It’s time to return school. We are excited to share some of our favorite UC Irvine campus historical moments with you. Visit the Langson Art Gallery on Von Karmen in Irvine to see the impressive art collection. UC Irvine and the Orange County Museum of Art are exploring a transformative agreement with a board vote on the merger this fall. Visit UC Irvine for their 60th anniversary exhibit in the library!
UCI Langson IMCA presents California Kinship: Painting Homelife in the Golden State Before 1940 from June 7 – August 30, 2025
Curated by: Michaëla Mohrmann, Ph.D.
California Kinship invites visitors into the private worlds of Californians in the early 20th century, presenting portraits and scenes of everyday life that depict homelife and kinship for many in the growing state.
From the Archives
UC Irvine (1965-2025), Anteater Experience traces more than six decades of campus development.
The exhibit is on display from February through September 2025 at the Langson Library. View this display that illustrates key features and milestones that have helped shape the campus culture and environment. Commemorating the 60th anniversary, it includes Pereria’s master plan that starting in 1961 to the history of Peter the Anteater, the mascot.
Michael Stockstill, co-author of the book “Transforming the Irvine
Ranch: Joan Irvine, William Pereira, Ray Watson, and the Big Plan
(2022),” has given lectures at UCI Libraries.
City of Irvine
The City of Irvine and partners recently installed and dedicated a plaque marking the local site of the measurement of the speed of light by Albert Michelson and his team in present-day Irvine. In 1931, Albert Einstein visited physicist Albert Michelson on the Irvine Ranch to observe ongoing experiments using a 1-mile-long vacuum tube to measure the speed of light.
Book of the Month
Albert Einstein tried to uncover a new vision of the world and the universe. He came very close, giving a radically new shape to our understanding of nature and our dreams. His thinking and above all, his personality have continually fascinated scientists, historians, and philosophers. Albert Einstein has often been called the brightest man alive. Einstein’s breakthrough theory of special relativity in 1905 and the iconic E=mc2 earned him the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1922. Assouline invites the reader to witness the birth of a genius, and to follow him along the path of his many discoveries.
Artist of the Month
Featured artist Ashley V. Blalock’s BOUNDLESS installation is an intricate hand-crocheted doilies took more than eleven years to create. Watch her film describing her fabric art piece that wraps around the entire gallery on view at Casa Romantica.
Ashley V. Blalock was born and reared in San Diego, CA. She holds an MFA in Sculpture from the San Francisco Art Institute, an MA in Art History from the University of California, and a BA in Painting and Printmaking from San Diego State University.
Don’t miss the following events at Casa Romantica.
Family Sundays: Community Loom, Sunday, August 3rd from 10 AM – 2 PM
Kid’s Crochet Workshop, Saturday, August 23rd at 10:30 AM
Events
Visit the Newport Beach Historical Society on Thursdays – Sundays from 2pm–6pm. They are located at the Balboa Fun Zone at 600 E. Bay Ave. Newport Beach, CA 92661.
Join us this summer for Newport Beach Tiki events! The exhibit has items on loan from Surfing Heritage & Cultural Center and private collectors. The Donn of Tiki will be screened at Lido Theater on August 13th at 6pm.
