San Diego weekend arts events: Indigenous artists, karaoke-inspired theater and more

Visual arts | Music | Theater |Film | Dance | Live music

Visual art

'Infinite Rivers: Artesania + Lore + Tradition' 
Indigenous Kumeyaay, Chemehuevi, Zapotec, Huichol and Taraumara artists join artists from the San Diego-Tijuana border region, Lebanon and Colombia in San Ysidro's The Front gallery to share art exploring a wide range of traditional and artisanal craft practices passed down through generations. The exhibit opens with a reception from 5-7 p.m. on Saturday, July 12.

July 12 through Sept. 13 | The Front Arte y Cultura, 147 W. San Ysidro Blvd., San Ysidro | Free | MORE INFO

Courtesy of Best Practice

'Down with the Hierarchy!'
North County artist Jean Lowe will open an exhibit in collaboration with Mexicali-based graffiti artist Abraham Razo (Rancholo) — including a piece of furniture by Lowe's husband Kim MacConnell. The works are situated in a salon format, almost like a living room, juxtaposing painted Persian carpets with street art, Imperial Valley landscape painting, fake botanical sculptures and French décor. Best Practice gallery, located within Bread & Salt, will be part of Barrio Art Crawl with a reception Saturday evening.

Don't miss a sister presentation of Lowe's "Something Awesome is Headed Your Way," at Quint ONE (also in the Bread & Salt building). This single painting is a spin on 17th-century flower still life.

5-8 p.m. Saturday, July 12. On view through Aug. 16 | Best Practice, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights | Free | MORE INFO

Courtesy of Madison Gallery

Madison Gallery: 'Alchemy of Form'
Art by three Scandinavian women, Lin Utzon, Anne-Sophie Øgaard and Laura Lappi, is currently on view at Madison Gallery in Solana Beach. Øgaard's sculptural paintings are subtle textural studies of space, light and movement; Lappi's yakisugi-inspired charred sculptures evoke metamorphosis, death and rebirth; and Utzon's intricate ceramics and sculptures explore scale, nature and materials. The artists will be onsite for a reception Saturday.

6-8 p.m. Saturday, July 12. On view through Aug. 17 | Madison Gallery, 320 S. Cedros Ave., Ste. 200, Solana Beach | Free | MORE INFO

'Access': An Exhibition About the Possibilities of Material Expression
At Barona Cultural Center and Museum, this group exhibition features printmaking, textiles, sculpture, digital work, painting and drawing by five local artists, Carolina Danu, Yena Kim, Nanzi Muro, Gabrielle Berens and Philip Brun Del Re. The artists are all current or recent graduates of arts programs, and the exhibition celebrates arts access — to art itself, to arts education or to materials and space.

On view through Aug. 15. A reception is 3-6 p.m. Saturday, July 19 | Barona Cultural Center and Museum, 4355 Bonita Rd., Bonita | Free | MORE INFO

Joseph A. Henseler: 'Hiding in Plain Site'
Artist, builder and educator Joseph A. Henseler trained under the late visionary James Hubbell. Henseler will open a rare exhibition of original works at Union Hall Gallery, including stained glass, sculpture and painting. During Saturday's opening reception, Henseler’s wife, the musician Lorena Isabell, will perform.

4-8 p.m. Saturday, July 12. On view through Aug. 10 | Union Hall Gallery, 2323 Broadway Ste. 210, Golden Hill | Free | MORE INFO

Music

Courtesy of the Athenaeum Music and Arts Library

Gustavo Romero plays Sergei Rachmaninoff
Pianist Gustavo Romero began performing at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library when he was a kid; and for the past 25 years he's also spent most summer Sundays there, performing through the entire repertoire of a composer. Throughout July, for the 26th annual rendition of the Summer Festival, Romero takes on Sergei Rachmaninoff. This Sunday, he'll perform a series of Rachmaninoff preludes, "Moments Musicaux" and "Études-Tableaux" — alongside some works by Rachmaninoff's contemporaries like Bach, Tchaikovsky and Prokofiev. Concerts continue through July 27.

4 p.m. Sunday, July 13 | Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla | $50-$55 | MORE INFO

'Beethoven by the Bay'
Marie Jacquot conducts the San Diego Symphony in this program that spotlights Beethoven. They'll perform Beethoven's "Overture to Coriolan" and the gorgeous "Pastoral Symphony" — which includes notations by Beethoven that certain flute, oboe and clarinet solos mimic the birdsong of a nightingale, quail and cuckoo.

In addition to Beethoven, violinist Clara-Jumi Kang will join the symphony to perform Mendelssohn's "Violin Concerto in E Minor."

7:30 p.m. Sunday, July 13 | The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park, 222 Marina Park Way, downtown | $54-$125 | MORE INFO

Theater

'Noises Off'
Michael Frayn's slapstick play "Noises Off" comes to The Old Globe, with director Gordon Greenberg at the helm. It's a "backstage comedy," or a play about a play — or more specifically, about a theater company's chaotic and absurd attempt at putting on a production.

July 11 through Aug. 3 (low-cost previews through July 10) | The Old Globe, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park | $52+ | MORE INFO

'Karaoke Dreams'
Written and directed by local Blake McCarty, "Karaoke Dreams" is a jukebox musical set in a karaoke dive bar, where the stories and entanglements among the characters unravel with each belted tune. This is a production of Blindspot Collective.

July 10 through Aug. 3 | The Loft, 3151 Matthews Ln., UC San Diego | $35+ | MORE INFO

Film

'Memoria'
Celebrate the third anniversary of Digital Gym Cinema with a screening of the first film they played in their new East Village space in 2022. From filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul, "Memoria" stars Tilda Swinton and follows the story of a woman in the jungles of Colombia stricken by an inexplicable sensory disorder.

July 11-17 | Digital Gym Cinema, 1100 Market St., East Village | $9-$13 | MORE INFO

Movies at Memorial: 'Selena' Screening and Look-alike Contest
This movie in the park series in Chula Vista's Memorial Park features not only a screening of "Selena," the 1997 Jennifer Lopez movie about the late Tejano pop icon, her rise to fame and tragic death — but also a Selena look-alike contest. Bring your own picnic, lawn chairs and blankets.

7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 12 (movie starts at dusk) | Memorial Park, 373 Park Way, Chula Vista | Free | MORE INFO

Dance

'The Morning After, Consequential Dances'
Dancer Erica Buechner continues her series of indulgence-themed choreography, following 2017's "Feast on This" and 2022's "Sauced." Eight local dancers will perform in this installment, which explores what happens the morning after feasting and drinking. While tickets are limited for each show (just 20 seats in the small space), pedestrian passersby can view the show through Art Produce's floor-to-ceiling front windows.

6, 7 and 8 p.m. Saturday; and 6 and 7 p.m. Sunday, July 12-13 | Art Produce, 3139 University Ave., North Park | $25 for indoor seats, free outside | MORE INFO