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Museum Weekend 2026

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Chico Art Center's Special Offerings: 

Saturday, Feb. 28 - The Makers Cafe

Our free and family friendly maker space will supply you with plenty of free materials and tools you can use while you’re at Chico Art Center to create your own art. Enter our 1947 Pullman train car for a fully creative experience.

This particular café will be an open maker space for you to come and make art was such a wide variety of materials, cover a dinosaur in googly eyes, make a tiny diorama, go wild with the hot glue guns. Sky’s the limit!

This event is completely free to attend and family friendly though little ones will definitely need adult supervision on hand. Drop in anytime you like, we’re so excited to see you this Saturday!

 

Sunday, March 1 - Free Draw Station

Come draw at our easels placed in the gallery and on the deck. Ever tried Urban sketching? Draw the landscape outside, including our 1947 Pullman train car, people viewing the exhibit or the artwork itself. All ages welcome. Drawing supplies provided.
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Art Trivia Night

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At Chico Art Center!

The format is single player competition. There are four rounds of questions and there will be prizes for different rounds as well as a grand prize. Players are given an answer sheet. Questions or projected on the screen and they have a certain amount of time to answer, and then we move onto the next question. Come give it a try!

For questions contact Reta Rickmers at rrickmers@hotmail.com

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70th Anniversary Gala

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SILVER GALA ART TICKET
Tables are sold out! Thank you!
Purchase tickets- Sold Out! Thank you!
SILVER GALA ART MEDIUM SIZE

Honoring the Past,
Inspiring the Future

Celebrate 70 Years of Creative Community
with Chico Art Center!

Join us for an unforgettable evening as Chico Art Center (CAC) celebrates 70 years of artistic vision, collaboration, and community spirit in Chico and Butte County!

For seven decades, our community of artists, teachers, volunteers, students, and supporters have shaped CAC into a vibrant creative home. Together, we’ve built a legacy of artist-led classes, exhibitions, and events that have inspired generations - and we’re just getting started.

Dress to Inspire!

Embrace the theme with suggested attire. Arrive as your favorite artist or simply in your favorite color. Bring friends, bring family, or come solo — you’ll be welcomed into a joyful celebration of local creativity and the people who make it thrive.

What to Expect:

  • A delicious fully catered dinner by OM Foods
  • One complimentary drink ticket (with additional beverages available for purchase)
  • A silent auction featuring unique, locally sourced art and a raffle for locally sourced treasures
  • Honoring supporters who help keep creativity alive
  • A video tribute showcasing CAC’s 70-year journey
  • Live painting by local artists 
  • Fun photo opportunities
  • Live music with Shigemi Minetaka (keys, flute), Aman Cowell (trumpet) and Aron Linker (bass)

Why This Night Matters

Every ticket, every bid, and every moment of celebration helps support CAC’s ongoing programs and expansions — ensuring that creativity, community, and artistic expression continue to flourish for the next 70 years.

Let’s come together in gratitude and inspiration for the future.

We can’t wait to celebrate with you!

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January 2026 | Member Show

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Exhibition: January 24 - March 1, 2026

Reception: Friday, February 6, 5-7pm

Chico Art Center invites members to exhibit one artwork to kick off the new year!  

This exhibition is generously sponsored by Cris Guenter.

CALL FOR ART

ENTRY FEE: Membership: $20 Student / $40 Individual / $65 Family

DROP OFF: Saturday - Sunday, January 17 & 18, 10am - 4pm

For questions contact Cameron Kelly, gallery director at gallerydirectorcac@gmail.com or text 4158234415

TERMS

  • Write your name on the back & attach your name to the front. We use this tag to match your artwork with the wall label once it is hung.
  • Framing and hanging hardwire is not required if artwork can be hung from stretcher bar.
  • Please, no sexually explicit imagery or content that denigrates an individual or group.
  • Pick up: March 3-4, 11:30am - 4:00pm
  • Artworks may not be removed prior to the close of the exhibition, nor will sold artworks be released early.
  • Works submitted must be completely dry.
  • Work determined by the director to be too fragile for safe handling and/or display will not be accepted.
Entry Form
Become or Renew Membership Here
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December 2025 | Nicolai Larsen Retrospective

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Exhibition: December 9, 2025 - January 16, 2026

Tour the Exhibit with the artist's wife, Marion Hunziker-Larsen:
Sunday, December 14, 2025 at 2:00pm

Reception:
Friday, January 9, 5:00 - 7:00pm 

Presentation of Nicolai’s Mural and Commercial Work:

In Person- Saturday, January 10, 2026 at 2:00pm
Zoom Presentation- Sunday, January 11 at 2:00pm  

Nicolai Larsen (1952-2025)

Nicolai Larsen was known for his inventive, visionary painted imagery, fine art canvases, award-winning large-scale mural art, and architectural painted environments. Nicolai studied art at the San Francisco Art Institute and the Academy of Art College. He was selected to work in the CETA Art in Public Places Project in San Mateo County, CA. Later, he became a set designer at Marine World/Africa USA. Nicolai has been internationally commissioned to create works for public, corporate, and private clients.

Starting in 1982, Nicolai operated his own visual arts company specializing in fine arts, murals, trompe l’oeil, and design. He has exhibited his work in many venues, including the Peninsula Museum of Art, Diablo Valley Planetarium, Stanford University, UC Berkeley, NASA Ames Research Center, and the Vorpal Gallery in San Francisco.

Nicolai moved to Chico from the Bay Area in 2013 with his wife, son, and dog. He came to appreciate the North Valley for its wide open space and relaxed pace of life. The valley and its surroundings provided a wealth of imagery for an artist to respond to, and a quieter, more contemplative place to develop new work. The Chico art community also offered him a chance to engage with art organizations. Shortly after relocating to Chico, Nicolai joined the Chico Art Center and became involved in shepherding innovative exhibition concepts and organizing fun fundraisers while serving on the board of the Chico Art Center.

Click here to preview artwork on your phone

Presentation of Nicolai’s Mural and Commercial Work:

In Person- Saturday, January 10, 2026 at 2:00pm
Zoom Presentation- Sunday, January 11 at 2:00pm  

The presentation of Nicolai Larsen's mural and commercial work is now available to watch online. Click button below to visit the exhibition page.

Click here to watch the recording
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Train Depot Expansion

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Train Depot Expansion

We have officially signed a lease with the City of Chico to take over the additional spaces on the south end of the historic Southern Pacific Railroad depot, which has been vacant for many years. This expansion will allow Chico Art Center to offer more arts-related opportunities to its members and the broader community.

One of the spaces is being renovated for the Digital Arts Lab. We are collecting donated equipment and planning a full program of classes where you can learn to digitally sketch and paint, to use software for photo editing, design and publishing, to develop skills in promotion and social media and much more.

A new website exclusively for our digital arts lab is under development.

One space is being built into an annex gallery that can be rented by artists for visual and performing arts events.

Renovation has begun. If you'd like to help fund the renovation, make a donation here.