Hang ‘em High: Art Worth CAW-ing About and a New Museum at Gallery Row

Even prisoners locked away in solitary confinement in a tiny 6 by 9 foot cell get almost 55 square feet to themselves. But the 350 artists participating in Ready to Hang get just a single square foot on which to express themselves in the annual community-wide exhibition from the Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative in its home at the Community Arts Workshop. 

It’s not punishment. The idea behind limiting everyone to presenting just a single 12×12” piece – no larger, no smaller, and including optional framing or mounting – not only allows Ready to Hang to be the single largest art show around in terms of sheer numbers of participants, it also serves as an egalitarian approach that increases inclusivity and inventiveness. How? Both by lowering the barrier to entry, and by fueling the creative fire typically sparked by such severe spatial requirements –  constraints that artists might find helpful. 

“The restriction of 12×12 forces artists to get creative while staying within those parameters,” explained Adrienne De Guevara, who is part of the Arts Collaborative and one of three “curators” of the exhibit. “That challenge can make for really interesting work.” 

As does the fact that Ready to Hang meshes experienced with emerging artists, attracting participants of all levels and history to show and sell new work, including both newbies showing in their first ever public event and multiple-decade veterans of Santa Barbara’s art world. Participants over the previous five years have ranged in age from eight to 90, while media include everything from abstracts and oil paintings on canvas to drawings on paper, textiles, photography and even assemblage – as long as it easily hangs on the wall and the depth doesn’t exceed five inches. 

Meanwhile, visitors get to view and perhaps purchase work by hundreds of artists in a single show – purchase decisions that may be as energized by constraint as the artists’ work. That is, the exhibit is only up for a single evening, the Saturday before Thanksgiving, this year from 4-9 pm on November 22. 

“That helps to create a lot of excitement,” De Guevara said. “You’ve got to make the time and make plans to get in and see the work before it goes away.”

This sixth year of Ready to Hang comes with some improvements for 2025, including new track lighting replacing the stark and harsh Costco-style lights of previous years. All the galleries are finished and fully painted, too. 

It’s also only the second year with a theme. This time around, that theme is “Origins”; though much like the ever-changing Solstice Parade theme, it is interpreted very loosely, 

“The idea is that with so much division and issues with immigration happening in the world right now, artists can be proud of their origins and share that with other people,” De Guevara said. “But it’s just a prompt.” 

All work is also for sale – with no exceptions, just like the square foot requirement – although artists can set their own price, which have ranged in the past from $20 to several hundred or more. Seventy percent of the proceeds go to the artist with just 30 percent earmarked to support the work of the Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative. 

And the emphasis is on the organization’s last word in its name, as the night before the public event there’s a private artist reception which is equally a party and a chance to connect with other artists, an opportunity not often available at a typical exhibition. There’s a band and free food to attract as many of the artists as possible. 

“We really try to make it kind of a big deal and a fun event so that the artists feel really honored and taken care of, and come out of the siloed space of their studios,” De Guevara said. “We really want to bring them together. They also get first crack at the artwork.” 

Purchasers can take their pieces home with them as early as 6 pm on Saturday, so getting there in the first two hours is the only way to see each work by all 350 artists. 

“It’s a pretty popular event. Come early,” De Guevara said. 

Visit www.sbcaw.org/hang.

Gallery Row Gets New Museum

La Cumbre Center for Creative Arts (LCCCA) at Gallery Row in La Cumbre Plaza has a new addition to the line-up, making a total of six, just in time for LCCCA’s sixth anniversary. The Museum of Tibetan Art (MoTAC) and Culture & Legacy Art Studios, featuring Lama Tashi Norbu and Crispin Barrymore of Legacy Art Studios, has its official Grand Open ceremony with a Tibetan Sacred Healing concert and more, during the 3rd Friday Art Walk on Friday, November 21, from 5-8 pm. The monthly LCCCA event boasts live art-making, live music, refreshments, and the opportunity for community participation, including adding paint to a life-size papier-mâché elephant as part of a larger collaborative project. MoTAC is the latest entry serving to transform La Cumbre Plaza from a shopping center into a space for art, culture and connection, now with six galleries: Illuminations, Elevate, The Fine Line, The Voice Gallery and Grace Fisher Foundation’s Inclusive Arts Clubhouse. Friday also features the Crimson Holidays pop-up shop, featuring local artisans and their handcrafted creations.

Visit https://lcccasb.com.