San Diego weekend arts events: Oceanside music, so much photography, ‘Don Quixote’ and more

‘Music at the Museum’ and Shinpei Takeda

Music, Art, Food
This Friday, Oceanside Museum of Art is holding a special music and lowrider festival, with music from Dezzy Hollow and street dance by Wild7s Freestyle Krew. Access to the museum is free, and the event centers on the “Oceanside Unfiltered” photography exhibition.

Oceanside rapper Dezzy Hollow recently put out a new album, “One Nation Under the Funk,” and you can check out the latest video, for “Roll Thru,” which just dropped last week.

Also during Friday night’s event, OMA will unveil Tijuana- and Germany-based artist Shinpei Takeda’s new exhibition, “Limit of Your Safe Space,” so be sure to check out Takeda’s work while you’re there. “Limit of Your Safe Space” is in part a product of workshops Takeda held with refugees and immigrants across the globe, designing augmented reality manifestations of their own stories of safe passages, safe spaces or safe objects.

Takeda is known for his large-scale, immersive sculptures and his sound installations, and this installation will deliver. Twisted barbed wire, holes punched directly in the walls, and other large-scale elements will fill the space alongside the augmented reality collaborations, allowing the user to immerse in the singularity of this project’s many pieces.

Details: Friday, May 6, 2022 from 5-9 p.m. Shinpei Takeda’s installation is on view through Sept. 10, 2022. “Oceanside Unfiltered” is on view through May 29, 2022. Oceanside Museum of Art, 704 Pier View Way, Oceanside. Free during this Friday’s event, but reserve a ticket in advance to secure a spot. $0-$10 otherwise.

‘San Diego Views’: Photography Exhibition / Medium Festival of Photography

Visual art, Photography
The Medium Festival of Photography is underway this weekend, in-person and virtually. But if you’re just looking to check out great photography by locals, Joseph Bellows Gallery just opened a new group exhibition, “San Diego Views.”

Rebecca Webb / Joseph Bellows Gallery

Featuring the work of 12 regional photographers, including Medium founder scott b. davis, John Brinton Hogan, Farrah Karapetian, Phillip Scholz Rittermann, Rebecca Webb, Michael Mulno, Han Nguyen and more, this is not a palm-trees-and-sunsets approach to San Diego “views.” It’s based on a portfolio produced by Photographs Incorporated in late 2020 of work by these artists, and the gallery is expanding the portfolio to include additional works. The selections reflect a broad experience of the region, a broad identity, and draws attention to the unique style and practice of each photographer.

Details: Opening reception is Friday, May 6 from 5-8 p.m., and is on view through June 10, 2022. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. or by appointment. Joseph Bellows Gallery, 7661 Girard Ave., La Jolla. Free.

Chris Warren: ‘The Omni Echo’

Music, Sound immersion

Courtesy of the artist

Musician, professor and sound artist Chris Warren debuted his “Omni Echo” project in 2018, and has installed it periodically over the last four years. It looks simple enough — just two large, green discs situated on either side of a participant, but a noise created inside the Omni Echo will reverberate forever. A visitor can immerse themselves in a single note, or harmonize with themselves a dozen times over, or just allow ambient noise to wash over them.

Warren is the current Artist in Residence in Art Produce’s Cooler Room, and the Omni Echo is open to the public while he’s there. Visitors can find the Cooler Room by entering through the garden gate on Herman Ave.

Details: Thursday through Saturday, 4-8 p.m.; Sunday noon to 5 p.m., through May 15, 2022. Art Produce, 3139 University Ave., North Park. Free.

City Ballet presents ‘Don Quixote’

Dance, Ballet
This weekend, City Ballet of San Diego will perform their production of “Don Quixote,” an adaptation of the Miguel de Cervantes novel by company choreographer Elizabeth Wistrich based on the original ballet by Marius Petipa. It’s a classic, indulgently theatrical and fantastical story and production, with a live performance by the City Ballet Orchestra. Expect ornate costuming, fairies and at least a couple of duels.

Watch a brief preview:

Details: Two performances, 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 7, and 2 p.m. on Sunday, May 8, 2022. California Center for the Arts Escondido, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. $27-$99.

Plays by Young Writers

Theater
The 37th installment of the Playwrights Project’s teen theater program will kick off this weekend with opening night performances on Saturday in-person. Next Saturday, May 14, 2022, will be a “hosted” virtual streaming option, followed by two weeks of on-demand streaming for the four plays. Three of the short plays are fully produced: 14 year old Declan Kallberg’s “Boxed In,” 15 year old Ana Cabrera’s “Petunia,” and 17 year old Jacqueline Vellandi’s “Reverie.” There’s also a staged reading of “The Jealous Soccer Ball,” co-written by 13 year olds Ahmed Al Hashimi and Yaseen Issa. You can meet the playwrights and learn more about each work in this series of interviews that Playwrights Project facilitated.

Details: In-person performance Saturday, May 7 at 7 p.m., Joan B. Kroc Theatre, 6611 University Ave., Rolando. $50 or pay what you can. Virtual streaming begins Saturday, May 14 at 7 p.m. $20 or pay what you can.

For more arts events or to submit your own, visit the KPBS/Arts calendar. And be sure to sign up for the weekly KPBS/Arts newsletter here.