The Museum of Sonoma County’s new show, “On Tap: Sonoma County Hops and the Beer Revolution,” juxtaposes the story of hop growing in the county with the history of Sonoma’s craft brew revolution.

The two industries peaked at opposite ends of the 20th century, with local hops nearly disappearing just a few decades before the surge of interest in artisan beer making, which started in 1976 with New Albion Brewery, widely acknowledged as the nation’s first craft brewery.

The exhibition follows widely divergent threads of the industry, from the stories of Chinese workers growing and harvesting hops in the early 1900s, to labor unrest in the 1930s, to today’s landmark craft brewers and small-scale hop growers, who have made Sonoma County into a hot bed of beer-making innovation.

“There are so many arcs to this story, and it all connects,” says museum curator Eric Stanley. “You realize how distinct and intense and important hop growing was to the county and how quickly it nearly disappeared, just as craft beer was becoming so important.”

The exhibit includes a huge, modern hop-picking machine on display (“the only one that would fit in the building,” jokes Stanley), vintage videos of the local hop harvest, and interactive sniffing stations that explore the aromatics of different hop varieties.

The museum will host talks and demonstrations over the summer, including a “Legends of Beer” panel discussion and a big tasting event outdoors in the museum’s sculpture garden on July 20.

Through Sept. 1. Museum of Sonoma County, 425 Seventh St., Santa Rosa. 707-579-1500, museumsc.org

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The Museum of Sonoma County in downtown Santa Rosa makes waves this summer with the commission of a bold new show that honors the work of Black artist collectives in the Bay Area. Lucia Olubunmi Momoh, a curator and scholar currently with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, developed the show with Ashara Ekundayo, who works with the Museum of the African Diaspora and Black [Space] Residency in San Francisco.

The exhibition spotlights how working in community with other artists can amplify Black voices, expand their artistic practices and nurture their spirits. San Francisco artist Cheryl Derricotte, an emeritus member of Three Point Nine Art Collective, says creating art as part of a collective provided a sense of safety and familiarity.

“I think that it’s important as a society for us to recognize that there is work we can do in community that should be uplifted,” says Derricotte. “I think the pandemic has really elevated our need for all of us to see each other in community, as part of an ecosystem — for everyone’s well-being.”

Derricotte contributed a piece to the exhibition that celebrates Mary Ellen Pleasant, a prominent 19th-century Black entrepreneur and abolitionist with deep ties to Sonoma Valley. Pleasant, one of the first Black millionaires, owned several businesses in San Francisco around the time of the Gold Rush, and later moved to Sonoma Valley to build the landmark house at Beltane Ranch in Glen Ellen. Pleasant was likely one of just a handful of Black women living in Sonoma Valley in the mid-to-late 19th century. In conjunction with the show, Derricotte plans to lead a museum talk and field trip to Beltane Ranch in August.

The multimedia show, including works on paper, photography, sculpture, video and more, is on view at the Museum of Sonoma County through Nov. 27. 425 Seventh St., Santa Rosa. 707-579-1500, museumsc.org

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