Tag archives: arts

‘Faces of Leica L.A.’ Exhibition
By Joanne A Calitri   |   November 21, 2023

Paris Chong, Gallery Manager and Curator of the prestigious Leica Gallery Los Angeles since 2013, curated an exhibition dedicated to a select group of accomplished and diverse Leica photographers, titled, Faces of Leica L.A. on view at the Ren Gallery [the Leica Annex] in the L.A. Arts District through November 30. I was invited and […]

Hanging Around Town 
By Steven Libowitz   |   November 21, 2023

Year four of Ready to Hang, a one-day pop-up show open to all local artists to display and sell their one-foot-square creations, takes place 6-9 pm this Saturday, November 18, at the Community Arts Workshop downtown. The free exhibition, which serves as an opportunity to see new works by a wide swath of the artistic […]

Book ‘em 
By Steven Libowitz   |   November 21, 2023

Organizational psychologist and best-selling author Adam Grant’s new book Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things, explores a new framework for raising aspirations and exceeding expectations, including how to build the skills and structures for success and create opportunities for those who have been overlooked. Grant will share his concepts in a paradigm-shifting conversation […]

Sweet Midori a Ride Along the Silkroad
By Richard Mineards   |   November 21, 2023

UCSB Arts & Lectures was on a roll at the Granada last week with two major productions within 48 hours. Kicking off the impressive program was Japanese violinist Midori and the Festival Strings Lucerne, under artistic director Daniel Dodds. Founded in 1956, the Swiss company is now considered one of the world’s most distinguished chamber […]

Art Museum Goes Big with 675 Small Works
By Scott Craig   |   November 14, 2023

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art’s most popular exhibition and fundraiser returns to Montecito on Nov. 30 to Dec. 15, offering viewers an opportunity to see and bid on more than 675, small five-inch-square works by regional, national, and international artists. The museum hosts a free, public opening reception on Thursday, Nov. 30, from 4 […]

New Landscapes Part I: Group Exhibit at the Atkinson Gallery
By Joanne A Calitri   |   November 14, 2023

I attended the opening of an exhibition at the Atkinson Gallery at Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) titled New Landscapes Part I, which is on view through December 8. The artists exhibiting are Whitney Bedford, Diedrick Brackens, Manuel López, Cruz Ortiz, Jonathan Ryan,and Jonas Wood. The exhibition was conceived and curated by Atkinson Gallery Director […]

The Lithographs of Scottish Artist David Roberts
By Elizabeth Stewart   |   November 7, 2023

A Montecito Journal reader has a series of works that are dear to my heart. This is a portfolio of early 19th-century foreign and European landscapes rendered in 50 plus lithographs by the Scottish artist David Roberts (Edinburgh, 1796-1864). I had a year abroad in grad school at the University of Edinburgh and met my […]

Native American Chieftain Lithographs
By Elizabeth Stewart   |   October 31, 2023

What do these faces reveal? We see Native American Chiefs circa 1838 pictured in two wonderful lithographs. JF owns these two portraits of distinguished Native Americans, and he wants to know how the portraits came to be. Were they painted “on site” in a Tribal village? In a studio? Interestingly, the artist is notable, but […]

Waterhouse Goes Solo
By Richard Mineards   |   October 31, 2023

Artist and gallery owner Ralph Waterhouse, who just celebrated this 80th birthday with a boffo bash at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, hosted his first solo exhibition in 25 years at his new gallery on Coast Village Road, just a tiara’s toss from Ca’Dario. “My wife Diane thought it would be a good […]

A Colorful Opening
By Richard Mineards   |   October 31, 2023

To the charming Danish community of Solvang, just 45 minutes north on the 101, for Santa Barbara artist Mara Abboud’s latest exhibition at the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature. Mara, sister of menswear designer Joseph Abboud, in 2014 designed the Granada Theatre’s 90th anniversary celebration poster and in 1980 was named Artist of the […]

Commission on Culture, Arts, and Joy Justice
By Stella Haffner   |   October 17, 2023

There’s a new club in town! The Commission on Culture, Arts, and Joy Justice (CCAJJ) is a new student government associated organization at UCSB founded by PhD student Charlene Macharia. This week I spoke to Macharia to find out what it means to do creative activism and how social justice activists can keep progress moving […]

A Plein Air Affair
By Richard Mineards   |   October 17, 2023

Peripatetic accountant Frank McGinity opened the gates of his charming historic Riven Rock estate for An Artful Affair for 135 guests and organized by the Art Foundation of Santa Barbara. Nine local artists – Ralph Waterhouse, Chris Chapman, John Iwerks, Danuta Bennett, Chris Potter, Ann Sanders, Patricia Post, Ray Hunter, and Andrea Anderson – and […]

Hanging On: Art Around Town
By Steven Libowitz   |   September 26, 2023

Nearly 30 artists from near and far are saddling up for the 13th annual SLOPOKE Art of the West Show on September 22-24 at Flag Is Up Farms in Solvang. Former longtime president of the California Art Club Peter Adams serves as the featured guest artist and juror for the fine art show – appropriately […]

Art Attacks: Sonnenberg on Site
By Steven Libowitz   |   September 19, 2023

Artist Anthony Sonnenberg’s current Santa Barbara Museum of Art exhibition WARES! Extraordinary Ceramics and the Ordinary Home explores expressions of power through decoration within various cultures. In the lecture, The Power to Be, Sonnenberg discusses how personal, social, and political power dynamics are expressed through decorative decadence and excess, including an over-embellished palace, an ornate […]

Granada Legends: Annual Gala Takes the Stage
By Steven Libowitz   |   September 12, 2023

There’s no doubt that The Granada Theatre has played a vital role in developing and extending Santa Barbara’s thriving music and performing arts landscape for many decades – especially since 2008, when the theater reopened after a massive multi-million dollar renovation. The result not only restored The Granada to its 1930s glory but established the […]

Come for the Studio, Stay for the Art
By Steven Libowitz   |   September 5, 2023

In the two decades plus since the Santa Barbara Studio Artists (SBSA) launched their annual Open Studios Tour, several others have sprung up in the area, including the Mesa, Carpinteria, and most recently upper State Street. But the SBSA Labor Day weekend is still the granddaddy of them all, the largest and most prestigious event […]

Art Exhibit Straddles the Intellectual, Spiritual
By Scott Craig   |   August 22, 2023

Celebrated Santa Barbara artist Linda Ekstrom offers a wide range of poetic, imaginative, and spiritual works of transformed fabric, paper, books, and gloves in an exhibition (August 31 – November 11) at the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art. A free opening reception Thursday, August 31 from 4-6 pm at the museum, honors Straddling Circumference…The Art […]

Discounts for Devotees of “The Dark”
By Steven Libowitz   |   August 15, 2023

The annual discount derby for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival next year is going on right now. SBIFF returns to town – or more accurately, dominates the entertainment calendar – from February 7-17, 2024, with its usual slate of celebrity tributes, industry panels, and 200 or so new independent and international films, including daily […]

Jenna Hamilton-Rolle Joins A&L Team
By Richard Mineards   |   July 25, 2023

Jenna Hamilton-Rolle, former director of education at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History and the Sea Center, is the new director of education and community engagement for UCSB Arts & Lectures. She brings many community connections to her new role, including administrators and educators at the Goleta and Santa Barbara Unified school districts, and […]

Dichotomy of Laundry
By Joanne A Calitri   |   July 18, 2023

Artist Colleen M. Kelly and Santa Barbara Poet Laureate Melinda Palacio are exhibiting a collaboration at the Silo Gallery in the Funk Zone from now through July 22. There will be an artist talk on July 15 at 4 pm to discuss the finer details behind the art and poems. Art and poetry are subjective […]