Tag archives: arts

Bearing Witness, Studio Artists, and More
By Steven Libowitz   |   September 8, 2026

Brian Kuhlmann has been a professional photographer for more than 40 years, working in a wide array of fields. His photography has been featured in many advertising campaigns for big-name brands – Coca-Cola, Coors and Corona, just under the letter ‘C’ – splashed across the pages of innumerable publications and hung on the walls of […]

Two Photography Exhibitionson View Now
By Joanne A Calitri   |   August 18, 2026

The Channel City Camera Club’s (CCCC) August photography exhibit is on view now through August 31 at the SB Downtown Library during normal business hours. Putting her PR hat back on for the CCCC is Katrina Carl, former head of marketing and communications at the SB Museum of Art. Katrina reached out to me about […]

Celebrating More Space: More Mesa Open Space at Faulkner
By Hattie Beresford   |   June 30, 2026

“In wildness is the preservation of the world,” wrote Henry David Thoreau in his famous essay, “Walking.” In it, he maintains that humans are a part of nature, and that all things come from the natural world, which must be protected for our own health. In another essay he said, “We need the tonic of […]

A New Season is Upon Us
By Zach Rosen   |   June 16, 2026

Between conversations, croquettes, and glasses of bubbly, a crowd gathered for the UCSB Arts & Lectures 2026-2027 Season Reveal party at the Hotel Californian. After a touch of cavorting outside, the guests moved into the Alhambra Ballroom to see what is in store for the world-class set of performances and speakers that audiences have come […]

Artist Tom Pazderka Curates New Mural Exhibit
By Joanne A Calitri   |   June 9, 2026

On Thursday, May 14, I had a one-on-one tour with artist and SB County Arts and Culture Curator, Tom Pazderka, of their latest exhibit titled, Scaling the Walls. The show spans two public spaces, the Channing Peake Gallery and the City Hall Gallery, both on Anacapa Street. As these are located in government buildings, there […]

Local Artists Lauded for Beauty Amid Chaos
By Scott Craig   |   June 2, 2026

About 200 art enthusiasts flowed through the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art and the surrounding umbrella-covered patio for the opening of the Tri-County juried exhibition, Altered Realities, on May 22.  The star of the event was Romanian-born Contemporary Artist Nurit Ruckenstein, who won Best of Show, for her colorful acrylic on canvas, Day in the […]

A Creative Vessel
By Zach Rosen   |   May 11, 2026

This Workshop Fills the Sails of Your Story You find yourself secluded in thought. The idea is there but how to free it from this lonely island. A raw thought can be difficult to describe. To share with others. Freeing an idea is the art of expressing creativity. You try to find the words to […]

At UCSB A&L, Tuesdays are for Talking
By Steven Libowitz   |   April 7, 2026

Whether by accident or design, UCSB Arts & Lectures has dedicated the first three Tuesdays in April to focusing on the L-word part of its name, with the dates offering discussions of some of the most pressing issues of the day. First up is Ibram X. Kendi, one of the world’s leading scholars of racism […]

In the Footsteps of Ansel Adams
By Scott Craig   |   March 31, 2026

Members and supporters of the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art experienced California’s Owens Valley and the Sierra Nevada on a unique trip Feb. 27-28 with stops at Manzanar National Historic Site, the Paiute Shoshone Cultural Center and nearby ancient petroglyphs. The group followed in the footsteps of Ansel Adams, visiting locations important to him, including […]

Curtains Open for Local Teens
By Scott Craig   |   March 24, 2026

About 120 junior high and 40 high school students enjoyed a special matinee performance of Little Women by the Westmont Theater Arts Department on March 5 in Porter Theatre. The event, made possible through a grant from the Towbes Fund for the Performing Arts, brought students from La Colina, Santa Barbara and La Cumbre Junior […]

Coast Village Association Presents Annual Art Walk
By Beth Sullivan   |   March 24, 2026

Coast Village Association invites you to the first art walk of the year – our spring Beyond the Canvas event. This special evening has become a favorite gathering where creativity, culture, and local businesses come together in a lively evening stroll along Coast Village Road. On Thursday, March 26th, from 4-7 pm – galleries, boutiques, […]

Rod Lathim’s Light-ening Rod for Life
By Steven Libowitz   |   February 17, 2026

Santa Barbara native multi-hyphenate Rod Lathim has just published a memoir, but don’t expect it to read like typical autobiographical efforts. Finding The Divine Child: A Journey of Spirit, Light & Art is a bit like Lathim’s life in the arts – where his endeavors include serving as an actor, director, producer, photographer, singer, writer […]

Alumna Artist Offers ‘Habitual Curiosity’
By Scott Craig   |   February 3, 2026

Emerging artist and Westmont alumna Chelsea Roberts (’18), who delicately illustrates wildlife and flora with a gentle, compassionate reverence, opens a solo exhibition, Habitual Curiosity, in the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum’s downstairs gallery through June 20.  Roberts, a scientific illustrator from Danville, conducts extensive research studying her subjects for hours before creating each piece. This forms a […]

2026 Art Market Predictions
By Elizabeth Stewart   |   January 5, 2026

Where is the art and decorative art market heading in 2026? Straight to the 1970s. Some recent high profile sales this past few weeks show that collectors are aggressively returning to sexy trophy objects, the more culturally evocative, the better; take for example a recent sale by the private boutique auction from Fair Warning on […]

Museum Hosts Event with Local Artists
By Scott Craig   |   December 16, 2025

Local artists Dane Goodman and Dug Uyesaka will speak about their works in the current exhibition on Monday, Dec. 15, from 4-5 pm in the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. The event, which includes refreshments, is free and open to the public.  “As accomplished artists across a breadth of media, Goodman and Uyesaka will share […]

Ben Kendall Paints a Picture
By Jeff Wing   |   December 9, 2025

Someone unwisely humblebrags about their artistic skills and you take the bait. When they obligingly doodle a horse on the back of an envelope, it looks like a spider scrawled with the wrong hand by a tilt-a-whirl drunk wearing a blindfold. You nod and fail to sound convincing, which you later regret. “Wow. Now that […]

Calder Mobile Draws Crowd to Exhibition
By Scott Craig   |   November 25, 2025

About 70 art lovers braved the wet weather for the opening of Between Planes: Exploring Sculpture Through Print on Nov. 13 at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. The unique show examines prints made by sculptors, offering a glimpse into artistic thought process of an artist prior to creating a sculpture.  A highlight of the […]

Museum Explores Sculpture Through Print
By Scott Craig   |   November 18, 2025

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art explores artistic vision across two-dimensional and three-dimensional media in Between Planes: Exploring Sculpture Through Print from Nov. 13 to Dec. 20. There will be a free public opening reception on Thursday, Nov. 13, from 4-6 pm at the museum. “A sculpture and a print exist in two different planes; […]

MAST-erful Art and More
By Steven Libowitz   |   November 11, 2025

The Mesa Artist Studio Tour reaches of-age status with its 21st annual event, a much more compact and community-focused little sibling to the Santa Barbara Studio Artists Tour every Labor Day weekend. Just eight studios encompass the tour around the neighborhood, although two are the site of two artists, meaning a more intimate and personal […]

Anchored in Light: John Comer Paints Visions from ‘Across the Channel’
By Zach Rosen   |   November 4, 2025

Each piece in John Comer’s Across the Channel has a glow… one could call it John’s style and approach to light in plein air, though really it feels more like the embers of his enthusiasm for the islands. The new series, showing at Santa Barbara Fine Art, gathers more than a dozen works painted from […]