Past Exhibitions

Here are a listing of exhibitions CERA has toured.

Discovery, Devastation, Survival: California Indians and the Gold Rush
The exhibition takes viewers on a historical journey with the Indian People of Northern California, seeing their world just before the Gold Rush and experiencing the effect of the Gold Rush on Native people.

State of Emergency: Disaster Response in Califonia
The exhibition begins with a survey of California disasters since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire. Dramatic color photographs chronicle the past decade of disasters in California.

At Work: The Art of California Labor
The story of labor – which comprises passionate struggles and triumphs as well as dehumanizing forces – has figured largely in the art of our time. “At Work: The Art of California Labor” is the first exhibition to explore this important topic through the eyes of artists who witnessed, or were inspired by, some of the most significant events of the 20th Century.

Moving Waters: The Colardo River & the West
Because decisions are still to be made that will impact the river and the West, the panel exhibition “Moving Waters: The Colorado River and the West” challenges viewers to grapple with the complexity of the Colorado.

Precious Cargo: California Indian Cradle Baskets and Childbirth Traditions

The groundbreaking exhibition examines traditional beliefs and practices concerning childbirth and the use of cradle baskets, both historically and contemporarily, among Pomo and Western Mono peoples, with additional material from 28 other tribal regions throughout the state.

Trees and Cliffs, by Ansel Adams, 1954, Gelatin silver print. Gift of the Women’s Board. Photo credit: John Hartz.

Ansel Adams: Inspiration and Influence
This unique exhibition examines the work of Ansel Adams, one of the great photographers of the 20th century, in the context of the world of photographers around him and those he influenced.

Salt Dreams: Reflections of the Downstream West
Based on the critically acclaimed book of the same title, "Salt Dreams" looks at the troubled history of the obscure Salton Sea, the largest lake in California. It provides the viewer a bottom-up examination of the story of the American West.

La Marcha de La Reconquista, Sacramento, May 1971. Photo by Jeffrey Blankfort, courtesy of the Berkeley Art Center from The Whole World’s Watching traveling exhibition.

The Whole World's Watching: Peace and Social Justice Movements of the 1960s and 1970s
"The Whole World's Watching" is an extraordinary exhibition that examines the rich history of the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s through documentary photograhpy.

Red-Billed Tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus). -This seabird is found on the isolated rocks and small islands off the coast of southern California.-

Audubon of the West: Andrew Jackson Grayson
This exhibition explores the life of Grayson and the history of his era, as well as themes of the science of ornithology and the artistic rendering of Grayson's work.

Votes for Women: Unfinished Business
The dramatic struggle for American women's right to vote and the powerful personalities who brought the decades-long effort to fruition are the subject of “Votes for Women: Unfinished Business."

Night Crossing, Forty-Mile Desert, Nevada. Photo by Greg Mac Gregor

Overland: The California Emigrant Trail of 1841-1870
Although the route is mostly unmarked today, photographer Greg MacGregor has researched and documented the eroded ruts, emigrant graves and wagon remains of the Trail. These striking black and white images are juxtaposed with excerpts from emigrants' diaries and nineteenth-century guidebooks.

Awakening from the California Dream: An Environmental History

This innovative exhibition examines changes in California's environment over the past 150 years and the way these changes relate to the state's social history.