Haines Gallery announces its first solo exhibition with newly represented artist, John Chiara. Crestmont at Coral presents recent photographic works emblematic of Chiara's distinctive process. He works with hand-built cameras of various sizes to produce pictures that could not be made through traditional photographic methods. Opening reception is April 12 at 5:30pm. Gallery hours are from 10:30am to 5:30pm, except Saturdays when the gallery closes at 5pm.

Renegade Humor is an exhibition featuring art pieces that use humor to raise serious issues, such as gender, race, and global warming. The notion of Renegade Humor is characterized by bawdy irreverence, iconoclasm, and self-deprecating humor. SJMA has invited artists Kathy Aoki and Imin Yeh to make new works, inspired by this artistic approach, just for this exhibition. The exhibit also features works by Ray Beldner, Squeak Carnwath, Enrique Chagoya, Llyn Foulkes, Viola Frey, Jane Hammond, Dennis Oppenheim, and Richard Shaw, among others. The show runs from February 3 to July 8, 2012.

The Museum of Art and History in Santa Cruz presents All You Need is Love, a museum-wide exhibition exploring the ways that love manifests in everyday lives. The exhibit includes pieces from the museum's permanent collection and work by over thirty artists including Joan Brown, Younhee Paik, Seyed Alavi, and Raymond Saunders. Each floor of the museum contains different installations, as well as interactive elements, such as making a collage for the wall in the creativity lounge. The exhibit runs from March 31 to July 29, 2012. The first and third Friday of every month has extended hours from 11am-9pm.

The exhibition creates a dialogue between the work of enamel artist June Schwarcz and camera obscura photographer, John Chiara. Each artist employs a detailed process to create pieces that cannot be replicated. This is the first time their work will be shown together, curated by Muriel Maffre, John Chiara, and Emily Anderson. The gallery show runs from April 3 to June 2, 2012.

The Chinese Historical Society of America Museum presents Remnants: Artists Respond to the Chinese American Experience. The exhibition includes five artists whose works focus on personal narrative, memory and family. The exhibition, on view April 12 through December 15, features works by Nancy Hom, Michael Jang, Lenora Lee, Cynthia Tom, and Flo Oy Wong. Gallery hours are Tuesday to Friday from 12-5pm and Saturdays from 11am-4pm.

As part of the PBS Arts Fall Festival, selected events in the San Francisco Bay Area are being highlighted. Every summer Sunday, family and friends gather to relax, picnic, and enjoy world-class performances in Stern Grove, a natural amphitheater surrounded by giant eucalyptus, redwood, and fir trees. The festival features free performances by a diverse selection of performers. In 2012, Stern Grove Festival celebrates its 75th season. For more information on PBS Arts, go to pbs.org/arts.

Join teaching artists and educators from the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts and KQED's Arts Education program for a 3-day institute about dance and music traditions, and learn how to integrate the study of contemporary art into language arts, social studies, and arts classrooms. Participants will work with professional artists, engage with KQED media about local artists, and develop integrated lesson plans for use in their classrooms. This institute is free and open to K-12 educators and teaching artists. Participants will have the opportunity to earn a $$200 stipend or two CEUs through CSU East Bay. For more information and to register, visit kqedeastbay.eventbrite.com.

The San Francisco International Arts Festival celebrates the arts through a yearly gathering that brings together a global community of artists and audiences. The ninth annual festival features performances, classes, lecture demonstrations, and workshops by international and local artists. The program includes the U.S. premiere of This is What We Do in Winter by the Cid Pearlman Performance Project and AXIS Dance Company with Marc Brew Company (UK) and, on the last leg of a national tour. Tickets range from $$16-55 when bought in advance. Many activities at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance are free to ticket holders.

The Marsh Theater in Berkeley presents Not Getting Any Younger, written and performed by Marga Gomez. This is the monologist?s 9th solo show. It is a coming of age comedy about lies, vanity and the good old days. The show is 90 minutes with no intermission and is intended for audiences aged 17 and up. The show begins at 8pm on Fridays and 5pm on Saturdays. Tickets are $$15-35 sliding scale and $$50 for reserved seating. There is no performance Friday, May 4. Read the KQED Arts review of this production.

As part of the PBS Arts Fall Festival, selected events in the San Francisco Bay Area are being highlighted. The San Francisco Ethnic Dance Festival includes performers from throughout Northern California and has presented more than 600 dance companies from over a hundred different genres. Times vary. Presented at various venues around San Francisco. For more information on PBS Arts, go to pbs.org/arts.

Join teaching artists and educators from the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts and KQED's Arts Education program for a 3-day institute about dance and music traditions, and learn how to integrate the study of contemporary art into language arts, social studies, and arts classrooms. Participants will work with professional artists, engage with KQED media about local artists, and develop integrated lesson plans for use in their classrooms. This institute is free and open to K-12 educators and teaching artists. Participants will have the opportunity to earn a $$200 stipend or two CEUs through CSU East Bay. For more information and to register, visit kqedeastbay.eventbrite.com.

The Museum of Art and History in Santa Cruz presents All You Need is Love, a museum-wide exhibition exploring the ways that love manifests in everyday lives. The exhibit includes pieces from the museum's permanent collection and work by over thirty artists including Joan Brown, Younhee Paik, Seyed Alavi, and Raymond Saunders. Each floor of the museum contains different installations, as well as interactive elements, such as making a collage for the wall in the creativity lounge. The exhibit runs from March 31 to July 29, 2012. The first and third Friday of every month has extended hours from 11am-9pm.

The Luggage Store Gallery presents Streetopia, a large-scale group exhibition to take place in venues throughout downtown San Francisco this coming May 18 through June 23. Curated by writer Erick Lyle, along with artists Chris Johanson and Kal Spelletich, Streetopia will bring neighborhood residents together with at least 132 artists, performers, writers, filmmakers, activists, thinkers, and public policy makers in venues in the heart of the city, to address the show's themes of Utopian aspiration for the city.

Join teaching artists and educators from the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts and KQED's Arts Education program for a 3-day institute about dance and music traditions, and learn how to integrate the study of contemporary art into language arts, social studies, and arts classrooms. Participants will work with professional artists, engage with KQED media about local artists, and develop integrated lesson plans for use in their classrooms. This institute is free and open to K-12 educators and teaching artists. Participants will have the opportunity to earn a $$200 stipend or two CEUs through CSU East Bay. For more information and to register, visit kqedeastbay.eventbrite.com.