The spring quarter arrives with a number of new art exhibitions::

• Nelson Gallery -- Visualizing Revolution: Propaganda Posters from the People's Republic of China, 1949-1989, comprising 78 prints and original works from the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre. April 3-May 18. Reception, 6-8 p.m. April 10.

Poster art comprises the bulk of the exhibit, and it also includes political documents related to the posters.

Other works include big character posters (dazibao), original paintings, paper cuts and woodblock prints.

The guest curators are UC Davis' Katharine P. Burnett, associate professor of Chinese art history, and Yang Peiming, the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre's owner and director.

(See separate story on a national symposium related to this exhibition.)

The Nelson also is coordinating two other spring quarter exhibitions:

Dan Shapiro: Former Faculty Member, 1920-1982, at the Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center, March 20-May 18.

Chinese Door Gods, in the Nelson's Entryway Gallery, April 3-May 18.

• Craft Center Gallery -- Mixt Snacks, a multimedia installation by the center's flame-working instructor, Nakona MacDonald. March 31-May 2.

Flame-working artisans heat glass rods to fashion beads, vessels, marbles and sculptures.

The Craft Center Gallery plans a May 9-June 6 exhibition by Andy Kontrabecki, the center's former ceramics and glass manager.

• The Gallery -- BE: An Element, the 2008 juried student art show, featuring works by 22 undergraduates. March 31-April 25.

The $250 best in show award and certificates of merit are due to be presented at a reception, 6-8 p.m. April 16.

Every year since 1967, this gallery on the Memorial Union's second floor has invited students to enter up to three works for review by an outside juror.

The competition is open to a wide range of media including painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, printmaking, photography, ceramics, textiles and video.

• C.N. Gorman Museum -- Eagle of the Dawn: Northwest Coast Master, featuring the work of Haida artist Robert Davidson (Haida name guud san glans or "Eagle of the Dawn"), considered by his peers to be the premier artist of the Northwest Coast. April 1-June 11. Artist lecture and reception, 6:30 p.m. April 17.

The museum announced that Davidson's exhibition will comprise sculpture; woven spruce-root basketry; and works on paper, hide drums and cloth.

Works by Reg Davidson, Claude Davidson, Robert Davidson Sr. and Charles Edenshaw also will be on display, according to the museum.

• Design Museum -- Design by Design, the museum's annual juried student exhibition, April 7-19, concluding on Picnic Day. The exhibition is described as "a lively survey of student talent and creativity that reflects the multidisciplinary breadth of the Design Program's coursework."

The Design Museum's Year of Ecoexhibitions concludes with Fashion Conscious: Sustainable Fashion Design, May 15-July 13.

A related symposium, Designing With Conscience, is scheduled the afternoon of May 18, with a reception to follow at the museum. The free symposium is being organized by the Fashion Conscious exhibition curators, Susan Taber Avila, UC Davis design professor, and Julia Schwartz, freelance writer, designer and UC Davis design alumna '05. Registration and more information: click here.

CONTINUING EXHIBITIONS

The Many Faces of Latin American Cinema -- First floor, Shields Library, through March 28.

The Poster -- Student-made screenprints from 10 years of Chicano Studies 172. Davis Community Gallery at the Davis Community Clinic, 2051 John Jones Road, through May 2.

Small Abstract Paintings by Richard Petticord, Charles Seliger, Albert Smith and Robert Sterling -- Nelson Entryway Gallery, through March 23.

Sonar Eclipse-Echo Location, Spectral Reservoir and Ginko Afterglow -- Interactive installations by Liz Phillips. Nelson Gallery, through March 23.

Unitrans at 40: Moving Students Through the Decades -- First floor, Shields Library, through March 28.

Yuyanapaq: To Remember -- Photos recalling the political violence in Peru between 1980 and 2000. Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center, through April 1.

GALLERIES AND MUSEUMS

Buehler Alumni and Visitors Center, Old Davis Road at Mrak Hall Drive, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.- 3 p.m. Sunday.

Craft Center Gallery, South Silo, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Friday, and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. (530) 752-3096.

Design Museum, 145 Walker Hall, noon-4 p.m. Monday-Friday, 2-4 p.m. Sunday, and by appointtent. (530) 752-6223.

The Gallery, second floor, Memorial Union. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. (530) 752-2885.

C.N. Gorman Museum, first floor, Hart Hall, noon-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, and by appointment. (530) 752-6567.

Nelson Gallery and Entryway Gallery (Fine Art Collection), Rooms 124-125 Art Building, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 2-5 p.m. Sunday, and by appointment. (530) 752-8500.

Galleries and museums are closed on all university holidays.