Diego will perform world premiere choreography by Elizabeth Wistrich to Igor Stravinsky's powerful and familiar "Firebird" suite. The company will also present the San Diego premiere of a 1970 George Balanchine work, "Who Cares?" It features music by George Gershwin.
8 p.m. Saturday, May 2 and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 3 | California Center for the Arts, Escondido, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido | $39-$119 | MORE INFO
Books and poetry
Soft Focus Reading Series
San Diego Poet Laureate Paola Capó-García returns to Hey Books! with her regular poetry series, "Soft Focus," to close out National Poetry Month. Capó-García, author of "Clap for Me That's Not Me," will host poets Sandra Doller, Shadab Zeest Hasmi and Manuel Paul Lopez.
6:30-7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 30 | Hey Books!, 921 E St., downtown | Free | MORE INFO
Small Press Nite Vol. 15
One of my favorite writers and literary citizens (and my first-ever short story editor), Aaron Burch, founder of Hobart and HAD literary journals, comes to San Diego to read from his latest novel, "Tacoma," in the Small Press Nite reading series. Also reading are San Diego-based poet Ana Carrete, San Diego-based writer François Bereaud and Los Angeles-based writer and editor Z.H. Gill. You can probably count on free boxed wine in the standing-room-only section.
7 p.m. Saturday, May 2 | The Book Catapult, 3010-B Juniper St., South Park | Free | MORE INFO
Theater
Trinity Theatre Company: Fourth Annual New Works Festival
Nestled within Mission Valley mall, Trinity Theatre Company will perform staged readings of nine new works of theater by emerging playwrights, including John Busser, Ashley Siflinger, Sara Ilyse Jacobsen, William Keenan, Maxine Levaren, Steven Oberman and more. Each play is individually ticketed.
April 30 - May 3 | Trinity Theatre, 1640 Camino Del Rio North, Mission Valley | $10+ or pay-what-you-can | MORE INFO
'Beau Jest'
Playwright James Sherman's 1989 comedy "Beau Jest" follows a Jewish daughter who is attempting to convince her family that she's dating a Jewish doctor — not her actual non-Jewish boyfriend. Directed by Omri Schein, North Coast Rep's production stars Katrina Michaels, Sam Ashdown, Benjamin Cole, Josh Cahn and more. The run was recently extended one week.
Through May 24 | North Coast Repertory Theatre, 987 Lomas Santa Fe Drive, Ste. D, Solana Beach | $68.50 | MORE INFO
Film
11th San Diego Underground Film Festival
The 11th installment of San Diego's Underground Film Festival features independent, experimental and boundary-pushing cinema from around the world, including several U.S. premieres. Films include features and shorts programs with filmmaker Q&As, plus a spotlight on UCSD's Cinematic Arts faculty on Sunday afternoon. All screenings are free, but you can reserve tickets in advance. Seating is not assigned.
May 1-5 | Suraj Israni Center for Cinematic Arts, 9605 Scholars Drive North, UCSD | Free | MORE INFO
