Napa’s di Rosa Center to reopen Nov. 16

New programs include community open studios|

Di Rosa’s Museum of Contemporary Art is reopening on Thursday, Nov. 16 from 4 to 7 p.m for the first of its monthly Third Thursday programs. Visitors are invited to drop-in as the art center opens its doors for the first time since the fires with art activities, wine from Ceja Vineyards, beer from Carneros Brewing Company, and live music by Santa Rosa’s Soul Grease.

Beginning Saturday, Nov. 18, Di Rosa will present a series of free, day-long Community Open Studios on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. through December (no event Dec. 23). Focused on creativity, art-making, and communal participation, visitors of all ages are encouraged to drop in and explore the studio stations arranged in Di Rosa’s Gallery 1. Education staff and volunteers will be on hand to assist with the creative experience. Reservations are not required.

December’s Third Thursday event (Dec. 21, 4 to 7 p.m.) will celebrate winter solstice with a holiday activity, drinks, and jazz from Sonoma State University. Third Thursdays is free in November and December and donations to Arts Council Napa Valley Recovery Fund and Creative Sonoma Fund will be collected. Reservations are not required.

“We look forward to reopening our doors - even with a temporary, modified schedule,” museum director Robert Sain said, “and hope that Di Rosa can be a place to bring all ages together with hope and inspiration for an even stronger community.”

Located on 217 acres in the Carneros region of Napa Valley, Di Rosa sustained damage on the north edge of the property from the Partrick/Nuns fire on Oct. 9. A temporary storage facility was burned, but winds shifted before the flames reached Di Rosa’s galleries and administrative offices.

“While we continue to assess the impact, we count ourselves fortunate amid this tragedy,” Sain said. “We owe tremendous gratitude to the first responders who were on site when the fire hit and helped reduce its toll. We are also extremely grateful that the vast majority of our collection was safely stored offsite.”

Di Rosa’s Residence Gallery, however, was impacted by smoke and the gallery is closed while conservation efforts take place for the several hundred artworks that were inside. A reopening of the Residence Gallery remains to be determined, but it is estimated that the professional cleaning of the artwork will take a minimum of four-to-six months.

Di Rosa’s multi-gallery exhibition, “Be Not Still: Living in Uncertain Times,” originally set to open on Nov. 4, has been postponed until January due to the safety and smoke abatement measures that were required following the fires. Presented in two parts throughout 2018, it will be the largest and most ambitious exhibition for the organization to date, according to museum officials. Tours and standard hours are suspended until the exhibition is on view. The exhibit will open Saturday, Jan. 27, and the art center will resume its regular hours and tour schedule the next day.

The Di Rosa is located at 5200 Sonoma Highway in Napa. dirosaart.org.

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