A Fine Art Reproduction
After three rewarding years as owner of the Timmons Courtyard Gallery of Rancho Santa Fe, Leigh Timmons has relocated her gallery to the Cedros design district. Continuing with the same comfortable, intimidation-free environment, the gallery will feature original art by national and international artists, including renowned American impressionist painter Dan McCaw. The new location also offers the new Children’s Art Studio, which will allow budding artists a place of their own for expressing their creativity. The new location is 202 N. Cedros; gallery hours are Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-6pm. (858/794-5225, www.timmonsgalleries.com) — Shana K. Wilson

Wunderkind
At age 10, Akiane Kramarik is a world-renowned poet and artist. She is a prodigy and considered the only recognized child binary genius in both painting and poetry. Her talents as a painter and poet have been featured in Time Magazine; she has been a guest on CNN’s The Lou Dobbs Show and a co-host on The Wayne Brady Show.

In addition to monthly gallery showings across the country, Kramarik has a new book of realist paintings and poetry scheduled for release this year. Her works will be on permanent exhibit at the Museum of Religious Art in Logan, Iowa, internationally through the International Museum of 21st Century Art and Cultural Centre, and at Art Without Borders in Laguna Beach. In keeping with Kramarik’s belief that she was given her gift to help others, a share of profits benefits her favorite charities, including those that help children in Lithuania and other parts of the world. Kramarik will discuss her art and inspiration at Wentworth Gallery in La Jolla from 6-9pm on Friday, May 12 and Saturday, May 13. (858/551-7071) — Shana K. Wilson

Riverwalk
Don’t miss Mystery of the Nile, the IMAX film playing at the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center in Balboa Park. In it, accomplished expedition leader Pasquale Scaturro takes audiences on a filmed exploration of the Nile River, from the river source in Ethiopia to the port of Alexandria. In 2001, Scaturro led the Mount Everest expedition that took blind climber Erik Weihenmayer to the summit, and he has led many other daring expeditions. Photography in this film is spectacular, conveying a sense of history to viewers in ways that are very involving. You feel you are there, viewing the magnificent Nile from above. At other times, you experience a sense of being caught in powerful rapids, relentless heat, or narrowly avoiding crocodiles. It’s exhilarating stuff. (619/238-1233) — Darlene G. Davies

Feathered Friends
San Diego is home to some amazing wildlife, including lizards, coyotes, dolphins, bats, and mountain lions. But perhaps owing to its combination of desert and tropical climates, it’s the feathered denizens that prove the most various. The county boasts the biggest bird list — nearly 500 species — of an area its size in the U.S. A day with binoculars may yield anything from parrots and thrushes to puffins and hummingbirds. There are too many to name, but if you want to get a better idea of what San Diego bird watching has to offer, pick up the San Diego County Bird Atlas, published by Ibis Publishing Company and available in the San Diego Natural History Museum’s gift shop. The 600-page hardback book lists every known type of bird in the area, complete with photographs of each species and a wealth of geographical and biological information. For instance, anyone looking for the Scott’s Oriole will find it in the Anza-Borrego Desert, where it has an affinity for agave and Mojave yucca. And there’s more where that came from. The book sells for $60. (619/232-3821) — Alicia Garcia

The Indian Man Cometh
Performers and artisans from throughout the West Coast will converge when the San Diego Museum of Man presents its 22nd Indian Fair, an annual tribute to Native American culture and art, Friday-Sunday, June 10-12.

The museum’s popular fair will feature a juried competition spotlighting the diverse talents of noted Native American artists. A special reception will allow the public a sneak preview and a chance to purchase artwork. Admission to the preview party, 6-9pm, Friday, June 10, is $10.

The following two days, from 10am to 4:30pm, the museum and its central plaza will be transformed into a lively Native American marketplace complete with ongoing artist demonstrations and collector’s items. Traditional Indian dancers, musicians, storytellers, and award-winning artisans will perform and demonstrate their talents.

Admission to the Indian Fair, which includes entrance to the museum, is $6 for adults, $5 for museum members, $3 for ages six to 17, and free for children under six. (619/239-2001, www.museumofman.org) — Shana K. Wilson

California the Beautiful
Fearless artists will try and capture the beauty of our state for Rancho Santa Fe Art Guild exhibition, California Scenes, running through May 1. Only the brave (and the talented) need apply.

The show will feature a variety of mediums, such as oils, watercolors, acrylics, pastels, multimedia, sculpture, photography, and jewelry depicting landscapes, seascapes, architecture, and animal life as only California offers.

The Rancho Santa Fe Art Gallery is located at 6004 Paseo Delicias in The Union Bank Building. (858/759-3545) — Ana Kessler

To Win Or Not To Win
David Armstrong, a University of San Diego High School student, recently competed against the most eloquent young local readers of Shakespeare’s work to win the 20th annual San Diego Shakespeare Competition. Next, he’ll travel to New York to compete at a national level where he’ll perform a soliloquy from Hamlet and sonnet 116. This year’s competition, judged in the final round by North Coast Repertory Theatre’s artistic director, David Ellenstein, the new chair of UCSD’s theater department, Charlie Oates, and KPBS’s Pat Launer, was held at La Jolla Playhouse (LJP). The site alternates between LJP and the Old Globe from year to year. Erin Capistrano from the Academy of Our Lady of Peace was runner up. Congratulations to all involved. — Darlene G. Davies

MoPA’s Treadwell Series
Eighty platinum/palladium prints by Andrea Modica will be on view at the Museum of Photographic Arts in Balboa Park through May 22. The first half of the show is composed of Modica’s much acclaimed Treadwell series, from which 17 previously unpublished or unseen images are paired with 22 of those better known. The photos derive their name from Treadwell, New York, where Modica lived and photographed a family of 13 people in the intimate moments of their lives. Such descriptors as “haunting” and “ambiguous” have been used to describe the portraits, which capture elements of aloneness, friendship, and play. The other half of the exhibition consists of 41 photographs from her latest project, Fountain, and it documents four teenagers at play and in controlled chaos in Fountain, Colorado. Modica’s platinum prints are admired for their lush velvety tones. (619/238-7559, www.mopa.org)
— Darlene G. Davies

A Celebration Of Global Proportions
The year 2005 is one of celebration for the Old Globe Theatre. Not only does it mark the 90th birthday of long-time artistic director Craig Noel, but it’s the 70th anniversary of the Old Globe and the 50th of that grand and loyal support group, the Globe Guilders. The theatre was built for the 1935 Exposition, during which the Globe Players performed brief versions of Shakespeare’s plays to enthusiastic audiences. Its endurance is remarkable considering that such events as World War II intervened (the military utilized Balboa Park buildings during that time), and many Globe players have come and gone. Meanwhile, Vincent in Brixton, a play about Van Gogh’s creative beginnings in London, continues on the Cassius Carter Centre Stage at the Old Globe through May 8. Soon, the Old Globe arts complex shifts into gear for the summer Shakespeare Festival, bringing with it 70 years of glorious memories. (619/231-1941, www.TheOldGlobe.org) — Darlene G. Davies

In Living Color
This month, Art Alive, that wonderful floral extravaganza, arrives in full glory at San Diego Museum of Art (SDMA), an art and culture center that’s incredibly busy these days. More than 100 designers will fill the museum rotunda and galleries with floral displays representing interpretations of art collections. One of the longest running exhibitions of its kind in the U.S., Art Alive is immensely popular with the public.
June, July, and August will be chock full of new and engaging art shows at SDMA. More later. (619/232-7931, www.sdmart.org)
— Darlene G. Davies