Merced Arts Wrap for Friday, Jan. 9, 2015

Events at Kewl Kats

Kewl Kats hosts karaoke from 9 p.m. until closing Monday through Thursday. Friday nights includes DJs, and live bands perform Saturday nights. Bands this month and February include Rock Haven on Saturday, Southern Breeze on Jan. 17, Kowhoon on Jan. 25, Night Flight on Jan. 31 and Feb. 14, Sound Remedy on Feb. 6-7 and Pruno on Feb. 21. For more information visit kewlkats.net.

Exhibits at the Arts Center

The Merced Multicultural Arts Center is opening a new exhibit this month titled “Emergency/Emergence: Art After War.” Curated by Eli-Jelly Schapiro, the exhibit featured the work of artists Aaron Hughes, Ehren Tool, Mark Pinto and Drew Cameron. The artists are all Iraq War veterans. According to the Art Center’s website, the exhibit “bears witness to the human consequence of militarism and its aftereffects in the United States, Middle East and the world at large. While making visible the trauma of war, the exhibition also reveals the cultures of solidarity, resistance and renewal that emerge within – and gesture toward a way beyond – the space and time of violence.” The exhibit will launch prior to the Jan. 17 Merced Art Hop and a reception is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Feb. 12 at the center, located at 645 W. Main St. For more details, visit artsmerced.org.

The Harmed Brothers

Portland indie-grass folk-rock group the Harmed Brothers are scheduled to perform at 9 p.m. Saturday at The Partisan, 432 W. Main St. Also scheduled is Tom VandenAvond. Tickets are $5 at the door. Must be age 21 or up to attend.

Live music at Star Club

There’s live music at the Star Club from 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. today and Saturday, 1331 W. Main St., Merced. There is no cover charge. You must be at least 21 to enter.

Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit

The Good Luck Thrift Store Outfit is scheduled to perform at 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 24 at The Partisan, 432 W. Main St. Also scheduled to perform are the Jabronskis. Admission is $10; ages 21 and up only.

Merced Camera Club Meets

The Merced Camera Club invites all who are interested in photography to their meetings on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. at the Merced County Farm Bureau, 646 S. Hwy. 59. Call (209) 382-0222 or (209) 761-0260.

Hmongstory 40

Hmongstory 40 will host a community engagement on Jan. 24 at the Merced College Theatre from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to engage both the Hmong community and larger community in the Hmongstory 40 Project. This year marks the 40th year of the Hmong migration from Laos and Thailand to the United States, specifically to the Central Valley. The Hmongstory 40 Project, with partners Merced College and the Merced County Office of Education, will commemorate, celebrate and highlight 40 years of accomplishments by the Hmong in California. The community engagement will allow the Merced community and surrounding areas to preview the large exhibit coming to Fresno in December and to Merced in early 2016; learn about the Hmongstory 40 Project and the Hmong; and see how the community can contribute to the project.

Merced College Exhibit

The Merced College Art Gallery this month will present an exhibition of paintings, titled “Endure,” by Northern California artist Jay Hill. The exhibition will open Tuesday and continue to Feb. 4, according to a Merced College press release.

The public is invited to come meet the artist at a gallery reception from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Jan. 21. All visits to the art gallery are free to the public, although parking restrictions are enforced. Hill creates large canvases, painting acrylic on linen. According to a biography on the artist’s website (jayhillart.com), he first became passionate about art in the early 1980s, and began checking out library books about Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró, Paul Klee, Marcel Duchamp and artists. Hill has shown his work in galleries and businesses around the San Francisco Bay Area.

The Merced College Gallery is open from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m and from noon to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday and by appointment. For more information, call Susanne French, art gallery coordinator, at (209) 384-6064 or email her at french.s@mccd.edu.

Merced Symphony Winter Pops Concert

The Merced Symphony Winter Pops Concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Jan. 30 at the Merced Theatre. Conducted by Ming Luke, the concert will feature movie themes and classics with a Western flavor, according to the symphony’s website. The theater is at 301 W. Main St. Tickets are $39 general admission and $14 for students. For tickets visit tickets.mercedtheatre.org or call (209) 381-0500.

This story was originally published January 8, 2015 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Merced Arts Wrap for Friday, Jan. 9, 2015."