Santa Cruz Art

Santa Cruz Art Photo Gallery

2010-12-16T20:31:00.001-08:00

Women/Trans Open Mic This Thursday (the 16th!)

2010-12-16T20:10:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends of SubRosa,

For the last two years, SubRosa has offered a weekly Open Mic to the Santa Cruz Art and Music Community. Lately, the Open Mic Crew has been brainstorming ways to make Open Mic feel more inclusive and how to attract a more interesting and diverse group of people to the space.

Starting this Thursday, Dec 16th, we are creating a Women & Trans Open Mic on the Third Thursday of each month. The space is open to everyone, but only ladies and trans folks will be invited to perform on the SubRosa stage for these special monthly Open Mics.

Yeah! Come and support what we're doing! Tell your friends!

<3 Open Mic Crew

Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas Fri Dec 17th 7pm

2010-12-16T20:09:00.000-08:00

P R E S E N T S

EMMET OTTER'S

Jug - Band Christmas

Friday December 17th, 7pm
Subrosa Community Space (inside where it's warm)
703 Pacific Avenue, across from Saturn Café

Alice Otter and her son, Emmet, struggle to make ends meet in the village of Frogtown Hollow. The fifty-dollar prize offered by a local talent contest inspires both Ma and Emmet to independently prepare musical performances with the hopes that a victory will allow them to buy Christmas presents for each other. At the same time, the Riverbottom Nightmare Gang, a group of rich kids with fancy electric equipment, make realizing these hopes difficult.

It's just 1 hour long, so how 'bout we drink tea and dance afterwards?

SANTA CRUZ GUERILLA DRIVE-IN is an outdoor movie theater under the stars that springs up unexpectedly in the fields and industrial wastelands. Beyond showing great free movies year-round and bringing a broad community together, part of our mission is reclaiming public space and transforming our urban environment into a joyful playground. http://www.guerilladrivein.org/

You got this as a member of the Guerilla Drive-In announcement list or maybe just because we like you.

To subscribe to the GDI announcement list, email guerilla-drive-in-subscribe@lists.riseup.net
To unsubscribe, email guerilla-drive-in-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net
Or hell, just go to the website at www.guerilladrivein.org

Free Skool Benefit Show! Wed 10/13

2010-12-16T20:08:00.001-08:00

Come to the Free Skool Benefit show, Wed, 10/13 at Subrosa, 703 Pacific, 7pm

Free Skool Santa Cruz Benefit Concert
Wed Oct 13th 7pm
SubRosa 703 Pacific Ave
$5-7 requested donation
(Up to $50 donation happily accepted to support the project)

With local acoustic music:

Matador
K.C.'s Finger Pickin' Guitar Band
Rigor Morals
and rippin' Santa Cruz Old Time

About Matador: Mathew and Dorota fuse together their musical expressions and their view of the world to create haunting songs of longing and wonder. Matador's music is pushed forward by the driving rhythms of Mathew's guitar, while Dorota's violin pulls the listener into another world. The instruments are overlaid by Mathew and Dorota's harmonic vocals, singing lyrics that paint pictures of the interplay between humans and nature. Their songs are dynamic, full of changing tempos and moods that can switch from comfortably mellow to gut-wrenchingly intense in a heartbeat. Combining their musical experiences with flashes of Polish and American folk music, their songs are inspired by the interplay between creation and destruction.

About Free Skool Santa Cruz: Free Skool Santa Cruz is a completely grassroots, collective effort to create an autonomous, mutual support network. It is a direct challenge to institutional control and the commodification of learning. Free Skool publishes a quarterly calendar offering hundreds of free classes three times a year since 2004.

Love,
Free Skool Santa Cruz
freeskoolsc@riseup.net
http://santacruz.freeskool.org

UnScruz! The 2nd annual Santa Cruz Burning Man decompression street party!

2010-12-16T20:08:00.000-08:00

Santa Cruz's official Burning Man Decompression, UnScruz, is on Saturday,
October 2, from noon to 10:00 p.m.!
Date: Saturday, October 2, 2010
Time: 12:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Downtown Santa Cruz on Lincoln Street between Pacific and Cedar
City/Town: Santa Cruz, CA
Email: santacruz@burningman.com
It's a Burning Man Decompression street party, Santa Cruz style! Please
invite everyone you know!
Bring your dusty selves at noon for ten hours full of fire, dance, music,
art, live performances, theme camps, DJs, and MORE!!!
Featured sound camps are Nexus, Dancetronauts, LeafyTribe and Unknown
Prophets!
Enjoy the creative expression that only Santa Cruz can provide for a cost of
only $10.00 in Playa couture/costume; $15.00 in street wear.
Our second annual Santa Cruz Decompression will be a a showcase for our
community so please help us bring our enchanted Black Rock City magical home
to the streets of Santa Cruz!
And please remember...this is a LEAVE NO TRACE EVENT : )
Facebook invitation:
http://www.facebook.com/?ref=logo#!/event.php?eid=116956541691479&ref=ts
See YOU there!!!!
---

If you are on Facebook, please join the Santa Cruz Burners page! You can
find us here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Santa-Cruz-CA/Santa-Cruz-Burners/99500412157?r
ef=ts

______________________________________________________

Civil Rights Photographer Bob Fitch Honored 10-06

2010-12-16T20:07:00.001-08:00

Bob Fitch, a civil rights photographer, activist, and long-time Resource
Center for Non-Violence staffer, will be honored by Assemblymember Bill
Monning at a reception at Bill Monning's District Office, 701 Ocean St,
Suite 318-B on October 6th from 4-5:30pm. People are invited to drop by,
see Bob's amazing photos of civil rights leaders, and hear some inspiring
words from Bob Fitch and Bill Monning. Call 425-1503 for more information.

Neighborhood Art Installation

2010-12-16T20:07:00.000-08:00

I am doing an art instillation in the Seabright Community that uses
three full length life size portraits of three indigenous women from
Guatemala, Mexico and Bolivia and am looking for artists who would like
to collaborate with me on this project. Please contact Drew Lewis @
(831) 471-9220 or email @ dudley@cruzio.com.
Peace, Drew Lewis

Upcoming Artist at Subrosa Cafe

2010-09-24T14:34:00.000-07:00

October 2010: It's the end of the world so what are you afraid of?
Selected Works by Mai Swift

My life consists of thoughts sewn to moments wrapped in context and this is how I live it. Tied to objects and beings, my work evokes fragmented sensations. There is no lie more compelling than a memory and no memory can be more than an elaborate and subtle lie. Truth is too objective to be remembered, but I can reestablish it in sculpted form. I can stuff my hearsay history into solid shapes that are real and true and cannot be denied.

When I started making sculpture, the “realist” human body seemed the paragon of form, function and concept. I saw myself in the beautiful women I wrought from clay, and fantasized that my own body was so easily mutable. By coming to terms with the imperfections inherent in my body, and the often ugly nature of living, these new works reconcile my dissatisfaction with traditional figuration and gender experience.

It's the end of the world so what are you afraid of?
Selected Works by Mai Swift
October 1st-31st
Artists Reception Friday, October 1st, 6-8pm
SubRosa, 703 Pacific at Spruce St

Mai Swift (maimai) is a sculptor currently living in a state of flux. No one can say where Mai will be next or what it is that Mai will be doing there. MaiMai attended Evergreen State College, studied nearly every sculptural medium, and graduated in 2009 with a BA in art. Mai's sculptural work moves seamlessly between ceramic, stone, wood, fabric, fine/industrial metals, found/repurposed objects, and glass.

Return of the Grammas Quuilting Workshop Tuesday at 6:30pm

2010-09-24T13:07:00.000-07:00

Return of the Grammas
Quilting as Personal and Communal Liberation
Every Tuesday in September 6:30-9pm

811 Broadway
with Wes and kai
quilt@thespoon.com, 831-704-6690

Picture old women sitting around a porch drinking beer, quilting together, creating something warm and strong, and talking about their lives. We are those old women. Inspired by the quilts of Gee's Bend, this is not a class focused on traditional quilting styles, but an excuse to come together, exercise our artistic creativity and radicalism, make something useful and beautiful, and build love and friendship. We'll discuss materials, process, design, the political implications of creating something from waste, and how historically quilts have tied communities together through generations of hardship. Though we will be working on individual projects, we will help and influence each other as a community. Requirements: All genders and all skill levels welcome. Please bring sewing stuff, snacks and beer to share.

Free Skool Picnic Sat. Sept. 18! Noon at Ocean View Park

2010-09-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

Free Skool Community Picnic
Saturday September 18
Ocean View Park, noon until 4pm

September in Santa Cruz usually means beautiful picnic weather. Come play with us in the park at our quarterly potluck where students, teachers, organizers, and community members get together to enjoy food, music, and companionship with new and old friends. We have fun, meet people, eat, talk, have workshops, and play games. Bring something to share! Teach a workshop! See you there!

September Artist: Justin Angelos - Disaster Information

2010-09-24T13:03:00.001-07:00

September Artist: Justin Angelos - Disaster Information

September 2010: Disaster Information
Art by Justin Angelos

Flood, tornado, earthquake, job loss, bankruptcy, oil spill, death. Disasters come in all shapes and sizes. We are reminded of this daily.

Culled from abandoned property, roadsides, flea markets, mass media and the debris of passed family members this latest collection of work is a response, escape and even shelter in the wake of life changing events. Attempting to find beauty in discarded objects and breath new life into images long forgotten, a new world emerges from the ruble of the past. Demi-gods, heroes and evil-doers alike inhabit a landscape of shape, color and pattern.

When disaster strikes where will you run for shelter?

Disaster Information
The Art of Justin Angelos
September 1st-30th
Artists Reception Friday, 3rd, 5:30-8pm
SubRosa, 703 Pacific at Spruce St

Justin Angelos was born in 1971 in Los Angeles, Ca. After spending many years on the road with a job in the tradeshow industry Justin now lives in Santa Cruz, Ca where he is a fulltime stay at home dad and artist.

Life, death, loss and rebirth play a major role in the forming of many of his ideas. Inspired by the current state of our world and the debris man leaves in his wake, Justin’s palette is often made up of found and discarded objects collected in abandoned houses, vacant lots, roadsides and second hand stores. Primitive culture, the animal world and today’s fast paced and disposable society, continue to add fuel to his work.

-- 

SubRosa Community Space
703 Pacific Ave
Santa Cruz, CA  95060
831.426.5242

Call for participation for UnScruz, the official Santa Cruz decompression street party!

2010-09-24T13:03:00.000-07:00

Santa Cruz's official Burning Man Decompression, UnScruz, is on Saturday, October 2, from noon to 10:00 p.m.

We are looking for interactive ART and live acts/performers ( Belly
dancers, hula hoopers, LED/glow poi/staff, short silly plays, who knows!) for UnScruz.

We are also looking for THEME CAMPS!

We are restricted as far as fire goes -- we can only have fire spinners and,
hopefully, fire hoopers and they will be in a designated area (an adjacent
parking lot off of Locust). No art cars with fire or any other fire on the
street will be allowed.

If you have a performance piece that you would like to contribute please let
us know by writing santacruz@burningman.com. THANKS!

Once again, here's the info about the event:

Date: Saturday, October 2, 2010
Time: 12:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: DownTown Santa Cruz on Lincoln Street between Pacific and Cedar
City/Town: Santa Cruz, CA
Email: santacruz@burningman.com

It's a Burning Man Decompression street party, Santa Cruz style! Please
invite everyone you know!

Bring your dusty selves at noon for ten hours full of fire, dance, music,
art, performance, theme camps, DJs, and MORE!!!

Enjoy the creative expression that only Santa Cruz can provide for a cost of
only $10.00 in Playa couture/costume; $15.00 in streetwear.

Our second annual Santa Cruz Decompression will be a a showcase for our
community so please help us bring our enchanted Black Rock City magical home
to the streets of Santa Cruz!

We're looking for Art! Performers! Theme Camps! Volunteers! If you are a
ranger, would like to be a team lead/manger, greeter, spin fire, perform,
PARTICIPATE, please let us know!

If you're interested in becoming a part of UnScruz! Please send an email to
santacruz@burningman.com for more information.

Stay tuned for a list of theme camps, DJs, etc. who will be participating!

And please remember...this is a LEAVE NO TRACE EVENT : )

---

If you are on Facebook, please join the Santa Cruz Burners page! You can
find us here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Santa-Cruz-CA/Santa-Cruz-Burners/99500412157?ref=ts

See YOU there!!!!

SMOKE SIGNALS at Santa Cruz GDI Fri Aug 13th 8pm

2010-09-24T13:00:00.000-07:00

Rumors of our death have been greatly exaggerated. No, we were not shut down for good. How could they do that? They can harsh a movie or two, but man we just keep coming back. We are goddamn guerillas! See you on Friday!

Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive-In Presents

Smoke Signals
Friday June 18th 8pm
CHANGED LOCATION
SubRosa, 703 Pacific Ave

When it comes to American Indians, Hollywood either trades in Injun stereotypes or dances with Disney. Forget that. Smoke Signals, written and directed by Native Americans, also casts Indians as Indians. Two young American Indians leave the reservation to resolve their problems and to find themselves -- belies the poetry of this well-acted, well-directed and large-hearted movie. This tender tale of self-discovery is based on acclaimed author Sherman Alexie's short stories.

BRING blankets, pillows, anything you need to be comfortable in the great outdoors, friends, food and drink to share (though please don't bring alcohol to this location, thanks!). Donations to support the project are more than welcome.

ComicHangout Tuesdays at comiSanta Cruz Diner

2010-09-24T12:55:00.000-07:00

Comic Hangout
Every Tuesday 7:30pm
Santa Cruz Diner, 909 Ocean St.

Like to draw? Like to write stories? Like to do both at the same time? Do you find it easier to spend time on projects and maintain more consistent creativity when working around others? This is not an intentional skill-share, this is where we can come together, hang-out and work near each other. Over the meetings we will explore different public places in Santa Cruz conducive to gathering and creating, starting with the Santa Cruz Diner.

Requirements: Bring your own project and supplies. Others may have some to share, but don't rely on it.

A Free Skool Santa Cruz Workshop

It's MYSTERY BAND Time

2010-09-24T12:53:00.001-07:00

Do you love music?

Do you hear music?
Do you want to be music?
Did you ever dream of making music but thought you weren't good enough, didn't have the right gear, didn't know the right people, were too stage-frightened, or maybe you just keep putting it off?
Are you an avid musician who wants to try a new sound or new instrument?
Do you want to have fun and meet new people, and support your comrades?

If any of the above are true, MYSTERY BAND is for you! And MYSTERY BAND is for Santa Cruz! Anyone can make music. Really! Even if you are going on vacation or traveling for a bit, you can probably work it out with your band-mates. ANYONE CAN DO MYSTERYBAND. If you are terrible, people will still love you.

Forward this to everyone you know, please.

This is how it works:

DEADLINE has been extended to Monday, July 19.

People with basically no musical talent, some musical talent, or a lot of musical talent, throw your name into a hypothetical hat to get placed in a band with 4-5 other people. You will receive a band roster in the next few weeks. Then you'll have 6 - 8 weeks to come up with 20-30 minutes of original music.

After 6 or 8 weeks, some time in September, watch your comrades as they brazenly play their INCREDIBLE MUSIC you never even imagined was possible!

E-mail mysterybandSC@gmail.com stating:

your name & contact info (include best way to contact you!)
instruments that you have and/or don't have & want to play
instruments you are willing to lend to band-mates,
level of musical (in)experience,
where you live (if you have a practice space available),
and if you are willing to be the bottom-liner for your band (this only means you contact band-mates after you get your band roster to schedule the 1st practice, and also are the communicator with me for the showcase at the end of summer).

OK so DO IT SANTA CRUZ! It's so fun I promise!

Love and Rockets,

Your Mysterious Friend

Louden Nelson Art Exhibit: Ken Keegan

2010-09-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

Hi. My name is Ken Keegan. I will be exhibiting my artwork on the walls of the Louden Nelson Center during the month of August, 2010. These will be acrylic paintings on canvas. The Louden Nelson Center is located at 301 Center St in Santa Cruz (at the corner of Laurel and Center). To view examples of my art, go to www.artscuttlebutt.com/kbaseball . Be well. Ken (contact Jack Sprow for more info 831 420-6183)

SubRosa First Friday Art Opening - Gabriella Ripley-Phipps - Five Easy Pieces

2010-09-24T12:52:00.000-07:00

July 2010: Five Easy Pieces:
Archiving Gabriella Ripley-Phipps

After you die, how will you be remembered? If you were to create an archive, a historical record of your existence, what objects would you choose to be remembered by? What five items would you start with in building your archive?

In 2009, Gabriella asked ten friends to answer these questions by selecting five objects they considered the most important or essential in communicating who they are. The guests were invited to a dinner party, thrown by Gabriella, and the items were used in an interactive performance.

Now, Gabriella asks herself the same questions and chooses the first five items of her archive. July 2010, the walls of SubRosa display a simple and incomplete record of Gabriella's life, in five easy pieces. Through these items (Road Kill, Human Hair, Family Relics, Trash, Receipts, Ink Drawings), a complex existence is simplified while the viewer is invited to construct a comprehensible narrative.

SubRosa is honored to offer the work of Gabriella Ripley-Phipps. Please join us for a show and opening reception:

Five Easy Pieces:
Archiving Gabriella Ripley-Phipps
July 2nd - August 30th
Artist Reception Friday, July 2, 5-8pm
SubRosa: A Community Space, 703 Pacific at Spruce St

Our identities are tied to and mediated by the physical objects we keep around ourselves. Objects are bought, worn, used, left on shelves, tacked on walls. Each object says something about us: who we are/were, what we do, even who we want to be. A part of our selves is placed into each object, but we do not get to choose how those parts are represented. Our objects hint about an exchange, a moment, or a relationship in the material world. They evidence a certain time in our lives and point to who we were in that instant. And yet although our objects are entirely specific to each of us, they manage to live beyond us. They invite interpretation; they beg to be aligned cohesively within a narrative that is actually always incomplete. Our selves are created when others look upon our objects and imagine what we are like — our archives are merely guide-posts or suggestions, attempts at self expression in good faith.

SubRosa Community Space

703 Pacific Ave

Santa Cruz, CA  95060

831.426.5242

Demystifying Anarchy: a panel discussion

2010-06-23T17:14:00.000-07:00

Setting The Record Straight About Anarchism

Local anarchists host panel discussion about Demystifying Anarchy

On Thursday June 24th, local anarchists are hosting a panel discussion entitled "Demystifying Anarchy" to help non-anarchists understand the depth and nuance of anarchism. The event is intended for people who are curious about the philosophy, or might have questions or concerns. A flier for the event says, "Anarchists are everywhere, but who are they really? What do they actually want?" It goes on to ask, "Are they really trying to destroy everything? Don't believe the hype. Come find out for yourself."

Demystifying Anarchy will happen Thursday June 24th at 6:30pm at Louden Nelson Center Room 3. It will feature a panel of self-identified anarchists who will speak about what anarchy means to them and how they see the world. Following the moderated panel discussion, substantial time is set aside for questions and answers from the public.

"Anarchism is a political theory which aims to create a society within which individuals freely co-operate together as equals," according to the Anarchist FAQ. Wikipedia says that anarchism "considers the state undesirable, unnecessary and harmful." However, the Oxford Companion to Philosophy says, "there is no single defining position that all anarchists hold, and those considered anarchists at best share a certain family resemblance."

The event is organized by an ad hoc group of Santa Cruz locals from the anarchist community. The event is free, but donations to support Louden Nelson and travel expenses for panelists are appreciated.

Demystifying Anarchy:
a panel discussion with speakers, food, and Q&A
Thursday, June 24th, 6:30pm
Louden Nelson Center, Room 3
Santa Cruz, California

World Naked Bike Ride Santa Cruz June 12

2010-06-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

Hello! I thought this would be a good place to announce the:

************WORLD NAKED BIKE RIDE, 2010, SANTA CRUZ**************

It's as bare as you dare, a fun, chill ride. Nudity is great, but not
required.

Where: Santa Cruz, downtown and perhaps Wilder Ranch.
When: Saturday ****June 12**** 2010, 8 p.m.
The plan: Meet at 8 p.m. clothed at the corner of Lincoln and
Washington. At 8:30 we ride! Bring anything you like, costumes, friends,
etc.

This is to be a laid-back ride and non-confrontational. Who wants to get
all intense while riding bikes naked? The plan is to ride for the love
of bikes and for positive body image.

I've attached a flyer (sorry for any convenience that may cause).
Suggestions, questions, etc., please contact me, Sophia, at
sophia@siriusprose.com.

Place to play music

2010-06-22T17:17:00.000-07:00

hello,
I am curious to know if there is a warehouse or other large space (not
an establishment) in santa cruz where live bands can play? I've been
racking my head trying to think of a place. I have a friend who is
looking for a space (rather soon) for some out of town bands to play a
donation only show. If you know of any place please let me know!
thanks!!
Melissa
melissalavalle@gmail.com

[SCART] SURPRISE FEATURE at Santa Cruz GDI Fri Jun 18th 8pm

2010-06-22T17:16:00.000-07:00

Please join us for a surprise feature at a new exciting location! A celebration of summer and the re-emergence of GDI from its underground exile!

Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive-In Presents

a special evening of good company, fantastic shorts, and a family-friendly

SURPRISE FEATURE FILM
Friday June 18th 8pm
Tannery Arts Center
(by the Dead Cow Gallery)
1040 River Street

Midnight Mystery Bicycle Ride immediately following the film!

BRING blankets, pillows, anything you need to be comfortable in the great outdoors, friends, food and drink to share (though please don't bring alcohol to this location, thanks!). Donations to support the project are more than welcome.

BREAKING NEWS summer schedule, discussion, a GDI blog, do-it-yourself, email list, the works: www.guerilladrivein.org

SANTA CRUZ GUERILLA DRIVE-IN is an outdoor movie theatre 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.

Last Day to Summit Free Skool Classes

2010-06-07T13:14:00.001-07:00

Today is the last day to propose classes for Free Skool Summer session.
Please use the online form:

http://santacruz.freeskool.org/content/teach-free-skool-santa-cruz

Free Skool

The Santa Cruz Community Art Show

2010-06-07T13:14:00.000-07:00

This email is to announce the Santa Cruz Community Art Show, which will be held Sunday, June 20, 2010 from 1pm to 6pm at SubRosa Cafe, which is located at 703 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz, CA, 831-426-5242 (http://subrosaproject.org/) The event is free.

A special preview of the work of some of the artists involved with the Santa Cruz Community Art Show will be on view at UCSC's Open Studios on Friday, June 4th, Noon-4pm.

The press contact for this event is Bela Messex, who can be reached at (323) 308-8405 or bmessex@ucsc.edu

The Santa Cruz Community Art Show has a web page on Facebook at:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=126603554016679&ref=ts

Conceived by Bela Messex and Hana Weiss, the Santa Cruz Community Art Show has been organized with the intention of bringing together the widest range of artists possible in the Santa Cruz area, and to provide a forum for them to share their artwork with the local community. The selection of artists, and artwork to be shown, was based on the 'no jury' process, where in addition to hand selecting artists through word of mouth and networking, calls for art were made publicly through classified ads. Throughout the process, all artists showing a commitment to the creation of art were invited to exhibit their work.
While this show is the first arts event organized by Messex and Weiss, who are UCSC students majoring in art and members of the local band Harlequin Baby (http://www.myspace.com/harlequinbabyz), they are no strangers to organizing events, as they have produced many musical shows at the now legendary local gig den, 215 Storey. They now hope to transfer that experience to the local art scene with the Santa Cruz Community Art Show.
A wide variety of artists will be presenting their work, which includes 2D and 3D mediums, as well as performance art.

Some of the artists participating include:

Jamie Drobnick (Printmaking): http://jamiedrobnick.carbonmade.com/

Christina Dinkel (Showing handmade costumes from UCSC's recent production of 'Hair'):
http://www.knitsanity.com/

Milo Thompson (Photography): http://pa-in.facebook.com/pages/Milo-Ampersand-Photography/120844121265493?v=info

Alex Darocy (Photography): http://alexdarocy.com

Amanda Thomas and Aria Rose (Painting): http://www.facebook.com/pages/Amanda-Thomas-and-Aria-Rose/441729840003

Also showing will be:
Sofie Engstrom Von Allen
Carly McGaugh
Matthew
Cori Swan
Etanna Stack

And many more!
Thanks for your time!

This press release was prepared by Alex Darocy (alex@alexdarocy.com)

DUST & ILLUSIONS, 30 Years of BM. A documentary

2010-06-07T13:13:00.000-07:00

June 3rd 2010. Santa Cruz, Rio Theater, 7:30pm
http://dustandillusions.com/blog/santa-cruz-screening-june-3rd-2010

The film, DUST & ILLUSIONS,explores the entire history of the Burning Man event. Whether you have been to Burning Man or not, or are even interested in the subject, the film goes beyond the simple event in the desert, and looks at how ideals/utopias we've had in our youth evolve through an entire lifetime. Specifically, the documentary starts in the late 1970s with 2 groups of people out of the San Francisco underground movements all the way to the multi-million dollar business Burning Man has become, and how politics might have replaced philosophies.

DUST & ILLUSIONS is a fresh look at Burning Man. I didn't make the film to convince people to go there, NOR did I make the film to "re-create" the Burning Man experience. I made the film to present a perspective on 30 years of evolution. I have unearthed passage of history that even most participants of the early burns have never heard about. I did it to bring all of you one night in a theater so we can reflect together on how relevant what we're doing in the desert is, and what we can do to make it even more relevant
NPR movie critic David Anthony will be hosting the Q&A after the film with director Olivier Bonin.

Art, Music, Food, Fun in Corralitos

2010-05-24T15:32:00.000-07:00

"Art Grows in Corralitos"
Not to be missed! Mark your calendar!
Come join your neighbors and friends on May 30th at the Corralitos Art
Gallery for a Reception, from 9 am to 5 pm, for the Corralitos Artists'
Collective's first juried exhibit "Art Grows in Corralitos. The Gallery
will be featuring a wine pour by Alfaro Winery, yummy edibles and a raffle
for 3 sets of 2 tickets to the Musee d'Orsays' "The Birth of Impressionism"
that is opening to tremendous buzz on May 22.
Inspired by the Impressionism show the Gallery will also feature one of a kind
impressionist themed floor cloths painted by our member artists. Proceeds
will go to support our Gallery and events. As an added bonus for signing up
for some Gallery docent time during this month long exhibit you will receive 1
raffle ticket for the pair of de Young passes.
The exhibit winners were selected by four experienced judges;
Barbara Bailey-Porter, Kittie Allen Yates, W. Downey Dyer and Jeff Rosendale.
These artists/judges will also be represented by a piece of their work at the
front of the Gallery.
Three cash prizes are being awarded for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners and two
artists were given Honorable Mention.
First Place: Aaron Johnson - Pajaro Valley Apple, oil on canvas.
Second Place: Tom Bullock - Spring Gathering, photography
Third Place: Ruth Carroll - Corralitos Heirlooms - oil on linen
Honorable Mention: Bonni Carver - I'm So Glad to be Alive, watercolor
Honorable Mention: Ann Cavanaugh - Emergence, ceramic/raku
Thank you to all the artists who are participating in this show. The wide
array of quality entries is truly impressive and a lovely viewing experience.
May 30th is a very big day in Corralitos with much to do and see.
Come out and begin you day with a pancake breakfast served by our own Padres
in a fun country setting. Enjoy treasure hunting at a yard sale, or perhaps
find a few special books at the Corralitos Library Book Sale. See the Gallery
Exhibit and then wander over to the Grange for day long entertainment by a
number of our local bands. Watsonville's Cafe Ella will be offering a catered
lunch and micro brew will also be part of the fare. All events are within easy
walking distance. Along with the exhibit, Grange events are being produced
by the Corralitos Artists' Collective.
Come out for a fun day while supporting art in our community. Be part of it
all! Bring family and friends and celebrate the fact that thanks to YOU and all
of our "collective" efforts ART does indeed "Grow in Corralitos"
SEE YOU THERE.

Art Opening: The Art of Louise Chen, Fri June 4th

2010-05-24T15:31:00.000-07:00

Artist Opening: Petal Power - The Art of Louise Chen

Join us on First Friday when we are excited to offer the work of Louise Chen. Petal Power, Louise Chen’s newest installation of drawings and paintings, evokes rejuvenation, renewal, and refurbishment. From a pile of compost - discarded materials; an apple core, coffee grounds, last night’s pasta - flowers erupt and insist a beautiful contrast between light and dark, between life and death. The ability for nature to renew itself is amazing. Chen’s drawings apply the same attitude towards life and human interactions; transformations, from jealousy to admiration, from break up to break through, from violence to embrace, and our ability to get up tumultuous and steep hills with our own “petal power”.

Petal Power
The Art of Louise Chen
June 1st-30th
Artists Reception Friday, June 4th, 5-8pm
SubRosa, 703 Pacific at Spruce St

Louise Chen is a Los Angeles based artist currently living in Santa Cruz. Her work has been featured in galleries across the United States, including Giant Robot galleries in New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Her artwork is inspired by botanical and scientific drawings, vintage floral patterns, antiques, the universe, animals, and the people and artists that move around her. Her work plays with positive and personal reflections as well as universalities, sometimes conveying adult hardships through childish fantasies.

Kecak Monkey Chant Wed 5pm at Body & Soul

2010-05-24T15:30:00.000-07:00

Kecak: Indonesian Monkey Chant
Wednesday 26 May 3:45pm
Body & Soul on Squid Row, 738 Chestnut St

Join this newly-formed vocal group for the afternoon and experience Kecak, a form of vocal percussion and dance originating in Bali, Indonesia, and inspired by traditional gamelan. Kecak is performed by a circle of dozens and even hundreds of performers chanting in interlocking patterns and performing choreographed motions.

Come prepared to play and sing. Bring your monkey energy and water to drink. A few dollars donations suggested to cover the cost of the space.

(Note that from here on out, Kecak practice is on Wednesdays at 5pm at UCSC on the hill above East Remote parking just down from the East Field House. There is a very large old oak tree marking the spot. )

A Free Skool Santa Cruz Workshop

Classes at The Fábrica: JUNE/JULY 2010

2010-05-21T15:32:00.000-07:00

Dear Textile Arts Experts and Enthusiasts:

We are currently accepting proposals for classes to be held at "The Fábrica: Textile Arts & Salvage Workshop" during the months of June and July 2010. If you are interested in sharing your knowledge in some area of the textile arts, please submit a proposal by the 23rd of May. You may email your proposal to thefabrica@riseup.net or post in the comment section here. All proposals should include: proposed date and time (must be outside of our normal hours and during June or July of 2010), class title, short class description, teacher name, a list of tools and supplies required (so we make sure they are available), and teacher contact info. We will compile and post a calendar of all these classes by the beginning of June.

There have been so many wonderful folks who have visited or emailed over the past two months! Many of you guys are years (or decades!) of experience that you are eager to share. Our class schedule will be a way that we can network experts and beginners and everyone in between. The Fábrica Collective (founders and volunteers: Ann, B, Elaina, & Stef) has discussed a general framework for classes based on the constraints of our equipment and space, the goals of the project, and the input of participants. Following is a list of some things we are considering. These are not intended to be firm rules, but please talk to us if you have any questions or concerns.

1. Salvage, reuse, waste-reduction, and re-purposing other folks' trash is very important to us. The classes hosted at The Fábrica should not emphasize the use of new materials. We can provide logistical support to interested teachers who aren't sure how to source materials without buying them new. Just ask!

2. Ideally, The Fábrica is/will be a space for all textile arts. We'd love to host classes in all areas of needle-work,sewing, knitting, embroidery, quilting, as well as weaving, felting, garment repair, and the myriad other textile-based crafts. However, we have a very small space, so, for the time being, we will not host "messy" projects in the workshop.That means: no fabric paint, silkscreen, dyeing, or other things that are more difficult to clean up and wash out. If you really, really, really want to do such a project, you'll have to find another place to host.

3. The Fábrica is intended to be a welcoming and safe space for all. We expect volunteers, teachers, and participants to act and speak according. We're sure you know what this means, but it's super important and deserves to be included here. Let us know if you'd like to discuss this issue.

4. Classes are an opportunity for us to raise money. Currently, The Fábrica Collective are each (four of us) paying about $50 per month out of pocket to pay for rent! We don't want to do that forever, but we also want people to participate regardless of their ability to pay. So, our "policy" is: $10 (or something) requested donation. No one turned away for lack of funds.

5. Due to the small size of our current workshop, classes should probably be limited to 5 - 10 students. Teachers may define how many students they wish to deal with in their classes.

6. If you have suggestions for classes that you cannot teach for whatever reason, tell us and we'll see what we can do.

7. Probably forgetting things. Oh well.

Thanks for your love and devotion,

Elaina
The Fábrica Collective Member

Admin note: Self-Moderation and List promotion

2010-05-15T15:33:00.000-07:00

Howdy, friends.

SELF-MODERATION
If you regularly contribute to SCArt and have a track record of posting
within the list guidelines. With self-moderation, your posts don't have
to wait for approval and instead go out to the list right away. Feel
free to request it.

SIZE OF THE LIST
Scart is just over three years old (birthday May 2007), and there are
about 100 people on the list. With like fifty thousand artists in Santa
Cruz, I'd like to see more people on the list. I'd like more people to
know about what creative artistic splendor we are up to.

Easy things to do:

1. Cut and paste to your FaceBook status:

Santa Cruz: I'm a member of SCArt, the Santa Cruz Art List, you can be
too. Check it out here: http://santacruzart.net

2. Send the following message to likely folks from your address book:

Hello, friends,

(Sorry if you've already received this or are already a member)
Thought you'd like to know about SCArt, the Santa Cruz Cruz Art
list, a forum for announcing non-institutional art events, meetings and
projects, ideas and news. A website and email list, to keep in touch, to
announce art events, and to document our work. The email list is a
low-volume, moderated list sharing information about local Santa Cruz
art topics only.

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

To subscribe, visit
http://www.santacruzart.net/2009/01/subscribe-to-scart.html
Please forward this invitation to others who might be interested!

3. Announce the list at your events.

4. Let me know if you want some 1/4 page flyers to hand out or put on
literature tables.

Again, thanks to Skip of SCPEL from whom I stole whole chucks of stuff for this
email.

Yours,
SCArt

Guerilla Drive-In Community Report-back, May 14

2010-05-12T07:25:00.000-07:00

Here's out full reportback to our Guerilla-Drive-In community after GDI was targeted by SCPD:

As the sun set Friday evening, the normally dark and dingy area under the Soquel Ave. bridge was buzzing with excitement. The fans in the projector were spinning away, the concrete wall finally glowing a bright blue, and I thought to myself: "This is why I live here. This is amazing and I can't see how anyone could argue otherwise." It was a special event for Guerilla Drive-In as we were showing the work of a local film maker, Cheri Lovedog. "The Jesus Factor" was shot in Santa Cruz and was created with a cast and crew mostly made up of locals, some of whom were sitting in portable lawn chairs waiting to see the most recently cut and mastered version of the film. Clay, the film's editor, grinned as it seemed that we had gotten past the final technical hurdle for the evening and the film would begin just as the sun was announcing that it was the proper time for an outdoor film.

This was only part of the reason why this particular Guerilla Drive-In was feeling especially positive and community-oriented. Upon arriving to the location, many of us discovered that the area had been badly littered with plastic bags, dirty and unwanted clothing, and containers of partially eaten food. It was clear that the area under the bridge hadn't received much attention lately. As a few of us started gathering some of this trash, I was amused by the thought that we would leave this river-side space looking that much better after filling it for the evening.

Finding a source of power for all the equipment also tends to be a challenge at this location. Thankfully, some neighbors (who were having a dinner party and wouldn't even be able to come down to see the showing) offered to provide a power outlet from their home. They had heard and read about the Guerilla Drive-In project and were glad to help. Another person who arrived to see the film retrieved an extension cable from his car as soon as it became clear that the sum of all our extension cables would be unable to reach the location of the projector. Other audience members offered flashlights to help locate equipment and even batteries to power the remote control needed for the dvd player. Another audience member brought a large grocery bag full of popcorn and was passing it around to share with the entire group. It felt so much like it was a community effort not only to create this film but now, also to share it with others and transform this space under the bridge into an event-- and into something better.

Within the first 15 minutes of the film, this evening we had created came to an abrupt halt as an officer from the Santa Cruz police department descended on the group. He demanded to speak with 'the person in charge'. I immediately think, "Does he mean the person who is putting this event on? ...because I think all 40-50 of us did." He then asked if we had obtained a permit for the event, which we did not. He then made claims that a sound complaint had been made and we were going to have to shut down the film immediately. When further probed regarding this, the officer explained that even without any sort of sound complaint he would be shutting down the event because we did not have a permit and we were in an area that is off-limits after sunset. The officer then walked back to his patrol car and watched as we announced to the group that we were going to have to shut down the film and potentially restart somewhere else. As we were discussing the locations at which we could possibly continue the event, the officer began to walk back down to the area under the bridge. He wanted to verify that we were in fact leaving-- as if to say that we were taking too long to discuss how we might go about salvaging our evening.

Keep in mind that Guerilla Drive-In has been showing free films under the Soquel Ave. bridge for many years without incident. Also, this event was widely discussed for many weeks and was even the subject of a recent article in the Santa Cruz Sentinel:

http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/ci_15075797

Guerilla Drive-In has transformed dark and unused spaces into safe and warm community events for 8 years. After 150 free films to the community, Guerilla Drive-In is being targeted by the Santa Cruz Police. There is an obvious crackdown underway on all DIY activities in public spaces. This is the second time in two weeks that the authorities have been directed to shutdown our showings.

We need a community response to this madness.

Westbound May 8

2010-05-06T15:32:00.000-07:00

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Russell Brutsché, (831) 426-4825, russellb@baymoon.com

Westbound: California Perspectives in Painting and Song

New art and music by Russell Brutsché will be presented Saturday May 8 from 2 to 8 pm at the Santa Cruz Art League. In this free one-day-only event, artist/songwriter Brutsché offers contemplative perspectives of our west coast as a would-be promised land.

Against the backdrop of vine-covered remains of the roller coaster, Ohlone Indians once again fish the San Lorenzo. In another painting, the full moon illuminates a Humvee-full of officers rounding up trespassing surfers at a now fenced-off Cowell's Beach. Many of his themes speak to our underlying societal premise that land is a possessable commodity. Drawing largely from local landscape, he shows how that premise often ironically serves to further disconnect us in actuality from the land.

But it's not all doom and gloom. Undaunted, the moon shines down as serenely as ever. The fish have returned to our river. Brutsché's paintings, and songs as well, celebrate the natural world and portray a pared-down path of simplicity as one alternative to the possession-oriented consumer pace around us.

Brutsché will introduce songs from his just-released CD "The Westbound" with performances at 4 and 6 pm. The Art League is located at 526 Broadway, just off Ocean Street in downtown Santa Cruz.

# # #

Those arriving by foot, bicycle, mass transit or other green transportation will receive 20% off any purchase.

Russell Brutsché works out of his east side Santa Cruz studio, and is on the Open Studios Committee. For more information or to schedule an interview, call 426-4825, email russellb@baymoon.com or go to www.russellbrutsche.com

ART / BIKE 7may2010

2010-05-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

first friday
ART / BIKE
7may2010
leaving from the hub at 5:30pm

This month we're focusing on the UCSC Digital Arts and New Media MFA exhibition. It's up on campus, so we'll do something this ride has rarely done: we're leaving the flood plane of the San Lorenzo River! We'll be leaving promptly at 5:30pm and going directly up to campus. Depending on how things look up there, we might all ride back downtown to check out the other galleries, or just stay up there for the rest of the party.

Lights, helmets and party dresses are strongly encouraged.

Regarding a Zine Exchange

2010-04-20T16:56:00.000-07:00

Hello!

My name is Isabel Lederman. I am planning to hold a Zine Exchange the last weekend of May. I have created a facebook event, and am planning to hand out flyers where I work ( Crepe Place). I have included the webpage to the facebook event, and hope that you could help me in promoting this event to the artists in Santa Cruz. Thank you.

Isabel Lederman

The Garden: a film about the South Central Farm, Fri. Apr. 30 at the Beach Flats Community Garden

2010-04-20T15:34:00.000-07:00

El Jardin / The Garden: film about the South Central Farm
Friday April 30th 8pm
Presented by the Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive-In and the Reel Work Labor Film Festival

El Jardin Comunitario de la Playa / Beach Flats Community Garden on Raymond St. - under the night sky so dress warm!

Parte del Festival de Cine "Dia del Trabajador," presentamos "El Jardin," un documental acerca de la lucha para un jardin comunitario en Los Angeles. Cine Gratuito baja las estrellas en el Jardin Comunitario de la Playa porque sabemos que "la tierra es de quien la trabaja." As part of the Reel Work May Day Labor Film Festival, the Guerilla Drive-In presents "The Garden," about the fight for the South Central Farm. We'll show the film under the stars in the Beach Flats Community Garden because we know "the land belongs to those who work it" http://www.guerilladrivein.org/ http://reelwork.org/

SubRosa Art Opening: Trenton Rembert

2010-03-29T11:26:00.001-07:00

SubRosa Art Opening: Trenton Rembert

Friday, April 2 6-8pm

On Friday, April 2, SubRosa will welcome the art of Trenton Rembert to its walls. Trenton's art is a unique intersection of seemingly opposed elements. The viewer is greeted by gritty and chaotic fields punctuated by enigmatic figures.

This mixture of realism and abstraction creates a contrast that exposes the subjectivity of living, exploring how emotions, fears and beliefs mold the way we perceive the world. Themes such as dreams, weather, death, the seasons, and apocalypse constructed from hair, leaves, trash, and other found objects juxtaposed with painted elements further suggest the question: what is real, what is created?

Trenton calls his process "a mixture of spontaneity and careful planning. I enjoy the discipline of realism and the expressiveness and freedom of gesture. It's a kind of controlled accident or action-reaction." His process allows him to accumulate layer after layer of acrylic washes mixed with raw materials, such as dirt or ground plants and wood, to build color and texture. The end product is somewhere between painting and collage.

Trenton's works create a haunting feeling of loneliness and desperation, but also of magic and wonder. His work is influenced by the landscapes that Trenton has lived in: the Sierras of his childhood, the Santa Cruz redwoods he now calls home. Rather than landscapes, his pieces capture portraits both of the places Trenton has lived and the isolation of modern existence.

Trenton Rembert at SubRosa

Artists Reception Friday, April 2, 6-8pm

SubRosa: A Community Space

703 Pacific at Spruce St

Santa Cruz, CA 95061

Introduction to Balinese Gamelan

2010-03-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

Introduction to Balinese Gamelan
at the Gamelan Room, UCSC Music Center

with Gamalan Anak Swarasanti (info@anakswarasanti.com)

A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, in this case from the island of Bali. Join us for this introduction to the instruments and music of Balinese gamelan, and play with award-winning gamelan orchestra. Gamelan Anak Swarasanti plays traditional and contemporary Balinese gamelan on both the sitting angklung and Maring beleganjur sets of instruments. Directions: The Gamelan Room is in the music center at UCSC

Wednesdays – 6:30pm Sharp

The Fabrica: Community Textile Arts & Salvage Workshop

2010-03-23T15:49:00.000-07:00

Hello Everyone!

I'm writing to let you know about a new project that I'm working on with there other rad women. We're starting a cooperative workshop for textile arts here in Santa Cruz. We've been talking about this for years and finally seemed to have enough people who are motivated. "The Fabrica" will be a space to work on projects or learn to sew, knit, etc. We will house all sorts of tools and materials for creating projects, including sewing machines, salvaged materials, and reference books. We'll offer focused classes and open shop time to work on projects or sit around stitching with others. And we're especially excited to help people fix, re-purpose and reuse! Currently we have a few sewing machines on loan and a small supply of other tools and materials. To get started, we'll be open Thursdays 2-5pm and Saturdays 4-7pm. Donations of any textile arts tools and materials or financial contributions will be greatly appreciated. If you have any questions, email me or stop in to hang out. I'll let you know when we have a website, a fundraiser, stuff like that.
Thanks for the support!
xo
Elaina (with Ann, Becca and Stef)

The Fabrica:
Community Textile Arts & Salvage Workshop
703B Pacific Ave (at Spruce St) next to the Bike Church

Santa Cruz Local New Year's Parade Under Attack

2010-03-22T15:21:00.001-07:00

Last week, I received a pricey ticked by mail for violation of Santa Cruz Municipal Code 10.65.030(a) "A Non-Commercial Event Without a Permit." The fine would be $293 if I didn't fight it. Apparently there were 16 pages of evidence introduced, no doubt from the lastnightdiy website.

I'd like to fight it and am looking for a lawyer willing to make big noise over first amendment issues. Any ideas or recommendations?

This is not about me nor about individuals, but about our community's right to have a celebration. To be clear, neither I nor any of the original organizers have done anything to organize the parade in years, other than occasionally updating the website. The parade is an example of communities coming together to create a diverse and interesting celebration without the help of the city, businesses, or institutions. A true do-it-yourself parade in which people self-organize. Holding one person hostage to squash the jubilant celebration of a whole town is offensive. What kind of community response can we offer?

Wes Modes
thespoon@thespoon.com

Kecak: Indonesian Monkey Chant, Wed 3:45pm

2010-03-22T15:21:00.000-07:00

Join this newly-formed vocal group for the afternoon and experience Kecak, a form of vocal percussion and dance originating in Bali, Indonesia, and inspired by traditional gamelan. Kecak is performed by a circle of dozens and even hundreds of performers chanting in interlocking patterns and performing choreographed motions.

Kecak: Indonesian Monkey Chant
Wed Mar 24th – 3:45-5:15pm
Body & Soul, 738 Chestnut St

Requirements: Come prepared to play and sing. Bring your monkey energy and water to drink. A few dollars donations suggested to cover the cost of the space.

Directions: Body & Soul is a large studio at the end of Squid Row. Entrance on Chestnut.

A Free Skool Santa Cruz Workshop

Drawing People Tuesdays 4:30pm

2010-03-09T15:19:00.000-08:00

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.

SubRosa Art Opening: The Enigmatic Art of Swampy

2010-03-04T11:56:00.000-08:00

Dark Hyphy Mist – The Art of Swampdonkey

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

“We don’t know much about Swampy other than he/she was raised by a young pack of African wild dogs that escaped from the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans in 1983. Swampy dabbled in southern human cults during the mid 90’s until he/she found themselves on a northbound Norfolk Southern junk train headed full speed into the dark hyphy mist.”

Dark Hyphy Mist
The Art of Swampdonkey
Opening Reception
Friday March 5th 5pm
SubRosa, 703 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz

Free Skool Classes Start Today!

2010-03-01T15:22:00.000-08:00

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.

SubRosa Art Opening: The Enigmatic Art of Swampy

2010-03-01T15:21:00.000-08:00

Dark Hyphy Mist – The Art of Swampdonkey

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

Dark Hyphy Mist
The Art of Swampdonkey
Opening Reception
Friday March 5th 5pm

SubRosa
703 Pacific Ave
Downtown Santa Cruz

Figure Drawing in the Field!

2010-03-01T15:20:00.001-08:00

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

ART/BIKE plus BRAZEN DANCE PARTY

2010-03-01T15:20:00.000-08:00

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

Free Skool Classes Start Today!

2010-03-01T15:05:00.000-08:00

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.

Post-Racial Short Film Fest

2010-02-11T15:10:00.000-08:00

Po s t - R a c i a l

Short Film Festival

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 12th at 8:00 pm

SubRosa infoshop, 703 Pacific Ave Downtown Santa Cruz

Now that we're all post-racial and shit, let's bust out the bubbly and celebrate!!! It's been a year since racism ended in America and it's time to take stock of our history and take a deeper look at our shiny new post-racial nation. This will be an evening of short films and discussion hosted by the anti-racist group Being John Brown.

Themes will include everything from how to call out your local racist to hip hop, hair, the white power movement, baby dolls, what solidarity can look like, blaxploitation, and of course, the resulting racial tension headaches!

BEING JOHN BROWN is a group of activists committed to challenging and actively confronting white supremacy, including lampooning the absurd notion of an extant "Post-Racial" America with actual fact.

SANTA CRUZ GUERILLA DRIVE-IN is an outdoor movie theater under the stars that springs up in the fields and industrial wastelands. But tonight it's gonna be indoors. Beyond showing great movies and bringing a broad community together, part of our mission is helping reclaim public space and transforming our urban environment: www.guerilladrivein.org

BRING pillows, blankets, and snacks to share. Donations are greatly appreciated and directly support Guerilla Drive In. (And really, you should totally toss your couch change their way. I mean, come on, if you had paid ten bucks a pop for every GDI movie you've seen, that'd be at least, say, ten bucks. Minimum. Flip a bill in that sexy little mason jar, pal. All the cool kids are doing it.)

Art/Bike tonight

2010-02-05T09:56:00.000-08:00

Howdy! Please let folks know that a group of Art Bikes (and regular bikes) are taking off from midtown, downhill into town, tonight. Subrosa will be our first stop, so some may join your regular ride! We leave from B40 & Soquel (Rite Aid parking lot) at around 5:30pm. Thanks.

--
Justine tenZeldam and Slimm Buick
(831) 440-7699
artbikesantacruz.webs.com
Slimmbuick.com

John McCutcheonI Santa Cruz Concerts Jan. 22 and 23

2010-02-04T15:31:00.000-08:00

It's John McCutcheon season again! We hope you will join us, and help us to spread the word about his concerts to your families and friends...

------------------------

John McCutcheon: two Santa Cruz Concerts in January !

Friday, January 22, 2010, 7:30p.m., and a Family/Children's Concert- Saturday, January 23, 10:00a.m.

First Congregational Church, 900 High Street, Santa Cruz

For reservations, call 423-1626. If you call in advance you will receive the advance ticket price. Please be specific about which concert and how many tickets you want.

Tickets: Friday, January 22: $16-25 sliding scale in advance; $18-25 at the door. Saturday, January 23 Children/Family concert: $8-15 in advance, $10-15 at the door.

Tickets are NOW AVAILABLE: Streetlight Records, 939 Pacific Avenue, Santa Cruz. Tickets also available at RCNV.

John McCutcheon  is folk music's renaissance man —  master instrumentalist, powerful  singer-songwriter, storyteller, activist, and author…

His songs sing of the nation's heritage. His words channel the conscience of our people into streams of poetry and melody. He writes about subjects small and great, from a child's haircut to freedom and human dignity – issues equally eternal and enduring. Think of McCutcheon as an incarnation of Pete Seeger and Mr. Rogers, Will Rogers and Bruce Springsteen, and above all Everyman, righteously passionate and impishly playful, blessed with gifts as a songwriter, historian, musician and storyteller that have won him praise in Australia as "the most overwhelming folk performer in the English language," from a Russian critic as "the most versatile and compelling performer this reviewer has ever seen," and from Johnny Cash as "the most impressive instrumentalist I've ever heard." John has been cited as "the perfect example of the modern folk musician" by Sing Out! magazine, lauded by Utne Reader for conveying "his message about the amazing endurance of what's best in American culture."

Add to that the 31 albums in his catalog, and the six Grammy nominations and multiple Parent's Choice and American Library Association awards they've won, stir in the diverse and growing following that has flocked to his shows; McCutcheon is as timeless as tradition, as immediate as tomorrow's headlines, and as vital as any artist who seeks to enlighten as well as entertain. John's most recently released double-CD "Untold" and "Unsung" highlights John as singer/songwriter/instrumental virtuoso and world-class storyteller.

Kecak: Indonesian Monkey Chant

2010-02-04T15:28:00.000-08:00

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

An Illustrated Tribute to Howard Zinn

2010-02-04T15:24:00.000-08:00

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: Book Talk

2010-01-12T12:43:00.000-08:00

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!

STAR WARS TRILOGY at Guerilla Drive-In

2010-01-11T16:50:00.000-08:00

Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive-In Presents

Star Wars Trilogy

Star
Wars

The Empire
Strikes Back

Return of the
Jedi

Friday January 15th, 6:00pm
SubRosa, 703 Pacific Ave
Downtown Santa Cruz

Please note the early time! Come in costume!

STAR WARS. What more can we say? The three good ones, before George Lucas turned into a corporate droid. Come in costume so you can prove you are the bigger geek than anyone else. Bring your Star Wars action figures for the participatory shadow puppet show.

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

www.guerilladrivein.org

Women/Dyke/Trans Variety Show

2010-01-11T16:38:00.000-08:00

                       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

Amazing Night of Poetry and Performance at SubRosa

2010-01-11T16:37:00.000-08:00

Amazing Night of Poetry and Performance at SubRosa

by Bradley
Jan 8th, 2010

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 DIY Parade & Celebration 5pm New Year's Eve

2010-01-09T22:26:00.000-08:00

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

Corralitos Cultural Center

2010-01-09T22:24:00.000-08:00

The Corralitos Artists' Collective is having a gallery showing at the Corralitos Cultural Center, 127 Hames Rd., Corralitos, CA 95076. Hours of operation are Wed. & Thur., from 3-6, and Fri., Sat., Sun., from Noon-6 throughout December. Local artists are featured, in a variety of mediums, including graphic and visual arts, ceramics, sculpture, woodworking, stained glass, and photography are on display. Please visit our website at corralitosculturalcenter.org for more information, or contact at info@corralitosculturalcenter.org, or call 831 254-2669.

Call for Entries: 6th annual Fun-A-Day project and show

2010-01-09T22:20:00.000-08:00

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!

www.artclash.com
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=39228673411&ref=ts

Time to get busy!

Corralitos Artists' Collective

2010-01-09T22:18:00.000-08:00

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.

Last Night Celebrates Five Years of DIY Organizing

2009-12-16T23:38:00.000-08:00

info@lastnightdiy.org
www.lastnightdiy.org

Last Night Celebrates Five Years of Do-It-Yourself Community Organizing

In the face of spiraling civic budgets, decentralized celebration is more relevant than ever

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 - Radical Photographer Workshop

2009-12-09T00:10:00.000-08:00

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. )

DOWN BY LAW at Guerilla Drive-In

2009-11-17T12:49:00.000-08:00

Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive-In and SubRosa Present

Down by Law

Friday November 20th 8pm
at SubRosa (inside if cold and outside if warm)
703 Pacific Ave. (downtown)

Down by Law is a 1986 black-and-white independent film written and directed by Jim Jarmusch with Tom Waits, John Lurie, and Roberto Benigni.The film centers on the arrest, incarceration, and escape from jail of three men. It discards jailbreak film conventions by focusing on the interaction between the convicts rather than on the mechanics of the escape. A key element in the film is Robby Müller’s slow-moving camerawork, which captures the architecture of New Orleans and the Louisiana bayou to which the cellmates escape.

Plus fabulous subversive shorts!

SANTA CRUZ GUERILLA DRIVE-IN is an outdoor movie theatre under the stars and inside that springs up unexpectedly in the fields and industrial wastelands. Beyond showing great movies and bringing a broad community together, part of our mission is to help reclaim public space and break down alienation in this urban environment. www.guerilladrivein.org

Writing Down the Bones a Free Skool Workshop

2009-11-17T10:36:00.000-08:00

Writing Down the Bones

This is a beginning writing course based on Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones, wherein we discover that many of the "rules" for good writing and good sex are the same: Keep your hand moving, lose control, and don't think. We will be going through the exercises in the book in a semi-methodical way. This is a good workshop for those who've been wanting to write freely and easily without getting blocked or hung up on endless editing and revising. Requirements: If you can, find a copy of Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg. It is available at various libraries, and cheap at Logo's and online.

Every Tuesday beginning Nov 10th – 7pm
Asana Tea House, Lincoln Street

The Art of Russell Brutsche, an Opening Reception

2009-11-17T10:35:00.000-08:00

The Art of Russell Brutsche
Opening Reception

Wigwams by Russell Brutsche

In November, we welcome the acrylic on canvas work of Russell Brutsche to SubRosa's walls. Santa Cruz artist Russell Brutsche loves socio-cultural ironies. Works such as those in his recent show "Unlawful Gatherings" make painfully apt juxtapositions that expose the social injustice of our everyday world.

One of his images shows Jesus of Nazareth chasing away very contemporary money changers from the temple, only to be descended upon by a heavily armed SWAT team. Another shows the Nativity taking place in what might be considered a modern-day manger, under the Highway 1 overpass at the San Lorenzo River. Other paintings prominently feature images of treesits, hobo campfires, and trains.

Brutsche has been painting since early childhood, later studying under Eric Oback, Robert Freimark (student of Henri Matisse) and Sam Richardson, graduating with scholarship honors in 1968. He has been in numerous one-person and group shows throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, and in Colorado, Arizona and Japan. Brutsche currently participates each October in Santa Cruz Open Studios, and other shows throughout the year.

"I've been impatient with the art world," said Brutsche. "Artists really have a responsibility to speak out against social injustice. Instead, artists have become small businessmen. I know if I would leave out some of that social commentary, the likelihood would be a lot greater that my work would be hanging over someone's couch."

The Art of Russell Brutsche
Opening Reception
Friday November 6th 5pm
SubRosa, 703 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz

Dr. Sketchy's figure drawing session in Santa Cruz

2009-11-04T16:55:00.000-08:00

Dr. Sketchy's, the world famous alternative figure drawing cabaret, is coming to Santa Cruz for one night only... Sunday, November 8, 2009 at 7:00 PM.

Dr. Sketchy's is the little Brooklyn art event that became a movement. Founded in 2005 by artist Molly Crabapple, Dr. Sketchy's asked a simple question: Why can't drawing naked people be sexy? The answer is... it can.

Dr. Sketchy's branches have popped up in nearly 100 cities internationally, but there's still a whole lot of world out there, so the cast and crew of Dr. Sketchy's Los Angeles is hitting the asphalt to bring Dr. Sketchy's Roadshow to additional cities across America.

The Roadshow's inaugural haul will take place throughout California between November 2nd and 14th, with stops in Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Long Beach, Sherman Oaks, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, Fresno, Monterey, San Jose, Sacramento, Burbank and Alhambra. Artist and art voyeurs need only bring a $10 donation and their favorite drawing supplies. Dr. Sketchy's and the Roadshow's art-centric host venues will provide everything else (top notch models, refreshments, casual networking opportunities, and an all around good time).

The Roadshow will be in Santa Cruz at Vets Hall in Studio A on Sunday, November 8, 2009 at 7:00 PM. More information can be found at http://www.vetshall.org.

The full Roadshow schedule can be found at http://www.drsketchyroadshow.com.

Lies You Can't Escape From

2009-11-03T14:41:00.001-08:00

Night Ride wants your story. In each episode, we look at a different subject in an aural collage of music and story.

In the next episode we look at Lies You Can't Escape From, the lies that have haunted you for years, those insidious seeds that have spun entire webs of deception, those lies that have changed your life. We want to hear yours.

Right now, while you are thinking about it, pickup the phone and leave us your story. 831-704-6690. Seriously.

Night Ride is all about the narrative voice. Written as in literature, or spoken as in oral history. Human beings traffic in stories. Let me tell you about my day, my life, or something that happened to me once upon a time. Stories are dreamy. They take you to other places, other times, other lives.

Night Ride has aired on KUSP and Free Radio Santa Cruz at various times since 2001.

THE THIRD MAN at Santa Cruz GDI Fri Oct 30th

2009-11-03T14:41:00.000-08:00

Yes, here it is. The only film shut down by the cops (twice), this time we host a great film along with a late fall picnic in the park, challenging the laws that close this park after dark.

Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive-In Presents

THE THIRD MAN

Friday October 30th
A Late Fall Picnic Starting at 6pm
San Lorenzo Park, Santa Cruz
Always free!

Just us for our last big hoorah of the summer! Challenging the laws that make public space off limits to the public after sunset, we move to San Lorenzo Park to show the only film ever shut down by the authorities. In honor of Wes' belated birthday, we show his candidate for best film ever made. Great filmmaking in glorious black and white, a twisting plot, a haunting setting in post-war Vienna, a menacing Orson Wells, deep questions of loyalty, morality, and greed, and fantastic zither music by Anton Karas. A grand late-summer GDI celebration with a whole park filled with food, drink, blankets, people, parents, young ones, elders, punk kidz, workin' folk, and students.

PLUS an intermission, suburban wasteland, and great company.

BRING your friends, your family, and your neighbors. Bring lawn chairs, blankets, pillows, friends, drink, & food to share for a late fall picnic. Donations are greatly appreciated and directly support the project.

SANTA CRUZ GUERILLA DRIVE-IN is an outdoor movie theatre 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 into the joyful playground it should be.

SUBURBAN WASTELAND LOCATION: Along the San Lorenzo River, the park is just over the pedestrian bridge from downtown.

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

www.guerilladrivein.org

You got this as a member of the Guerilla Drive-In announcement list or maybe just because we like you. If you'd like to unsubscribe from this list, send an email to guerilla-drive-in-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net

Do It Early and Often: Call to Artists for 2010 What Is Erotic?

2009-11-03T14:40:00.000-08:00

What would you most like to do in the dark, cold month of February? We thought so! We just couldn't wait this year--What Is Erotic? is happening for Valentines Day!

Bring your erotic concepts, talents, ideas, collaborations skills and, well, your booty of course, to the Informational Meeting and Call to Artists, Sunday November 15, 3 pm. at The 418 Project.

2010 show dates: February 12, 13, 14 and 20, 21st

See you then!

Misha, Laura and Shelly

Contact us with any questions:
Laura Bishop
408.602.2940
Misha
831.419.8338
Shelly
831.419.7930

Article written in City on a Hill Press for 2009:
http://www.cityonahillpress.com/2009/05/28/annual-fundraiser-asks-%E2%80%98what-is-erotic%E2%80%99/

We are looking for:

Dancers: including but not limited to aerialists, strippers, pole dancers, belly dancers, choreographers
Poets
Performers
Pyromaniacs
Drag Queens & Kings
Dommes/Dominatrix's & Slaves/Submissives
Comedians
Madams
Singers & Musicians
Yogis
Tantrikas
Acrobats
Contortionists
Innocents
Teasers
Pleasers
Flirters & Fluffers
Sculptors & Painters

ALSO:
Written Erotic Scenes that is looking for a performer
Videographers
Photographers
Techies for lighting and sound
Lighting Designers
Stage Designers
Stage Hands
Costumers
Set designers

Open Mic Thu 8pm SubRosa

2009-10-15T14:55:00.000-07:00

Open Mic - Performance Music Poetry - Thu 8pm - $3 to 7 sliding scale - SubRosa 703 Pacific

Flashback: What Is Art?

2009-10-14T19:53:00.000-07:00

What Is Art? was a tiny, 50-person-capacity venue run by a collective of people from the Santa Cruz art and music scene. It ran out of a North Pacific storefront from the mid-90's until 2000.

"I was flooded out of my studio and needed a place to sew," says Lopie LaRoe. "I started to have the Anarchist Coffeehouse here, which turned into open mic. Hardly anyone showed up at first, except for this annoying guy with a box on his head."

Performance by Lopi LaRoe, filmed at the 418 Project in Santa Cruz, California.
Lighting assistance by Matthew Shyka. Shadows.

It offered a Wednesday open mic that sometimes had more empty seats than performers and audience. Other times, there were people sitting in the aisles, and standing room only in the back.

Poetry by Lisa Radon circa 1998, What Is Art? Santa Cruz, California.

Heavy Wood Music by Paul Sprawl recorded live at What is Art? Santa Cruz Art scene late 90's.

Gabriel Brody Folk Rap performed live at What is Art?

In 2000, developers condemned the space to make room for a building project. The space sat tantalizingly empty for years until wreckers tore the entire block down along with the original Bike Church and Ped-X space and numerous art warehouses. For ten years, the empty lot, former location of What? was an empty blight. Finally, just in time for the worst economic era in memory, developers built an entire block of ugly condos that no one could afford to buy.

A short clip from an open mic held at Santa Cruz's own "what is art?" circa 1999 - ish.
Kaya has since passed away in 2005 from Leukemia. He is sorely missed by all who knew him

For a few years after the original space was torn down, What Is Art? operated out of the 418 Project on Front Street again featuring a weekly Open Mic.

Live performance at "What is Art?" by songwriter and pianist Matthew Embry
circa 1999 in Santa Cruz California. Filmed by Lopi LaRoe.

While What Is Art? no longer exists as the unique performance space that it was (the whole block was demolished), it still serves, like any former cultural hub, as a sort of looking glass that can magnify the strengths and weaknesses of the current local scene.

Fairy-Tale Farm dinner

2009-10-11T08:42:00.000-07:00

Next Underground Restaurant at Fairy-Tale Farm: Friday, October 23rd 6:00 PM
Come dine on vegetables in the vegetables! Menu and more info at:
www.fairy-talefarm.com

Art and performers for UnScruz

2009-09-28T22:33:00.000-07:00

Art and performers for UnScruz, Santa Cruz's official Burning Man Decompression. UnScruz, is only 19 DAYS AWAY!

We are looking for some more ART and live acts/performers for UnScruz. Belly dancers, hula hoopers, LED/glow poi/staff, short silly plays, who knows! NO DJ¹s or bands we are full up on space for them.

We are restricted as far as fire goes -- we can only have fire spinners and, hopefully, fire hoopers and they will be in a designated area (an adjacent parking lot off of Locust). No art cars with fire or any other fire on the street will be allowed.

If you have a performance piece that you would like to contribute please let us know by writing santacruz@burningman.com. THANKS!

Once again, here's the info about the event:

Date: Saturday, October 17, 2009
Time: 12:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Downtown Santa Cruz
Street: Locust Street between Cedar and Center Streets
City/Town: Santa Cruz, CA
Email: santacruz@burningman.com
Web site: http://www.unscruz.com

It's a Burning Man Decompression street party, Santa Cruz style! Please invite everyone you know!

Bring your dusty selves at noon for ten hours full of fire, dance, music, art, performance, theme camps, DJs, and MORE!!!

Enjoy the creative expression that only Santa Cruz can provide for a cost of only $10.00 in Playa couture/costume; $15.00 in streetwear.

Our first annual Santa Cruz Decompression will be a a showcase for our community so please help us bring our enchanted Black Rock City magical home to the streets of Santa Cruz!

We're looking for Art! Performers! Theme Camps! Volunteers! If you are a ranger, would like to be a team lead/manger, greeter, spin fire, perform, PARTICIPATE, please let us know!

If you're interested in becoming a part of UnScruz! Please send an email to santacruz@burningman.com for more information.

Stay tuned for a list of theme camps, DJs, etc. who will be participating!

And please remember...this is a LEAVE NO TRACE EVENT : )
---

If you are on Facebook, please join the Santa Cruz Burners page! You can find us here:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Santa-Cruz-CA/Santa-Cruz-Burners/99500412157#/
pages/Santa-Cruz-CA/Santa-Cruz-Burners/99500412157?ref=ts

And here's the official event invite on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Santa-Cruz-CA/Santa-Cruz-Burners/99500412157#/
event.php?eid=152248787120&ref=mf

See YOU there!!!!

New and underground art zine

2009-09-28T12:36:00.000-07:00

This is a call to artists to submit an artwork for a 5 part zine that
focuses specifically on new and underground artists.

Requirements:
The theme of the zine is 'The End'
1-2 pages at 5 1/2 " x 8 1/2" scale
Either B&W, Grayscale, or Full Color
Deadline for submission is October 31st, 2009

If you plan on doing a 2 page submission please keep in mind a small gutter space will be added in the middle (either black or white depending on the image). Feel free to send in multiple submissions if you have multiple pieces that fit the theme and aren't sure what will fit the zine best. Inserts such as stickers or patches that come in envelopes are more than welcome and are highly encouraged, just keep in mind that you will need to include one for each zine which is at the moment looking to be around 200 copies.

All accepted artists will be given a space for a blurb of about 10-20 words and a link to any website. Please feel free to email me gasmaskeatsnate@gmail.com if you have any questions. I look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Opening: The Dark Night of DIY Ragdolls and Monsters

2009-09-23T20:50:00.000-07:00

October 2009: The Santa Cruz Anarchist Doll-Making Collective
The Dark Night of DIY Ragdolls and Monsters

On Friday, October 2nd, at 5pm, SubRosa is excited to introduce the recent work of the Santa Cruz Anarchist Doll-Making Collective. The show entitled The Dark Night of DIY Ragdolls and Monsters features the work of a dozen artists working individually and collaboratively to create homemade and recombined dolls and monsters.

The original Dark Night arose out of a series of Free Skool Santa Cruz workshops on doll- and monster-making. Artists built dolls and monsters by hand out of scraps from their workshops, items gathered at the city dump, and materials scavenged from Bargain Barn. During a series of Dark Nights, artists drank tea, made dolls, and stayed up all night sewing and watching dark doll movies from filmmakers the Brothers Quay, Jan Svankmajer,and Henry Selick.

Peering into the mad workshop of mad doll creators I saw feverish hands working away, some delightfully creepy movie playing on an old tv set, doll parts and needles strewn about the cutting floor, Frankenstein doll creations coming alive!

Historically, dolls are some of the oldest discovered toys, the earliest found in Egyptian tombs dating back to 3000 B.C.E. Dolls depicted humans, animals, and imaginary creatures and have been made of every conceivable material: bisque, celluloid, china, clay, cloth, corn husks, paper, plastic, polymer clay, porcelain, resin, rubber, vinyl, wax, wood, bone, ivory, papier-mâché, and leather.

Join us for an opening show and reception on this Dark Night.

Art Opening: The Dark Night of DIY Ragdolls and Monsters

Friday, October 2nd, at 5pm

at SubRosa

703 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz

Poet/Speak Open Poetry Reading

2009-09-16T11:55:00.000-07:00

Poet/Speak Open Poetry Reading with featured reader slam poet Devin
Murphy will take place at 2:00 pm on Sunday, September 27 in the Santa
Cruz Public Library upstairs Meeting Room, 224 Church St., Santa Cruz.
Free. Presented by Poetry Santa Cruz and hosted by Joyce Keller.
Website: www.poetrysantacruz.org. Contact: Len Anderson at
lenand_at_cruzio.com

Freakshow: DIY Classifieds

2009-09-11T15:07:00.000-07:00

FREAKSHOW
Being a Diverse Collection of the Curious & Peculiar

An independent publication of DIY adverts. Put forward your Services Offered, Stuff for Sale, Missed Connections, Barters and Trades, Unusual Possibilities, and Public Service messages to Freakshow. Send illustrations and submissions by the next deadline.

FREAKSHOW
c/o SubRosa
703 Pacific Ave
Santa Cruz, Calif. 95060
freakshow@riseup.net

Pizza & Prose, Art & Lit Series

2009-09-09T10:55:00.000-07:00

Pizza & Prose, Art & Lit Series
At Cava Wine Bar in Capitola Village
Monday – September 21, 2009

Guest Speaker – Steve Turner - journalist, author, and founding member of the National Writer's Union will read from his latest book -

Amber Waves and Undertow: Peril, Hope, Sweat, and Downright Nonchalance in Dry Wheat Country.

Live Music & Pizza @6:30
Speaker Begins @ 7:00
Wine Raffle Immediately Following

Admission is Free

Pizza available for the first 2-3 dozen who arrive.

Visit www.pizzaandprose.com for more on this event & series.

Cava is located at 115 San Jose Avenue just off the esplanade in Capitola Village. Visit www.cavacapitola.com for more information on this & other Cava events or call (831) 476-2282.

Blending stories from the distant past and present Turner has painted a colorful picture of the people and farmlands of Adams County, Washington. Many years after his own time as a young harvest hand Turner returned to the land settled by pioneers and struggling to survive in modern day America. Unique in geography and rich with characters he tells the tale of rural life through this wheat and potato agricultural community. Weaving in his own personal experiences, he takes the reader on a journey from the nineteenth to the 21st Century and introduces us to a host of hardworking folks, some more eccentric than others.

SubRosa Open Mic Thursday at 7:30pm

2009-09-07T23:18:00.000-07:00

This week we'll have a special guest hosting SubRosa Open Mic on Thursday. Some weeks it is standing room only, other weeks too few people are there for the intensity and quality of the performance. So this week, let's blow out the house.

SubRosa Weekly Open Mic
Thursday 8-10pm
(signups at 7:30)

One of the last remaining Open Mics in this allegedly pro-art town, the SubRosa Open Mic is often standing room only. A weekly open mic at Santa Cruz newest community space and anarchist infoshop. An opportunity to connect with friends and showcase the incredible creative talent in our community. Music, poetry, and performance. From the mundane to the jaw-droppingly inspirational.

Donations directly benefit this community-supported space. Signups for performance at 7:30 fill up quickly. Bring your creativity and artistic genius.

703 Pacific Ave
Downtown Santa Cruz
http://subrosaproject.org

$3-7 donation at the door suggested
no one turned away for lack of funds.

DIY Art Guide to Santa Cruz

2009-09-05T12:54:00.000-07:00

Meaningful projects begin with people who are motivated to put into action their desires for the kind of world in which they want to live. The more we create our own projects that are apart from and in some cases pose a direct challenge to the dominant institutions, the more vital and meaningful our world(s) will be for us. Here is a short list of some of these kinds of projects in Santa Cruz.

Free Radio Santa Cruz - 101.1 FM
http://www.freakradio.org
Free Radio Santa Cruz has been on the air since 1995 without a license, broadcasting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, in defiance of federal regulations. Broadcasting programs unavailable on corporate controlled stations. 101.1 FM. 831-427-3772.

Free Skool Santa Cruz
http://santacruz.freeskool.org
Free Skool Santa Cruz is a completely grassroots, collective effort to create an autonomous, mutual-support network. It is a direct challenge to institutional control and the commodification of learning. Free Skool frequently hosts art and music workshops. Free Skool calendars are distributed widely in public places around Santa Cruz.

Guerilla Drive-In
http://www.guerilladrivein.org
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, GDI reclaims public space and transforms our urban environment. Often shows locally made shorts before the show, and supports local art events. Schedule online.

Poetry Santa Cruz
http://www.baymoon.com/~poetrysantacruz
Poetry Santa Cruz is dedicated to nurturing the poetry community
and bringing poetry to the larger community in Santa Cruz County.
We present poetry readings, craft workshops for poets and provide
information on poetry events and selected other events which may
be of interest to the community. Online.

Santa Cruz Indymedia
http://indybay.org/santacruz
Web-based local news and info source, focused on local issues and the direct impact of larger issues on our community. On Santa Cruz Indymedia you can easily publish articles, audio, photography, and video. A good place to announce or read about art and action happenings locally. Your stories and analysis go right up on the newswire. Online.

Santa Cruz Trash Orchestra
http://trashorchestra.org/
Santa Cruz Trash Orchestra is a performance and marching percussion band, whose instruments are composed exclusively of recycled and reclaimed materials, focused on anarchist and anti-authoritarian struggles and mutual support for groups making radical social change.

SubRosa: a community space
http://subrosaproject.org
SubRosa is a space for art and radical projects run by a collective of volunteers from the local anarchist community. It offers anarchist books and literature, local, gourmet coffee, performance and a weekly open mic, gallery art by emerging local artists, and a garden courtyard social space. It also hosts the Anarchist Lending Library, free computers, and many free skool classes. 703 Pacific Ave.

Thrift Stores
http://www.cityonahillpress.com/2009/05/28/your-alternative-guide-to-thrift-831-style/
A City on a Hill article about local thrift outlets, the well from which many of us draw raw materials for sculpture and fiber art creations.

Of course there is much more going on around town than this short list encompasses. Keep your eyes and ears open; talk to others (word of mouth is the best way to find out what’s going on) and look for flyers around town (a great DIY way to spread the word). Also, if you discover that there is that vital something not happening here, then do-it-yourself and spread-the-word (collaborate with allies with similar passions). Let’s joyfully tear down the world around us and create something wonderful in its place.

Something missing here? Send email to thespoon@thespoon.com with an update or comment below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/phreakhead/445546189/

Art Opening: Michael Orick and Tom Calderone

2009-08-27T23:14:00.000-07:00

The Collages of Michael Orick and Tom Calderone

On Friday, September 4th, at 5pm, SubRosa is excited to welcomecollage artists Michael Orick and Tom Calderon. Calderon and Orickhave been hosting a weekly gathering of artists for more than threeyears, creating a wide variety of collage art. Each, in distinctstylistic approaches to life and art, will be presenting pieces createdat Collage Night, and viewable on the walls of SubRosa and atCollageNight.com.

Orick applies values and guides meanderings with hisjaunty approach to dismantling social interaction. His claims of artfor art’s sake, is couched in a literary tradition of blanchedintellectualism mixed with pale understandings of things: things suchas color and time, silly similies and woman’s underwear. His past isyesterday’s now. Orick is gliding gracefully, with limbs akimbo.

Calderon, with his understanding of politics andreligion, attempts to create visions of the reality behind the acceptedspectacle. His imagery is savage and calm, shockingly beautiful andsadly real, steeped in water like a fine tea, flavored somethingexcellent.

Collage, considered by some the premier postmodern art form, hasremained as fresh as local produce, and a clear link to the time beforeNike and Coca-Cola. Weilding their exacto-knives and glue sticks,collagenight provacateurs Calderon and Orick, hope to push the agendaof dreamers everywhere.

Art Opening: Michael Orick and Tom Calderone
Friday, September 4th, at 5pm
SubRosa, 703 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz

703 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz
http://subrosaproject.org
831-426-5242

Subscribe to SCART

2009-01-29T12:50:00.000-08:00

The Santa Cruz Art Conspiracy 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.

Wanna get announcements of local art events? Subscribe to the Santa Cruz Art Email List
Need to announce an art happening? Is it local to Santa Cruz? Is it non-institutional? Non-commercial? We prefer to focus on the cathartic process of creating art, collaboration and community, conceptional art and performance.

Send an announcement to our moderated announcement list: scart@lists.riseup.net

SCART: What exactly is this?

2007-10-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

The Santa Cruz Art List (SCART) is a forum for announcing non-institutional art events, meetings and projects, ideas and news. A website and email list, to keep in touch, to announce art events, and to document our work. The email list is a low-volume, moderated list sharing information about local Santa Cruz art topics only.

Documentation

An artist friend once told us 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 List. 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.

Community and Connection

But beyond documentation, this is about community and connection. SCArt 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.

This is less about "making it" as an artist, and more about making art. Its all about this elusive something that we have 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.

Shout Out

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

Will SCArt feature public guerilla art? Certainly. Public performance? Absolutely. Creative groups operating outside of the realm of commerce? For 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? Probably, not.

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

SCArt: santacruzart.net

SF Mime Troupe

2007-09-28T15:43:00.000-07:00

From Whitney:

Yesterday, Sept. 24, the Santa Cruz Trash Orchestra raised a rebellious ruckus and marched down Pacific Avenue (permits? We don't need no stinking permits!) to announce the performance of the San Francisco Mime Troupe in San Lo Park.

It was a BLAST! As we marched, people joined us from the sidewalks and we handed them trash to play. We had a lot of fun doing variations of marching like twirls and scattering. Grant Wilson, from Art and Revolution, acted as our drum major and marched ahead of us - he is always so much fun. At one point, a bike cop asked if we could make way for traffic and we complied. When we got to the park, we played 3 songs.

The SF Mime Troupe put on a really great show called "Making a Killing" - political satire at it's best. They have look-a-likes for Dick Cheney and Condi Rice... doing evil deeds in the name of charity and "a feel good story". The Mime Troupe was especially good this year.

The City of Santa Cruz Values Your Opinion

2007-08-27T16:07:00.000-07:00

I love when our leaders solicit us for our opinions! It helps ensure that they are fully informed when they completely ignore them as they make decisions that effect us. However, who doesn't like a survey? I filled it out anywho.

The City of Santa Cruz Arts Commission invites you to participate in a community-wide survey, and to spread the word to your audience.

You can help determine what the ARTS will be like in Santa Cruz, 5 or 10 years from now.

The City Council has approved the development of an Arts Master Plan, in recognition of the contributions the arts make to our city's quality of life and economic vitality.

The Arts Commission has just released this Arts Master Plan Community Survey to ensure that the proposed plan reflects community opinions.

We invite you to complete this survey and share it with others.

Check out the survey, fill it out if you have the stomach for it. I'm skeptical, of course, but all those "Other, Please Specify" questions do bring up some thoughts for me:

Art is a process of discovery. It is a window into the magic and mysterious world of the creativity of the human mind. It helps open us up to possibilities and allow us access to other perspectives. It connects us with others, and for those engaged in making it, the cathartic process of making art can be life-changing.

Santa Cruz has has changed my life in a lot of ways, but nothing has been as influential and mind altering than the art experiences I've had here.

However, it is a depressing state of affairs that in the last 20 years I've been here, I've seen the number, quality, and variety of independent artists here decline.

I hope this survey indicates that Santa Cruz is taking the problems of artists seriously, but until I see otherwise, I wonder if it isn't perceived as merely a marketing problem.

This problem isn't about better marketing of the arts. One cannot market what one does not have. Simply put, Santa Cruz is currently NOT an arts destination. Rather than art hospitable, Santa Cruz is art hostile.

High rents, aggressive laws thwarting street performance, aggressive noise ordinances, limits on where one can stand, sit, and perform, decreasing numbers of independent artists, and increasing numbers of high-end art boutiques will be the death of art in this town.

Constructive suggestions? Just to start. What would be helpful would be informational kiosks where anyone could post art-related information. What would be helpful would be loosening the stranglehold on downtown aesthetics to include murals, street art, stencil, guerrilla performance, and public sculpture. What would be helpful would be rent-control for artists or low-end galleries. What would be helpful would be a rollback of all of the repressive laws that make life downtown uncomfortable for anyone except those shoppers with fat wallets.

I'm hoping the city begins to view art as a creative tool to solving other problems as well. For instance, the city clearly believes there is a serious homeless problem, and solutions are currently limited to pushing them to the fringes. While there are 160 beds for the 1500 to 2000 homeless in town, are there any programs offering art skills and practice to the poor and homeless people in town? Is there support for art and artists' tool co-ops for poor artists who do not have the wherewithal to own their own tools and facilities?

The survey is asking some of the right questions. Consider that innovation comes from small efforts. Small-size performance spaces and outdoor spaces. Rehearsal spaces, community gardens with small stages, places to paint, places to play music, quiet places to write, places to practice. Places tucked away and places in plain view. Art has to be woven and integrated with life to make it relevant and important. Closing Pacific Avenue to cars from one end to the other would be a great start.

Support people doing things themselves, support self-organization, such as art co-ops , community performance groups, and writer's groups. well-funded venues are less important than connections between people and collaborative efforts.

Anything the city can do to support the arts and artists is great. I'd love to live in a town awash in art and artists. However, what we don't need is more centralized art administration, unified marketing efforts, art districts, and official festivals and art events. The words "official," "public," and "qualified" are always the death of art.

Rather than the city "fostering," "providing," "offering," and "organizing," how about the city do what it can to support artists self-organizing, providing for themselves, and fostering their own collaborations. How about the city start by not standing smack in the way of art.

Announce Art Happenings

2007-07-20T14:51:00.000-07:00

The Santa Cruz Art Conspiracy 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.

Need to announce an art happening? Is it local to Santa Cruz? Is it non-institutional? Non-commercial? We prefer to focus on the cathartic process of creating art, collaboration and community, conceptional art and performance.

Send an announcement to our moderated announcement list: scart@lists.riseup.net

Wanna get announcements of local art events? Subscribe to the Santa Cruz Art Email List

4th of July Celebrated with Anti-War/Anti-Capitalist Street Theatre

2007-07-09T10:08:00.000-07:00

It's often been said that free speech is like a muscle - If you don't exercise it, it withers. With that in mind, 7 local activists of no particular affiliation (rumor has it though they are members of SAW) armed with bandanas, card board signs, and a corporate American flag cast what Hakim Bey once dubbed a "Temporary Autonomous Zone" on the corner of Pacific and Soquel.

For approximately an hour (just in time for the lunchtime rush), 6 folks made a circle around another holding an American flag and faced outward holding single word signs that periodically switched.

Though many of the single-word signs alluded to the multiple wars being waged by the American Empire ("Oil", "Torture", "Cheney", "Blackwater"), others were more directed towards the dominant culture at large. Words such as "For Sale", "Corporate Control", "Consume", and "Materialism" mixed in with "Paris Hilton" and "TV Reality," the result being a full spectrum of reactions.

Some folks (tourists to the core) took pictures, others stopped and gawked, still others offered "thank yous", "right on" and "you're just being negative", and at least one old man accused them of "hiding behind masks."

As one participant put it (and I'm paraphrasing here) "it was interesting to see the different reactions depending on which words we held up - "Peace" or "Bush Regime" got a lot of positive looks while "corporate control" and "denial" had folks frowning.

As the clock struck one, the TAZ closed with the singing of the Wobblies "IU 630" into the Pacific Garden Mall. Signs came down and we walked away. Happy fourth.

Music in Public Draws the Heat

2007-06-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

Trash Orchestra Booted from the River Street Garage
(Courtesy of Santa Cruz' ridiculous 15-Minute Parking Lot Panic Law)

No doubt, being civic-minded and committed to fighting oppressive laws, you already know about the 15-Minute Parking Lot Panic law. (If not, see indybay.org here, and the text of this ridiculous law here.) Santa Cruz Trash Orchestra (and a saxophone player on the 2nd floor) were kicked out of the River Street garage (one of our favorite empty practice locations) and threatened with trespassing tickets by a zealous and nervous young officer.

Naturally, the law was created not to oppress privileged middle-class folk like ourselves, but to push the poor and the homeless further to the fringes (hopefully right off the edge where they might helpfully just disappear). But the city feels occasionally obligated to enforce their silly laws more or less uniformly lest they be accused of selective enforcement and have their laws struck down by the courts.

Next time you ask yourself, what the fuck is wrong with this town? Consider how much responsibility you bear every time you sit quietly by when someone make the choice of security over liberty (usually for our alleged benefit).

Twice now the petty-authoritarian rent-a-cop at the City Hall has tried to roust us during practice at the City Hall Courtyard. We've largely ignored him and suggested that he go ahead and make good on his escalating and apoplectic threats to call the cops. Last week he called down two more rent-a-cops, a park ranger, a bike cop, and a patrol car. Being able to do little about the public inconveniently using public space, they stood around and did their best to look intimidating. It didn't work. We left when we were done playing.

It did make us think though about the shabby gentlemen who sleep on the lawn at City Hall on sunny days and the fucking rent-a-cop who comes around regularly and intimidates them until they leave. Guessing they don't have the same sense of indignation and entitlement and knowledge of the law that we have.

Brazen Squaredancers Take the Streets

2007-05-30T14:36:00.001-07:00

The Brazen Squaredance Association and Free Skool Santa Cruz host this sporadic Santa Cruz event, in which scores of squaredancers take over public space, moving to increasingly brazen locations, eventually taking over the streets, literally. A kind of movable feast of old-timey dancing. Fliers and posters circulated around town promised rollicking live music, dancing in the streets, and reclaiming public space.

This time well-loved caller Mavis McGaugh stepped up to call and Karen (of Amy and Karen) played with a rollicking old-time band including musicians from Blackbird Raum and Curse Is Cast. Mavis provided squaredance instruction before each dance.

Dancers gathered at 5:30 on a Friday evening at the top of the River Street parking garage (violating the absurd 15-minute parking lot trespassing law). As a stop-gap between the arrival of the caller and all the musicians, the author stepped up to run the many new dancers through some of the basic squaredance and contra dance calls and moves. Alamand left your neighbor, do-si-do your partner, all join hands and circle up left.

Mavis arrived and charmed us through two or three dances on top of the parking structure all lit in golden sunset light. Then we moved the dance to our old Brazen standby Cooper and Pacific. There a Santa Cruz cop stepped into the middle of a reel and we hooted and hollered and danced around him thinking for sure, seeing all the fun, he just wanted to join in.

Turns out, no, the police had gotten complaints from O'Neil's Surf Shop who couldn't stand to see people dancing outside for free when they should be inside the store buying overpriced surfwear. After the cop explained this, we offered a rousing chorus of boos to the killjoys inside the store. We turned one of the sets 90 degrees to avoid the 15 feet no-go zone in front of merchant doorways (another repressive Santa Cruz law) and continued the dance.

After a few dances, we moved to our next increasingly brazen location at Lincoln and Cedar. We walked through the dance in the (soon to be doomed) Farmer's Market parking lot. Then when the band and the dancers were ready, we moved to the middle of Lincoln Street and began dancing. At first drivers were confused, then frustrated, then resigned all in quick succession, like stages of automobile-bound grief. After that, dancers formed a de facto street barricade.

A patrol car showed up and a uniformed officer shouted that we had to get out of the street. The musicians on the sidewalk kept playing and the dancers kept dancing. Our cop-tamer went over to serve his role as police liaison only to realize that the uniformed man was merely a security guard feeling some sort of duty to keep his city's streets free of cavorting, frolicking dancers. After that, the rent-a-cop's protests were largely ignored. However, he continued to block all approaches to the intersection with his car while he made frantic calls on his radio. Dancers thanked him afterward for providing an effective roadblock.

Several waltzes later back in the parking lot, we called it an amazing evening.

Streetside Letter Writing Service

2007-05-22T16:17:00.000-07:00

Wes & I finally did the love letter(apology/blackmail) letters service downtown yesterday. We decided to be rival services set up right next to each other, throughout the day played at being huffy & competitive about the other guy & alternately tossing stamps, envelopes, typer correction tape to each other.

Bonnie and I had been planning this pretty much forever. Put off numerous times due to rain, double booking, and illness. But the idea was simplicity itself: A letter writing service springs up on Pacific Ave, offering free typing/dictation of love letters, apologies, and blackmail.

A swell time, about 3 hours. Lots of requests for us to come back, & the usual incredulity from normals that such a thing should be happening. We refused a few dollars people kept offering for the stamps.

We had solid business the whole time with clients sitting on our chairs dictating letters constantly. While everyone was uniformly impressed, the folks who told us it the coolest thing they'd ever experienced outnumbered the curmudgeony easily three to one.

At the end of the day, young Sebastian the Bearded bicycled them all to the P.O. for delivery. I got to type his letter, a breezy fun note to a girl he likes. Wes typed at the bottom of each of his letters, "Typed by WM Streetside Letter Writing Service" or some such -- a nice touch which I would like to adopt for next time. Also we decided next time old timey clothes are in order. Lots of buzz about the real live old time typerwriters. We used a dull institutional green one I got for $3 at an estate sale, and Mom's old light blue typer from my childhood. Wes did a couple blackmails, & took pains to keep his fingerprints off things. Later a blackmail client came back & offered us each a pair of surgical gloves for future use.

I got numerous love letters, a few apologies, several blackmails, and one emotional cease-and-desist letter. After struggling to handle one smoking blackmail letter to a national leader without getting fingerprints on it, my client brought a pair of rubber gloves for each of for future blackmails.

I did one for a woman who was thrilled at her spanish speaking study partner, so we attempted a letter in Spanish, very Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Also a letter of appreciation for a Mom, an affirmation note to oneself the sender will receive, a snide "love note" to the cardswiper at the dining hall (no respect! no respect!), a thank you note to a moneybags producer of this guy's documentary, and an earnest "I want you in my life" note that a communitarian from Eugene wrote for the woman he'd met the night before at a co-op convention. I made him swear on one leg with one hand in the air and one eye closed that he'd persue a described plan a, b, and c to hand-deliver the note, since he doesn't have her address.

We were visited by Chris, one of the downtown hosts, whose chief concern was whether we were doing anything illegal. I've met him before when we were downtown when we had set up a free coffee cart across from a corporate caffeine-monger. He is one of those petty tyrants with a friendly manner who say they support you but are forced to bust you because the law (which naturally they don't agree with) is the law. Whatever. It is hard to take the downtown greenshirts very seriously. Bonnie wanted to ask him if his job was to prevent things from happening downtown, or to be a host for the wonderful things that can happen there. I didn't feel like I needed to ask because I think I already know the answer.

The entire endeavor, providing a free typing service, made me want to do enough of that sort of thing in the future that people were no longer surprised that there was something free and fun to do downtown, and enough so that people's impulse was no longer to wonder how much it cost.

More photos here.

Guerilla Drive-In Celebrates Five-Years of Fighting the Man

2007-04-21T23:47:00.000-07:00

Guerilla Drive-In Celebrates Five-Years of Resisting Authority

Grassroots project shows free movies, builds community, and challenges ideas about public space

Santa Cruz, CA, April 10th, 2007: This spring Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive-In celebrates its five-year anniversary with a showing of Dr. Strangelove in GDI's original Harvey West location on Friday April 20th at 8pm. The five-year anniversary showing will feature subversive short films, food, entertainment, and music.

For half a decade, Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive-In has shown over a hundred free films to the community in regular Summer and Winter Series. Movies are always free. Beyond showing great movies and bringing a broad community together, part of their mission is helping reclaim public space and transforming our urban environment.

Guerilla Drive-In is a grassroots project of ordinary people from the community. Movies are chosen and decisions are made collectively by members of the small collective. It has no city- nor corporate-sponsorship and is supported only by donations from movie-goers and the work of collective members.

In the last five years, GDI has shown subversive features such as Cool Hand Luke, Truman Show, Nine to Five, Fight Club, and 1984, as well as a host of lesser-known films dealing with resistance and celebration. GDI also works with other groups to help with events such as the Reel Work Film Festival, Santa Cruz Film Festival, and the Santa Cruz Bike Film Festival.

All over the world, Santa Cruz is setting an example for do-it-yourself public nighttime entertainment. Guerilla Drive-Ins have sprung up in San Francisco, Berkeley, Dallas, Maine, NYC, Florida, Pennsylvania, Minneapolis, and as far away as Norway and Sweden. The GDI website provides detailed step-by-step suggestions of how to set up a Guerilla Drive-In.

Guerilla Drive-In has had its share of run-ins with authority. For instance, two years ago, a half dozen police officers surrounded a Guerilla Drive-In showing under the Soquel Avenue Bridge. Police shut down the movie because movie viewers were technically in a city park area and were violating park hours. In downtown showings, police have tried unsuccessfully to shut the movies down.

Guerilla Drive-In recognized years ago that in our city, a community focused on art and connection, there is no place to meet in public that is unmediated by commerce. They note that all the parks, beaches, the wharf, the boardwalk, the levies, state parks, the University, and the Pogonip are all closed after dark. If you want to meet friends or strangers at night, your only option is to dive into the stream of commerce, bars, cafes, restaurants, or movies.

For the last few years, summer movies have been shown along the railroad tracks on the west side of Santa Cruz. The summer series this year will feature special showings in unusual and surprise locations.

To find out more about Guerilla Drive-In, the Summer Series schedules, and locations for special showings, go the GDI website at www.guerilladrivein.org.

The Brazen Squaredance Association

2006-10-15T11:10:00.000-07:00

The Brazen Squaredance Association

Sunday October 15th 5pm (sharp)
meet at top of River Street Parking Garage
between River and Front Streets near Wells Fargo

live music, dancing in the streets
reclaiming public space
(square dance instruction will be provided)

bring: water & snackies, an instrument if you play

This is a do-not-miss event. This is a sporadic happening and has become no less than legendary. Amy and Karen, an rollicking old-time band and a caller down from the East Bay. Spread the word.

Reportback from Last BSA

And just for you here's the reportback from last time:

We'd done Brazen Squaredancing once two years earlier, inspired by a visit to Portland where we joined kids dancing to old time out under the stars along the river. We came back from Portland and created the BSA, the Brazen Squaredancing Association. We planned to start our squaredance at an out of the way location downtown and progressively move to increasingly more brazen locations.

It had been a week of pouring rain, so we were afraid we were going to get rained out. Nobody can say they weren't warned. In the AC invite we said: "But what if it rains? We get wet. Wear a wet suit. Wear your swim trunks. Wear paper clothes, so as you dance and as the rain falls, you will dance naked into a new life." But we were worried about the band since we knew they couldn't play their fiddles and banjos and guitars in the middle of a downpour. So we had two sets of brazen locations planned before the dance, one for rain, one for clear.

We started the dance early evening in the ruins downtown, a leftover from the '89 quake. The called who came down from Portland walked us through basic squaredance moves, do-see-do, see-saw, right hands round, left hands round, and of course, swing. He walked us through each dance before the music started. The band were tremendously awesome folks who came down from the West and East Bay, some of the same great folks who'd played for us two years prior. Starting out, there were enough people for 4 or 5 full squares, about 40 folks.

Midway through the second dance, the sky started spittling on us and so we moved to a semi-covered bank foyer a block away. After a couple of high-energy dances, we moved several blocks down Pacific to the plaza in front of the giant multiplex movie house. The sky cleared up a bit and dried up. Here we started picking up people. Maybe 7 or 8 squares or so or about 8 people each. This was a location that attracted a lot of attention. We had spectators on the sidelines cheering us on and as much as we could we dragged them into the dance. The caller taught us the Virginia Reel in preparation for our next and final location.

After a bunch of dances, we moved down the street again in time for it to rain in earnest this time. We put the band under several market umbrellas at a curbside restaurant. At a signal from the caller who remained on the sidewalk, we took the street for our Virginia Reel. Long lines, forward and back. Do-see-do your partner. Right hands around. Left hands back. Before the head couple sashays down the line. Cars eventually gave up trying to use the street and turned on to the side streets instead. We were whoopin and hollarin and the crowd on the sidewalk was excited and confused.

Finally, a patrol car parked in the street facing us. He flashed his lights and we kept dancing. Finally the officer got out of his car and talked to the caller, who at this point we didn't need since we knew the dance. We heard the caller on the bullhorn, "This officer would like me to tell you to come out of the street." We kept dancing. Several minutes went by with the officer in consultation with the caller while we danced and the music played. We heard the caller say, "This officer says if you don't come out of the street, he is going to give me a ticket." At that point we returned to the sidewalk. Though it made us wonder, what would he have issued a ticket for? Maintaining Friendships with Persons Who Dance in the Street? The cop drove off and, to his credit, didn't call for backup and make a bigger deal of it.

We finished the reel and the rain had stopped. We were wet and steaming. The band played a waltz and we grabbed a partner and danced back into the street. People walking by grabbed their partners for a waltz. We saw several old couples passing by dance into the street with us.

It was a great evening. Now seldom a week goes by that someone doesn't ask when the next Brazen Squaredance is going to be.

Santa Cruz Trash Orchestra Recruiting

2006-08-29T22:39:00.000-07:00

Fight tyranny! Resist oppression! See the world! Join...

The Santa Cruz Trash Orchestra

We are a marching percussion band – a bone-shaking
recycled orchestra – a superhero sonic force of
resistance to be reckoned with, and we need you!

We make percussion on tuned cans, hubcaps and barrels,
drums, pieces of sheet metal, and homemade oddities.

If you are full of rebellious insolence and music in your
heart, we need you to be part of the band. Bring your
courage, your passion, your righteous anger. Bring your
instruments, recycled or otherwise.

We want to see the Trash Orchestra grow to dozens of players, appearing invited and uninvited at protests and celebrations, furors and frackuses. We want regular practices and appearances, invites from far and wide pouring in to make noise and celebration in places across the globe. We see everyone in the band becoming virtuosos of their own handmade musical creations. We are ambitious in our plans to conquer the world and make it a better place full of music and dancing and resistance. We're pretty serious about this, so you wanna join us?

www.trashorchestra.org

Spontaneous Urban Uprising

2006-06-03T23:19:00.000-07:00

Reclaiming the Streets of Santa Cruz by Bradley
Santa Cruz Indymedia

Invitations were distributed to Reclaim The Streets of Santa Cruz on June 3rd with a free street party for everyone. Slowly but surely, musicians, artists, chalkers, dancers, bikers, disc tossers, walkers and other party goers began arriving at Pearl Alley in anticipation of Saturday night's "experiment in spontaneous urban uprising."

Free loaves of challah and a jug-band got the party started in Pearl Alley. At about 8pm, people drifted into slow-moving traffic on Pacific Avenue to "take over the streets and reclaim community space for community use!"

People left Pearl Alley on Lincoln then marched down Pacific Avenue to Laurel where they danced and played in the intersection before continuing up Laurel and then Cedar. We continued to walk up Cedar as we got word that the Dyke March was on Pacific and heading towards the Town Clock. Reclaim The Streets acted swiftly to join the Dyke March, bringing an interesting twist to both events. The Dyke March was permitted, however Reclaim The Streets did not have or seek a permit.

The intersection in front of the Town Clock was briefly reclaimed to demand equality for people of all sexual orientations. Chalkers drew pictures and wrote "Sin Fronteras" while a couple of partying patriots burned an American flag. Reclaim The Streets moved away from the Town Clock and back towards the busy stretch of Pacific Avenue. Two couches and the back bench of a van were suddenly brought into the intersection in front of Urban Outfitters while classic hits from Michael Jackson filled the air. I could hear onlookers saying, "I love Santa Cruz" as they watched people dancing in the streets. However, not everyone was enjoying the "free street party for everyone" and some of the folks who were unable to get down the street in their cars were quite upset with the situation.

Tensions were eventually diffused at Church and Pacific as the mobile party made it's way towards the Civic Center. The momentum of the party seemed to be dwindling a bit as people arrived, couches in hand, at the intersection of Church and Center Streets. A driver in a truck decided to disregard the people in the street and drove over a bicycle and bike trailer. The bike trailer was stuck under the truck and dragged with sparks flying from Church and Center all the way to Walnut and Chestnut. At this point, Reclaim The Streets was over and one person was a bit scrapped up after being entangled in his bicycle and dragged for a short period of time along with his bike trailer. A couch and van bench were taken to Good Will and one couch, in good condition, was left on the sidewalk outside the library.

Marching Down Pacific and Throwing a Disc by ~Bradley

Salsa Dancing on Saturn's Ring by ~Bradley

Creating Social Spaces by ~Bradley

Marching Up Cedar Street by ~Bradley

Dyke March is Joined by Reclaim The Streets by ~Bradley

Dykes and RTS Dance to the Town Clock by ~Bradley

God Bless America by ~Bradley

Clock Tower by ~Bradley

Couch Potatoes on Pacific by ~Bradley

Spontaneous Urban Uprising by ~Bradley

A Short History of Street Performing in Santa Cruz

2006-05-03T16:16:00.000-07:00

The History of Street Performing in America

Santa Cruz, California, 1978-on

Adapted from article by Stephen Baird

Tom Noddy sent me these emails and documents about his recent civil disobedience act of being arrested for juggling on the streets of Santa Cruz on June 26, 2003. Please read all the documents for complete understanding of the issues. The short outline is:

1978-1980, 1990 -- Tom Noddy, Jan Luby and others organize Santa Cruz street artists and develope Voluntary Guidelines. Guidelines revised after 1989 earthquake. See: Santa Cruz Street Performance Voluntary Guidelines

1978 -- Tom Scibner, a IWW labor organizer and saw player street performer, has sculpture commissioned and erected on the streets of Santa Cruz. See: http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/people/scribner.shtml

July, 24, 2002 -- City Council passes new regulations. City Attorney states at the meeting the regulations will not ban juggling. See City Codes below click here

2003 -- City threatens to arrest jugglers and other perfomers. Tom Noddy begins letter writing campaign. The city attorney reverses opinion and now states new regulations bans juggling.

June 26, 2003, Tom Noddy is arrested for juggling and spends 13 hours in jail. Click here.

June 27, 2003, Tom Noddy writes Flying Karamazov Brothers and other artists who started on the streets of Santa Cruz and begins plans for a protest and benefit concert for protracted legal battle scheduled for September 5th and 6th. Click here

July 9, 2003 City Council pass Emergency Resolution clarifying juggling is legal. Click here.

There are other restrictions in the new regulations including a 10 foot rule and 1 hour rotation that make it difficult for street artists.

October 2004 -- Street Performer Weekly Gig with SAFE. SAFE (Society for Artistic Freedom and Expression) will have regular weekly Sing Outs on the Sidewalk in front of New Leaf Market 6pm every Wednesday evening. SAFE calls for the restoration of the Voluntary Street Performers Guidelines and the end to onerous restrictions on peformers downtown. One local Downtown Ordinance dictates the 10' forbidden zones limiting performers to less than 20% of downtown sidewalks. Another literally excludes them from narrower sidewalks in other business districts. Another is the "Move Along Law" which mandates criminal penalties for not "moving along" every hour. Contact: Joe Williams 866-385-9120 resist (at) best.com

Smash the police state and pass the popcorn

2006-04-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

Santa Cruz's Guerilla Drive-In stages outdoor protest film festival

By WALLACE BAINE
Sentinel Staff Writer

It's not every night you can experience a giant, 20-foot-tall image of late-night wiseguy Stephen Colbert, uh, "answering nature's call" projected onto a building. But, obviously, Thursday night wasn't your ordinary night in downtown Santa Cruz.

Call it media-savvy meta protest. Call it spontaneous hipster mass entertainment. The coordinators of the small event on Church Street on Thursday prefer to call it Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive-In. As a kind of gonzo protest against city ordinances in general and a proposed law making it illegal to loiter in parking lots specifically, roughly 50 people gathered at the Church Street parking structure to watch a handful of short films, projected across the street onto the diamond-checkered exterior wall of the Santa Cruz Cinema 9.

"Welcome to the first annual Flim Flam Film Fest, celebrating repressive laws in the city of Santa Cruz," announced Wes Modes, one of the coordinators of the event. "I can't really see the trend reversing itself, so maybe there will be a second annual. Who knows?"

The mini film festival was designed to show short films all focusing on repressive laws and police abuses. Many of the films were made in Santa Cruz and were about various controversies of city ordinances and local police behavior.

Many of the enormous images that could be seen from Pacific Avenue and Cedar Street were of Santa Cruz cops in dubious action, often arresting or using force against protesting suspects. Police were evident at the scene but kept their distance.

The Guerilla Drive-In is something of Santa Cruz institution, having staged word-of-mouth movie screenings for a few years now, usually on private property. The event at the Cedar Street parking lot was the first of its kind. It was meant as a protest against proposed municipal code 9.64, which would allow police to arrest anyone for trespassing who is in a Santa Cruz parking lot or garage for longer than 15 minutes.

On Thursday, many of the loiterers were sitting on the sidewalk or just under the shelter on the first level of the garage. The crowd was polite and was mindful of keeping parts of the sidewalk and the entrance to the parking lot clear.

Very few passersby stopped to take part in the spontaneous festival. One woman said she had come from a family of police officers and she disapproved of the negative image that was being presented of Santa Cruz police.

Getting a good share of the laughs on Thursday was the Colbert piece, from his highly rated Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report," which was jauntily titled "So You Live in a Police State." It was a satire on government surveillance and police intrusion into private life that was in jarring contrast to many of the earnest documentary-style shorts about Santa Cruz politics.

The projector, on the parking structure's second level, was placed atop the Toyota Prius hybrid that also powered it.

The weather, after weeks of unrelenting rain, cleared up for the event.

"We expected it to rain," said Modes. "That's why we plan to set up under the shelter on the first level. But we would have done it anyway."

Guerilla Drive-In To Challenge Rules Around Public Space

2005-05-13T11:57:00.000-07:00

Guerilla Drive-In To Challenge Rules Around Public Space

Date: 13 May 2005
To: citycouncil@ci.santa-cruz.ca.us

Dear Honored Council Folk:

This will be the third summer that Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive-In will be entertaining folk for free in Santa Cruz and in the wider SF Bay Area. We have a fine summer series location on private property, but we'd like to bring free movies for the community to a wider downtown audience and open up the use of our public spaces. We request your help changing the rules governing park hours in our city.

Santa Cruz Guerilla Drive-In is an outdoor movie theatre under the stars that springs up unexpectedly 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 into the joyful playground it should be. We've showed films such as The Third Man, Cool Hand Luke, Dr. Strangelove, Nine to Five, Fight Club, and 1984. Like the last few years, the 2005 summer series features more than a dozen films -- a film every other Friday night.

All over the country, we are setting an example for do-it-yourself public nighttime entertainment. Guerilla Drive-Ins are springing up all over, in San Francisco, Berkeley, Dallas, LA, Portland, Sacramento, NYC, Florida, Pennsylvania, Minneapolis. And while we are not the first, we are dedicated to reclaiming outdoor space and showing others how to do the same. Our website gives a step by step how-to: www.thespoon.com/start-your-own.html

Last year, early in the summer we were showing our movies under the Soquel Avenue Bridge near the Royal Taj. Mid-summer, we were booted out of this location during the showing of The Third Man by a half dozen police officers. They informed us that we were in a city park area and were violating park hours.

In our fair city, a community focused on art and connection, there is no place to meet in public that is unmediated by commerce. All the parks, beaches, the wharf, the boardwalk, the levies, state parks, the University, and the Pogonip are all closed after dark. If you want to meet friends or strangers at night, your only option is to dive into the stream of commerce, bars, cafes, restaurants, or movies.

Naturally, we understand the reasons for closing public spaces at night -- drugs, homelessness, and crime. However, closing public spaces, doesn't solve the problem, only drives it underground, and in the process takes away our own ability to provide safe, legal nighttime alternatives to crime.

Only in America would we think to close public gathering places after dark. In other countries, public spaces are where people spend their evenings, hanging out with friends, flirting, playing, drinking, singing, dancing. A vital nightlife is the sign of a live and thriving community. From the point of view of merchants, having public places that draw people out of their homes at night is good for nighttime businesses as well. If we want to maintain a healthy connected community, we are going to have to draw people away from their televisions out of the malls into the night, to public places where people can talk and picnic and dance and look at the stars. I think ultimately in our community, if we want to have any public life at all, we are going to have to challenge laws that keep the public out of public spaces.

The benefits to opening public space are many. Consider just one nighttime use of public space, our movies under the Soquel Bridge. We provide outdoor public entertainment to everyone for free. We make the levy area safer when we are there. We leave the bridge location cleaner than when we find it. We bolster the relationship the Riverside neighbors have with their adjoining public space. Guerilla Drive-In draws people from all over the bay area to Santa Cruz.

We respectfully ask for a change to the rules governing nighttime city park use. Please open our public spaces for public use at night.

Thank you for your consideration of this matter.

Sincerely,

Rico Thunder
Guerilla Drive-In Collective

Clowns protest on Pacific

2002-03-17T11:29:00.000-08:00

Photo by sashax (but really of clowns in San Francisco, since few photos of the Santa Cruz clown protest exist...)

Clowns protest on Pacific

SANTA CRUZ — Years of latent frustration in the clown community broke through the surface Saturday afternoon as a tide of bulbous noses, tri-colored wigs and oversized pants swept down Pacific Avenue.

Some 80 normally jolly clowns, supported by the buzz of a dozen kazoos, sought to make their plight public and turn the fortunes of clowndom toward a brighter future.

"You are born a clown," said organizer Rico Thunder. "And for those brave enough to be out as clowns, the world can be a cold and unwelcome place."

"As long as one clown is oppressed, no man is free," Thunder continued.

The Million Clown March was organized by Thunder and friends. While a few short of the sought-after million, the pack met at Saturn Cafe on Pacific Avenue and marched toward the new Cooper House.

The pack drew a crowd of parents and kids, but mostly puzzled shoppers.

The noisy assemblage stopped in front of the usual protest locations, chanting "Our clothes are better than yours!" in front of the Gap and "Double mocha lattes!" at Starbucks.

Later, as the throng approached its final rally point in front of the Cooper House, it broke into the cry of "No more chanting!"

Savvy locals used to the nearly continuous drone of protests through downtown found the clowns refreshing.

"At least at this protest you can actually see who the clowns are," muttered an onlooker.

At the conclusion of the march, the clowns piled into three very small cars and repaired to the Boardwalk Bowl for a night of "clowning, drinking and karaoke," according to organizers.

What Is Art?

1999-12-15T10:57:00.000-08:00

Now What? The What Is Art? collective is enthusiastic about what happens when their present spot is demolished.

All About What?

What Is Art? performers tear down the house--to clear the way for something better

By Mary Spicuzza

LOPI LAROE BOUNDS onstage at What Is Art? and recounts the six-year history of the tiny North Pacific Avenue venue with effortless grace--and a badly mangled fork. LaRoe explains that she found the fork lying in the road the day before the recent "Save What?!" benefit show. And with the smoothest use of metaphor imaginable, she describes the major decisions facing the local performance artists' collective in its near future. In mid-January, a wrecking ball will demolish the current location of What Is Art? due to longtime problems with site contamination.

Being tossed from a cozy, low-rent nook into the high-rent haven of downtown Santa Cruz isn't exactly a local artists' collective's dream come true. But when it comes to choosing whether to continue, LaRoe and her cooperative team don't see quitting as an option.

"Everything is pointing in the same direction," LaRoe said, wielding the now spear-shaped fork with a warrior's confidence.

Being an artist in Santa Cruz seems to require a fighting spirit. And What Is Art? key players like LaRoe, Disa Lindquist, Matthew Embry and Jason Arredondo seem well prepared to go to battle to continue the local performance tradition.

Not that the past six years have been a walk in the park. When LaRoe found the spot it was nothing more than an empty storefront with a small throw-rug.

"I was flooded out of my studio and needed a place to sew," says LaRoe, who is also a seamstress and the mastermind behind Headspace hemp hats. "I started to have the Anarchist Coffeehouse here, which turned into open mic. Hardly anyone showed up at first, except for this annoying guy with a box on his head."

But the What Is Art? following has grown rapidly, and most fans weren't sporting odd head-ware.

Instead of mourning the end of era, LaRoe and her artistic legions are celebrating the end as the beginning of something a little bigger and just as good, if not better. On Dec. 17, LaRoe and six other local artists come together for "The Wreckin' Ball." The show includes performance pieces by LaRoe, Wes Modes and Arredondo, spoken- word poetry by Julia Ann Delbridge and Lisa Radon and music by Aaron Strickler, as well as lovable punk-pop soloist Cassidy.

More than mere dancing on the brink of the end, the flurry of final performances for the present location of What Is Art? shows that LaRoe and others are looking for what comes after the wrecking ball. In just two days, the "Save What?" benefit shows earlier this month raised $1,600 dollars toward rent on the venue's future home.

"At the Saturday night show, Amy Churba came up and gave me $900," LaRoe says. "She gave me a hug and said, 'Keep doing what you're doing. You've done an amazing thing for the community. You're an Angel.'"

The collective may have already found a new home, but they're keeping things low-profile until sealing the deal. LaRoe says that Geoffrey Dunn of Community TV has adopted the cause and is advising her on keeping local art alive in Santa Cruz. And Bruce Van Allen, executive director of the William James Association and one of the key players in the newly released Cultural Action Plan, is meeting with her this week to talk about the future of local performance venues.

LaRoe says, "I don't want our kids to say, 'What Was Art?' "

My first experience of What Is Art? came with a Wednesday night open mic. Propped in a folding chair, I was surrounded by more empty metal seats than audience members. The original stage--a packing crate for a motorcycle--was tiny and towered above the audience. Still, the small, supportive audience was too busy calling out for favorite performers to whine about technical difficulties and sore backsides.

After arriving at the "Save What?!" show earlier this month, I scored a stylish theater chair, handed down from Actors' Theatre. But before sinking into sentimental musings about how much the little spot has grown over the years, I noticed the floor quickly filling with audience members. My friend and I returned from a hot cocoa run to find art-loving vultures swarming around our chairs. We reclaimed our seats and only bumped into the nice man sitting next to us a half-dozen times as we squeezed into them. Stragglers who'd left for a Saturn Café dinner lost their seats to people packed in the aisles.

But no one was complaining as Paul Sprawl began his should-be-patented strumming styles; performer Song Nelson busted out with creative use of kitchen utensils in a dance piece about learning to cook; and Lisa Radon launched into her powerful spoken-word performance. The night had enough creative energy to blast out the windows--no demolition equipment needed.

What Is Art? was located at 2044 N. Pacific Ave., torn down only to sit as a fenced, empty lot for almost ten years, which was finally replaced by another large office/retail space.

Santa Cruz Art

Santa Cruz Art Photo Gallery

Women/Trans Open Mic This Thursday (the 16th!)

Emmet Otter's Jug-Band Christmas Fri Dec 17th 7pm

Free Skool Benefit Show! Wed 10/13

UnScruz! The 2nd annual Santa Cruz Burning Man decompression street party!

Civil Rights Photographer Bob Fitch Honored 10-06

Neighborhood Art Installation

Upcoming Artist at Subrosa Cafe

Return of the Grammas Quuilting Workshop Tuesday at 6:30pm

Free Skool Picnic Sat. Sept. 18! Noon at Ocean View Park

September Artist: Justin Angelos - Disaster Information

September Artist: Justin Angelos - Disaster Information

Call for participation for UnScruz, the official Santa Cruz decompression street party!

SMOKE SIGNALS at Santa Cruz GDI Fri Aug 13th 8pm

ComicHangout Tuesdays at comiSanta Cruz Diner

It's MYSTERY BAND Time

Louden Nelson Art Exhibit: Ken Keegan

SubRosa First Friday Art Opening - Gabriella Ripley-Phipps - Five Easy Pieces

July 2010: Five Easy Pieces: Archiving Gabriella Ripley-Phipps

Demystifying Anarchy: a panel discussion

World Naked Bike Ride Santa Cruz June 12

Place to play music

[SCART] SURPRISE FEATURE at Santa Cruz GDI Fri Jun 18th 8pm

Last Day to Summit Free Skool Classes

The Santa Cruz Community Art Show

DUST & ILLUSIONS, 30 Years of BM. A documentary

Art, Music, Food, Fun in Corralitos

Art Opening: The Art of Louise Chen, Fri June 4th

Artist Opening: Petal Power - The Art of Louise Chen

Kecak Monkey Chant Wed 5pm at Body & Soul

Classes at The Fábrica: JUNE/JULY 2010

Admin note: Self-Moderation and List promotion

Guerilla Drive-In Community Report-back, May 14

Westbound May 8

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Westbound: California Perspectives in Painting and Song

ART / BIKE 7may2010

Regarding a Zine Exchange

The Garden: a film about the South Central Farm, Fri. Apr. 30 at the Beach Flats Community Garden

SubRosa Art Opening: Trenton Rembert

Introduction to Balinese Gamelan

The Fabrica: Community Textile Arts & Salvage Workshop

Santa Cruz Local New Year's Parade Under Attack

Kecak: Indonesian Monkey Chant, Wed 3:45pm

Drawing People Tuesdays 4:30pm

SubRosa Art Opening: The Enigmatic Art of Swampy

Dark Hyphy Mist – The Art of Swampdonkey

Free Skool Classes Start Today!

SubRosa Art Opening: The Enigmatic Art of Swampy

Dark Hyphy Mist – The Art of Swampdonkey

Figure Drawing in the Field!

ART/BIKE plus BRAZEN DANCE PARTY

Free Skool Classes Start Today!

Post-Racial Short Film Fest

Art/Bike tonight

John McCutcheonI Santa Cruz Concerts Jan. 22 and 23

Kecak: Indonesian Monkey Chant

An Illustrated Tribute to Howard Zinn

Anarchism & Fiction: Book Talk

Anarchism & Fiction: A Mythmakers & Lawbreakers Book Talk

Wednesday 6pm @ SubRosa, 703 Pacific Ave

STAR WARS TRILOGY at Guerilla Drive-In

Women/Dyke/Trans Variety Show

Amazing Night of Poetry and Performance at SubRosa

Last Night DIY Parade & Celebration 5pm New Year's Eve

Corralitos Cultural Center

Call for Entries: 6th annual Fun-A-Day project and show

Corralitos Artists' Collective

Last Night Celebrates Five Years of DIY Organizing

Insurgent Photo - Radical Photographer Workshop

DOWN BY LAW at Guerilla Drive-In

Writing Down the Bones a Free Skool Workshop

Writing Down the Bones

The Art of Russell Brutsche, an Opening Reception

Dr. Sketchy's figure drawing session in Santa Cruz

Lies You Can't Escape From

THE THIRD MAN at Santa Cruz GDI Fri Oct 30th

Do It Early and Often: Call to Artists for 2010 What Is Erotic?

July 2010: Five Easy Pieces:
Archiving Gabriella Ripley-Phipps

October 2009: The Santa Cruz Anarchist Doll-Making Collective
The Dark Night of DIY Ragdolls and Monsters