The Santa Cruz Art email list (SCART) is an email forum for announcing non-institutional art events, meetings and projects, ideas and news. It is a low-volume, moderated list sharing information about local Santa Cruz art topics only.

An artist friend once told me that if you don't document art, any newcomer in town is not going to know that Santa Cruz has a vibrant art community that exists largely outside of the gallery grind. Document, she said, and the artists in town, new and old, will have a sense of momentum -- a sense, that in spite of the lack of art galleries, art buyers, art patrons, art grants, art money, that this town has a lively habit of blurring the boundary between art and life.

To that end, we created the Santa Cruz Art Conspiracy. An attempt to document some of the non-institutional creative efforts of artists in Santa Cruz. We want your contributions and documentation of your creative endeavors in and around Santa Cruz.

But beyond documentation, this is about community and connection. The Art Conspiracy is really about connecting with other artists, to share a beer or a creative idea, or ask questions about process, or reach out from a North Coast studio or a South County warehouse to make new friends and alliances.

Will SCArt feature public guerilla art? Certainly. Public performance? Absolutely. Creative groups operating outside of the realm of commerce? Yeah, sure. Street art? Street music? Yes and yes. Announcements for gallery shows? Sure, though we wouldn't want that to be the bulk of what we're doing here. How about city-sponsored events? I hope not, but who knows. Awesome bands playing at Moe's Alley? Yeah, no.

This is less about "making it" as an artist, and more about making art. Its all about this elusive something that I'm having a difficult time describing. A bit of underdogism, perhaps, a sense of struggling together, of changing the world through art, of making the world a fabulous, beautiful, mysterious, and surprising place.
Need to announce an art happening? Is it local to Santa Cruz? Is it non-institutional? Non-commercial? Send an announcement to our moderated announcement list: scart@lists.riseup.net
 

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Do you do performance? Conceptual art? Non-commercial music? Want to join a discussion focusing on the process of making art and building community? We prefer to focus on the cathartic process of creating art, collaboration and community, conceptional art and performance. We'd like to hear from you. Email us at scart@riseup.net
 
Santa Cruz Art Site: santacruzart.net

Drawing People in Illustrated Stories                                                                   

Subrosa 703 Pacific Ave 
Tue Mar 9th, 23rd, Apr 6th, 20th –  4:30pm  

Though I know how to draw a lot of things, I still struggle drawing people and faces in my comix. Maybe you already know how or maybe I'll drum up some resources to help us. In any case, we can learn from each other. Let's get together and learn and draw. Class will cover basic face geometry, drawing faces at angles, expressions, recognizable characters, poses and action, and developing a style. Requirements: Bring heavy sketch paper, pencils, a good white eraser, and pens.

While we managed to get the calendar up online unusually early this quarter, printing the calendar is delayed.

However, even though you may not have a paper calendar in-hand, classes are going full-bore.  Here are the classes this first week:

• Theater Games - Mon 4-6pm
• Beginning Boxing - Mon 7-8pm
• Navaho Language Class - Mon 7pm (weekly)
• Crafty Tuesday - Tue 10am-2pm (weekly)
• Freedom Drumming - Tue 4pm (weekly)
  
• Bird Language - Wed 8am
• Intersectionality of Patriarchy - Wed Noon (weekly)
  
• Autonomy & Addiction - Wed Noon
• Music Theory & Group Guitar - Wed 3-4pm (weekly)
• Sewing - Thu 2-5pm (weekly)
• Prisoner Support Letter Writing - Thu 12pm-2pm (weekly)
  
• Mosaic Architecture - Thu 3pm
• Bread-Making - Thu 7-9pm
• Poi-Spinning - Fri 3:30-5pm (weekly)
  
• Kid's Day at the Bike Church - Sat 10am-2pm
• Math - Sat 4-5pm (weekly)
• Surrealism - Sat 4pm (weekly)
  

The Free Skool 2010 Spring Calendar is available online here.  Also we have tiny pocket preview paper calendars at SubRosa at 703 Pacific Ave. 

Dark Hyphy Mist – The Art of Swampdonkey

Please join us for a First Friday art opening reception.  SubRosa offers the unusual work of Swampdonkey.

Join us for figure drawing in the garden. This Sunday, January 28th
from 2 - 5 pm. $10 donation to help pay for the model. We will have a
nude woman this month, in the middle of the sourgrass and under a
(hopefully) blue sky. Free coffee! Beautiful setting! Bring your own
supplies, we'll have a few eisels to lend out. Come inspire one another
and enjoy the human form.
www.fairy-talefarm.com for location and more information or email us at:
reservations@fairy-talefarm.com

Hey Kids,
Sorry for the late notice...Two rad events, back to back on the same
night. I'm stoked. I hope you guys can all come.
Tomorrow is the FIRST FRIDAY of February, so it's time for ART/BIKE
(the first one I've organized since my return to Santa Cruz!). The
local galleries will be hosting opening parties until 9PM. There's
usually some good art and some bad art and some free wine and some
snacks. Here's the details:
friday FEBRUARY 5, 2010
6PM
meet at the BIKE CHURCH: 703 Pacific Ave at Spruce St
we'll hit the "FUN-A-DAY" show at the dead cow first. after that, it's
up to you guys.
obviously, bring your bike. lights and helmets recommended. dress up
if you want.
PLUS!!!!
This is the first ever BRAZEN DANCE PARTY (a spin off of the brazen
square dance) a boombox-powered dance party in some
yet-to-be-disclosed public space in a well-lit corner of down town
Santa Cruz. We'll be playing funk, soul, rock steady, doo wop, some
new wave, a little riot grrl,  90's hip hop and r&b, and all your
favorite euro dance trash. No excuse for missing this one. Check it
out:
friday FEBRUARY 5, 2010
9:30PM
meet at PERGOLESI on Cedar St at Elm St, but we'll move on from there...
dancing shoes. bike shoes. whatever. all ages. remember that we'll be
in public space, so please don't bring anything that will get us in
trouble.
If you have any questions, email or call 212-5328.
Hugs and kisses,
Elaina

Join us this Wednesday across from the Farmer's Market for kecak, or Indonesian Monkey Chant


Indonesian Monkey Chant
Across from Farmer's Market
Wednesdays 4pm

Kecak is a form of Balinese music drama, also known as the Ramayana Monkey Chant.  The vocal music is performed by a circle of as many as 100s of performers, percussively chanting "cak" in interlocking patterns and rhythmically throwing up their arms.  Other elements include a vocal gong cycle and a time keeper. 

Traditionally, it depicted a battle from the Ramayana where the monkey-like Vanara helped Prince Rama fight the evil King Ravana.

Here's a kecak scene from the film Baraka:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkxuPxdsZ58&NR=1

Last week, one of my heroes died at the age of 87.  Howard Zinn, historian and shipyard worker, civil rights activist and World War II bombardier, and author of “A People’s History of the United States,” a book that inspired a generation to rethink American history.  Many of us were deeply touched by his intelligence, compassion, and humor.

I had the honor of creating an illustrated account of one of his often-told stories, a New York anti-war march and police riot that turned him into a life-long radical.  I had the pleasure of giving it to him in person at a talk in Boston a few years ago.

Times Square: A True Story by Howard Zinn Story by Howard Zinn, Illustration by Wes Modes Howard Zinn's personal account of a New York demonstration and police riot in the late 30's that left him with a life-long radical point-of-view. Times Square A rather large PDF of about 2Mb. Or get the print version suitable for making a sweet little comic zine (a huge 12Mb pdf)

Anarchism & Fiction: A Mythmakers & Lawbreakers Book Talk

Wednesday 6pm @ SubRosa, 703 Pacific Ave

A brief and arguably entertaining evening with Margaret Killjoy, editor of Mythmakers & Lawbreakers: Anarchist Writers on Fiction, a collection of fourteen original interviews with anarchist authors in the world of fiction (including Alan Moore! Ursula K. Le Guin! Derrick Jensen! Cristy Road! Starhawk! CrimethInc! and more!), published this Fall by our pals at AK Press. Discuss the role of storytelling in the anarchist movement — Learn about novelist assassins, post-colonial african squatters, writers who fought in revolutions and went on to write childrens’ stories! Find out what Tolkien, Camus, Orwell, and Kafka have to say about anarchism! Don’t miss it!

PLUS fantastic shorts, a shadow puppet show, and a star wars disco dance party.

BRING pillows, blankets, Star Wars action figures, and snacks to share. Donations are greatly appreciated and directly support the project.

SANTA CRUZ GUERILLA DRIVE-IN is an outdoor movie theater under the stars that springs up in the fields and industrial wastelands.  Beyond showing great movies and bringing a broad community together, part of our mission is helping reclaim public space and transforming our urban environment.

BREAKING NEWS, updated summer schedule, discussion,  do-it-yourself, email list, the works at

                       Women/Dyke/Trans Variety Show
                           6pm Sunday, January 17
                            at SubRosa Info Shop!


              Join us for an evening of amazing performances
Featuring musical guests Slow Teeth (Portland,OR), Adhamh Roland (Oakland,
CA), Annah AntiPalindrome(Oakland, Ca)....

And Spoken Word by Akiva Levi (Santa Cruz, CA) Kris Keuhn (Berlin,
Germany) dani drake (Santa Cruz, CA) Seeley Quest (Oakland, CA)...

Bring your own pieces to perform as well- we will have an open mic too!
Everyone is encouraged to come, and the stage is open to
women/dyke/trans/genderqueer identified folk.

SubRosa is located at 703 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, Ca on the corner of
Pacific and Spruce next to the Bike Church. $3-$7 donation requested, but
no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

contact dani at nourish_your_rage@riseup.net with questions or accessibility
needs.


SubRosa: A Community Space
Anarchist Cafe, Bookshop and Art Space
703 Pacific Avenue
Santa Cruz, California

 
I strayed into SubRosa, the infoshop at the south end of Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz, a quarter past eight on Thursday, January 7th for the weekly Open Mic. It’s a fairly small space, so there is no mic, but there was a well-crafted stage to prop up the creative poets, musicians and performers. SubRosa has an effective layout for squeezing in a couple dozen people, and a puppy, as well as low-key lighting which made for a pleasant ambiance.


The recipe was right for an amazing night of poetry and performance at SubRosa. UC Santa Cruz is back in session, we’re in a new decade and it was the first Open Mic in a few weeks. For these reasons and others beyond our understanding, some of the freshest and finest artists in Santa Cruz came together to realize an incredible evening of Open Mic talent.

The night was hosted by the legendary Jack, who also entertained with some lines he brought together in his notebook. I don’t know if the artist lineup was planned out or if it came together by chance, but it was a graceful blending of poets woven between musicians and singers. Each performer was alloted five minutes on stage.

As I walked in, a vocalist and guitarist were singing a beautiful song that I didn’t understand in French. Another womyn intermixed poetry with singing backed by a beatboxer in the audience. One persyn played guitar while singing about the friends she misses and a two week romance.

A womyn of small stature brought a large keyboard, and a French accent, through the crowd and onto the stage. Two stools and a scarf were used to support the keyboard as the modest performer melodically sang and played harmonica.

The final performer of the night strummed a guitar and sang about his friends whose lives were heading in a bad direction. Before getting started, he noted that the prior act was a tough one to follow.

The second to last performer began by brushing her teeth on stage, lauding dental hygiene, and lamenting the reality of life without insurance. Then she spoke bluntly about not being intimate with a partner in some months and requested a volunteer. The two began kissing on stage as people blushed, cheered or turned away. Then another volunteer was plucked from the audience for an additional round of kissing. A half dozen people of varying genders took turns making out on stage with the performer.

Attending the Open Mic is a fun way to find friends and locate creative artists. It is also a way to support the only public all-volunteer radical space in Santa Cruz. More information can be found about the weekly Open Mic and SubRosa at http://subrosaproject.org


From http://bradleystuart.net/2010/01/08/amazing-night-poetry-performance-subrosa/

Last Night is a do-it-yourself, decentralized, collective, spontaneous, open, public New Year's Eve celebration in Santa Cruz, California. Meet at the Saturn Cafe lot, Pacific & Spruce 5pm Sunset on New Year's Eve Parade will take off at 5:30pm and end in a street party at Pacific & Cooper Read the Last Night Manifesto

Hear ye, hear ye: it's not too late to join the fun!

Fun-A-Day is a nation-wide art project which takes place in the month of January-- culminating in an all ages, non-juried group art show in a community near you. Guidelines for entry are simple. Create your own project and produce one piece of artwork each day for the entire month of January. Then submit your 31 pieces by early February to be included in the show. Check out the links below for information about a show near you, for inspiration, and post your project ideas!

We invite and encourage your attendance and participation at a meeting on Sunday, Jan 10th, 2010, at 5PM in the Arts & Crafts Building at the Corralitos Cultural Center, 127 Hames Road, in Corralitos. The meeting is sponsored by the Corralitos Artists' Collective. This meeting is being held to discuss the desires and needs of local artists, to begin forming a long term plan that develops opportunities for artists to display and sell their work at the Center, and to make available space and time for those wishing to teach classes and offer workshops.

The Artists' Collective is open to visual and graphic artists, performing artists in music and dance, as well as writers and poets in the literary arts. The Center's goal is to present a wide range of arts and culture to the local community and adjacent neighborhoods, for children as well as adults.

We hope you are interested in participating in the process of building a vibrant and thriving art community in one of the nicest areas along the central coast. Please RSVP if you are able to attend. If you are unable to attend but are interested in becoming part of the Collective, please let us know so we can keep you informed. If you have friends that might be interested, please forward this information to them.

For more information call: 831 254-2669 or email at cac@corralitosculturalcenter.org.

Please visit the Cultural Center website: www.corralitosculturalcenter.org.

Finally, stop by the Gallery (see dates and hours below) to see the facilities
Wed & Thur 3-6pm,
Fri, Sat & Sun Noon - 6pm

Thanks,
Corralitos Artists' Collective
127 Hames Rd., Corralitos, CA 95076
www.corralitosculturalcenter.org

PS. The Corralitos Cultural Center's Arts & Crafts building, is equipped with ceramic kilns, lots of tables, easels, etc... and even has kitchen facilities. The Theater & Gallery building is very suitable for performing arts and music classes, rehearsals, recitals, and performances.

info@lastnightdiy.org www.lastnightdiy.org

Five years after police attempted to shut it down, the Last Night DIY celebration still refuses permission to bring a homespun tradition to Santa Cruz streets. In it's fifth year, the do-it-yourself, grassroots celebration with a family-friendly parade, street party, entertainment, and performers to take over downtown for a evening of DIY adventure and entertainment.

More than an evening's entertainment, this is a parade with a purpose. The message is simple: We can do it ourselves. From its beginnings in 2004, the parade is not about merely celebrating, but celebrating what we as a community can do outside of governments, corporations, and institutions. It is a celebration of both our autonomy and the support we bring to each other.

In this historic moment, when the economy is spirally into the ground and the local community is plagued with violence, we have an opportunity to create something good and sustainable and compassionate -- the polar opposite approach of law enforcement.

The spontaneous, open Last Night celebration is an antidote to recent reactionary groups who wish to take back Santa Cruz from "undesirable elements," a fear-mongering movement largely pushed by well-heeled white residents. This celebration has always been about taking back our streets and town -- but the people already at the bottom of the socio-economic ladder are not our enemy.

This year, organizers asked themselves, how can we talk about families, and real people on the streets, and about controlling how these streets feel to us? This celebration includes a broad diversity of people including young and old, rich and poor, white and brown, English and Spanish speaking, housed and homeless.

The Last Night website (lastnightdiy.org) states, ""We are not asking for permits and permission, nor are there any limits on participation. Our entire community is invited to participate and celebrate together."

This year on New Year's Eve, the celebration will meet at 5pm near the Saturn Cafe parking lot on Pacific Ave and Spruce Street.

INSURGENT PHOTO
A SANTA CRUZ RADICAL PHOTOGRAPHERS FREE SKOOL WORKSHOP

Radical art photographers unite!

This class is for radical photographers to come together to share, discuss, and critique our photographs.  Together we'll make deeply insightful, meaningfully political, and
disturbingly provocative images. 

Group assignments, creative collaborations,
photo shoots, sharing and critiquing.

Second Friday of the month
Dec 11th & Jan 8th  –  6pm
SubRosa, 703 Pacific Ave
(Bring examples of your work to share. )