Arts & Culture

San Diego weekend arts events: 'Constellations,' Juneteenth DJ set and Mozart

By Julia Dixon Evans / Arts Reporter/Host, The Finest

Published June 18, 2025 at 4:10 PM PDT

Mirae kh RHEE's "Seven Sisters (Missing Merope Version)" is a 2023 work of bamboo, LED lights, visors, shoes and mirror. The work is part of RHEE's "Constellations" exhibit, opening June 20, 2025 at MOPA@SDMA. — Mirae kh RHEE's "Seven Sisters (Missing Merope Version)" is a 2023 work of bamboo, LED lights, visors, shoes and a mirror. The work is part of RHEE's "Constellations" exhibit, opening June 20, 2025, at MOPA@SDMA.

Visual arts | Music | Theater | Dance | Books

Visual art

Mirae kh RHEE: 'Constellations' Exhibition and Workshop
Korean American artist Mirae kh RHEE opens a fascinating, immersive exhibit at the Museum of Photographic Arts (MOPA@SDMA). The works call on myth and astronomy to explore her own story: adoption, migration and the desire to belong. "Seven Sisters (Missing Merope Version)" features giant, suspended glowing columns modeled after the jukbuin bamboo pillow.

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RHEE will lead free image transfer workshops Saturday, where participants can learn how to create textile collages using photo transfer.

Workshops: 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday, June 21. On view through Jan. 4, 2026 | MOPA@SDMA, 1649 El Prado, Balboa Park | Free/pay what you can | MORE INFO

Artist John Singletary's "Self Portrait in a Tree" series of three oil paintings, 2025.

'Sun Goin' Down': Juneteenth Event
Oolong Gallery will celebrate its solo exhibition of work by John Singletary for a Juneteenth event, focusing on the tradition of Black dance music. Singletary will DJ a set of music and project Les Blank's 1968 film "The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins." A recent UC San Diego MFA grad, Singletary is inspired by the way myth and memory intersect, especially when it comes to Biblical tales and Southern folklore — and the generational fear inherent among Black men in the United States. His paintings are powerful and often haunting, some with distinct horror elements like skeletons, but others more abstract.

6-9 p.m. Thursday, June 19. On view through June 25 | Oolong Gallery, 6030 La Flecha, Rancho Santa Fe | Free | MORE INFO

'XICANA! San Diego'
Curated by Dulce Stein and co-organized by Los Angeles art space Experimentally Structured Museum of Art (ESMoA) and the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, this exhibit is the result of a public call for Chicana/x artists living or working in the San Diego region to create art based on identity. The work spans a broad range of formats, from film and poetry to sculpture and photography. A featured installation is fashion designer Louis Verdad's "TONÁNTZIN" sculpture, a larger-than-life rendering of the Indigenous deity.

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6-8 p.m. Friday, June 20. On view through Nov. 2 | California Center for the Arts, Escondido, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido | Opening reception is free; regular museum admission is Free-$12 | MORE INFO

Dance

Samba Roots: An Afro-Brazilian Journey with Viver Brasil
The Viver Brasil dance company will perform an evening-length exploration of the origins of samba, through the styles of orixá, forró, bloco afro and more — all performed with live music and storytelling.

7:30-9 p.m. Friday, June 20 | Mingei International Museum, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park | $40-$55 | MORE INFO

Music

Mainly Mozart All-Star Orchestra Festival Opening Weekend
This six-concert summer festival features an orchestra made up of some of the best musicians from American symphonies, performing works by Mozart along with composers such as Elgar, Saint-Saëns, Stravinsky, Bendix-Balgley and others. Concerts take place at both the La Jolla Music Society's Baker-Baum Concert Hall and UC San Diego's Epstein Family Amphitheater.

June 18-28 | Multiple locations | $68+ | MORE INFO

Make Music Day
The Museum of Making Music hosts the annual worldwide Make Music Day, which began in 1982 in France. Join thousands of cities around the world with free musical crafts, sing-alongs and performances. Performers include Westwind Brass, Patton Pending Ukulele Ensemble and Mariachi Victoria de San Diego. Plus, admission to the museum is free all day.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, June 21 | Museum of Making Music, 5790 Armada Dr., Carlsbad | Free | MORE INFO

Choral Consortium Summer Concert: Mosaic Mass
Benjamin Thiele-Long leads the Choral Consortium of San Diego in this twist on a traditional sung festival mass, with a "mosaic" of different musical styles and composers.

6 p.m. Saturday, June 21 | First United Methodist Church, 2111 Camino de Rio S., Mission Valley | $12.51 | MORE INFO

Theater

'A Streetcar Named Desire'
Tennessee Williams' classic New Orleans play follows the Southern belle Blanche Dubois after she loses her fortune and home and moves in with her sister in a small French Quarter apartment — where she clashes with her brother-in-law Stanley. Directed by Rob Lufty, the Backyard Renaissance production stars Megan Carmitchel, Francis Gercke, Jessica John, MJ Sieber, Faith Carrion, Layth Haddad, William Huffaker, Markuz Rodriguez and Dianne Yvette.

June 19 through July 12 | Tenth Avenue Arts Center, 930 Tenth Ave., East Village | $15-$50 | MORE INFO

Ariella Kvashny, Amy Smith, Olivia Mitchell and Jazley Genovese are shown on stage in Cygnet Theatre's production of "Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!" in an undated photo.

'Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!'
Cygnet Theatre's production of "Oklahoma!" is now on stage, featuring quintessential songs like "Oh What a Beautiful Mornin'" and (of course) "Oklahoma!" Directed by Sean Murray, the musical follows the farm-life love story of Curly McLain and Laurey Williams.

Through Aug. 2. Performances Wednesday through Sunday | Cygnet Theatre, 4040 Twiggs St., Old Town | $39-$73 | MORE INFO

Midsummer Shakespeare at SDMA
Celebrate the summer solstice with Shakespeare at the San Diego Museum of Art. The San Diego Shakespeare Society will perform short excerpts from Shakespeare's plays and poetry inside the museum.

1 and 2:30 p.m. Saturday, June 21 | San Diego Museum of Art, 1450 El Prado, Balboa Park | $15-$20 | MORE INFO

Books

Author Lizz Huerta is shown in an undated photo at left; the cover of her debut novel, "The Lost Dreamer," is shown at right.

Feminist Bookstore Reading Series: Lizz Huerta
Two exciting notes here: There's a new bookstore in town, Mission Hills' Feminist Bookstore, and author Lizz Huerta has new writing to share. Huerta's YA fantasy novel, "The Lost Dreamer," was published in 2022, and I have been waiting for new work ever since. Following Huerta's reading is an open mic session.

7 p.m. Saturday, June 21 | The Feminist Bookstore, 930 West Washington St. Ste. 10, Mission Hills | Free | MORE INFO