ARTISTIC ABUNDANCE
Pasadena’s ArtNight and ARTWalk leave no stone unturned for area art lovers
By Carl Kozlowski 10/08/2009
Pasadena’s arts community takes center stage on ArtNight Friday and ARTWalk Saturday. Supported by the city’s Arts & Culture Commission, in collaboration with the Pasadena Department of Cultural Affairs and local arts and cultural organizations, the 22nd ArtNight — occurring in March and October for the past 11 years — offers free access to exhibits and special events at more than a dozen museums and galleries from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday.
The somewhat younger (four-year-old) annual ARTWalk then offers half-a-dozen galleries radically redesigning their look and gives patrons a chance to buy works from more than 35 area artists from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Both the Pasadena Museum of California Arts and Pacific Asia Museum will continue Friday’s free admission another day. Add in two stages of music and a bevy of art experts sharing their expertise in talks and you’ve got a day that’s not to be missed.
“Through the years ARTWalk’s grown tremendously, and what’s really exciting is that this year we’re adding a lot of new concepts,” says Josie Mora, marketing director for the Playhouse District Association, one of the participating groups.
“Both events are perfect for all ages. We have everyone from 80-year-old artists to 25- and 26-year-olds displaying. It’s exciting getting everyone together across the community for one broad common reason of admiring art,” says Mora.
A Finally, a main entertainment stage will offer plenty of fun music for everyone — from the US debut of Mexican trip-hop group Faro and San Gabriel Valley jazz favorite Elliott Caine to singer/songwriter Susannah Crawley and calypso drummer Alan Lightner.
Another stage at Vroman’s Bookstore, located at 695 E. Colorado Blvd., will feature the California College of Music Traveling Ensemble, with special guest Jules Alveria.
Meanwhile, ArtNight opens the doors of more than a dozen artistic institutions — such as the Armory Center for the Arts offering a 20th anniversary exhibition, featuring 20 artists’ installations indoors and outdoors along with 3D artworks, and Pasadena City College’s “Mantong and Protong: Richard Shaver and Stanislav Szukalski,” illuminating two of the 20th century’s most unusual theories of human origins and the artists who created them. Rochelle Branch, cultural affairs manager for the city of Pasadena, said this season’s ArtNight marks a great leap forward in reaching out to local families.
“Every ArtNight seeks to expand outreach, promotion and audiences, so this year we are proud that KidSpace Museum has joined the fold, providing families and young children with a chance to be particularly invited to the Pasadena Central Library and KidSpace events,” says Branch. “People come out because we have an incredible experience for all generations. Every year we expand ways to reach new audiences and keep it lively and exciting.”
The Central Library will also be spotlighting an exhibit with multigenerational appeal. Co-sponsored by Pasadena’s Baseball Reliquary, “Touching All Bases: A Baseball Celebration” explores the “unparalleled creative possibilities of America’s national pastime through visual art, music, performance, film and literature,” according to literature provided by the reliquary.
KidSpace, meanwhile, offers “Calder’s Circus,” an exhibition by Alexander Calder, in its central courtyard. Visitors will be able to create circus sculptures inspired by Calder and other artists. It will also host a performance by the Lineage Dance troupe and a children’s art exhibition.
Add in the chance to see the Alliance Francaise de Pasadena’s exhibition of Igor de Kansky’s large wood carvings and mystical paintings, Pacific Asia Museum’s stunning “Caligraffiti” exhibit and the opportunity to explore family histories at the Pasadena Museum of History, and one can’t possibly complain that there’s nothing to do this weekend. It’s all free, so go out and enjoy it.
ArtNight takes place from 6 to 10 p.m. at locations across Pasadena. ARTWalk is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the city’s Playhouse District. For more information on venues and their respective events, visit artnightpasadena.org or pasadenaartweekend.com.
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