'NextGen': Graduating Artist Exhibition
Visual arts
The newest exhibition to open at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) San Diego's Balboa Park site is a selection of works from artists graduating from regional art programs. The artists were selected by a jury made up of Beatriz Cortez (whose work, "Glacial Erratic," I profiled in early 2021), Isabel Dutra of Bread and Salt and María Elena Ortiz of the Pérez Art Museum Miami.
I've seen glimpses of a few of the pieces in the show, including the gorgeous, interdisciplinary shadow-play sculpture and performance, "you took my impression without ever touching me" by beck haberstroh; Isidro Pérez Garcia's serpentine assemblage sculpture, "Corazones de Sacrificio"; and intriguing textile works by Gideon Sawyer. In total, seven artists were selected, with María Antonia Eguiarte Souza, Victor Castaneda, Dianne Preciado and Matt Williams rounding out the list.
The exhibition opens on Friday evening with music from Xayn Naz. It's free, but you can register in advance.
Details: Opens with a reception 6:30-8:30 p.m. Friday, July 15, 2022, through Sept. 4, 2022. ICA San Diego-Central, 1439 El Prado, Balboa Park. Free.
Teen-Versionary: 'Strings That Bind'
Theater
Teen-Versionary is Diversionary Theatre's intensive, collaborative LGBTQ+ and allied youth theater program, involving a three-week rehearsal schedule and performances. This summer's production, part of San Diego Pride, is about the idea of being seen as "puppets of the system."
The play will combine puppet-style movements, poetry, music, art and dance, and will be performed by the group of nine teens and is directed by Wilfred Paloma. The two performances are free, but RSVP is required to save a seat in the theater.
Details: 3 p.m. on Friday, July 15 and 4 p.m. on Saturday, July 16, 2022. Diversionary Theatre, 4545 Park Blvd., University Heights. Free (advance reservations required).
Park Social Exploration Day
Visual arts, Music, Outdoors
Park Social is the City of San Diego's new public art program that pairs artists with public parklands in San Diego. It launched in May with projects, installations, workshops, "activations" and other participatory events happening on a rolling basis until November — plenty of time for audiences to gradually discover as much of the art as possible. This weekend's "Park Social Exploration Day" is a way to make a day of it, and tour several projects in a row. Nine of the 18 projects will be on view, mostly in their final forms.
I recently profiled Margaret Noble's sound-based chalk mural in Point Loma, "Locked Groove," as one of the summer's five works of art. You can also read more here about "Collective Memory," Yvette Roman and Sheena Rae Dowling's San Ysidro installation and community event. Also featured in Saturday's event are the "Toltec Totems" by Mario Torero and Sarah Bella Mondragon, which opens officially on Friday in pop-up form at the Centro Cultural de la Raza, as well as at the Balboa Park fountain and the Plaza de Panama.
Other projects on view on Saturday are Kasi Muñoz and Kline Swonger's "Treeline" in Linda Vista; David White's "Essential San Diego" at Kate Sessions Park in La Jolla; Keenan Hartsten's "Honeycomb Harmonies" in Scripps Ranch; Allison Wiese's "Reading to Strangers" in Mira Mesa; Roberto Salas' "Tribute to Paleteros" in University City; and Timothy Murdoch's "Walking the Wall" at North Park Community Park.
Details: Times and locations vary. For a full schedule, go here. 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 16, 2022. Free.
'LP & GP Collide': Leonard Patton and Gregory Page
Music
Folk/rock singer-songwriter Gregory Page has been recording and performing in San Diego for decades. His latest album, "One Hell of a Memory," came out in 2020 (and with six of the 10 tracks featuring back-up vocals from Jason Mraz, it almost felt like a collaboration).
In a pair of concerts this weekend, the great and prolific jazz singer Leonard Patton, who runs the new Jazz Lounge in Rolando, will join Page to sing together. I love the idea of a collaboration between these two versatile singers and the distinct genres of folk and jazz, and the show promises to find the musical spaces where their styles "collide."
Details: 6:30 p.m. on Friday, July 15 and Saturday, July 16, 2022. The Jazz Lounge, 6818 El Cajon Blvd., Rolando. $40-$60.
'Destejidas (Unwoven)': Marianela de la Hoz
Visual art
Painter Marianela de la Hoz is the third regional artist to hold a residency in the Timken Museum of Art for their summer series, after Bhavna Mehta in 2018 and Roman de Salvo in 2019. After a two-year hiatus for the pandemic and the Timken's renovations, the program is back. De la Hoz has been "in residence" since mid-June and the exhibition opens officially this week. Her works have recently been on view at the San Diego Museum of Art and in a dual exhibition with Helen Redman at Art Produce. For her residency, she's focused on the character of Penelope from Homer's "Odyssey," who famously fended off a hundred suitors while Odysseus was away in the Trojan War. De la Hoz was particularly inspired by the way Penelope spent years weaving and unraveling a burial shroud for her father.
Details: Timken Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. On view through Sept. 4, 2022. 1500 El Prado, Balboa Park. Free.
2022 San Diego International Mariachi Summit Gala Concert
Music, Dance
Billed as a "Leyendas del Mariachi" concert of legends in the mariachi world, this year's concert marks the 25th anniversary of the Mariachi Scholarship Foundation, which holds a summit each year. Soloist performers include Lupita Infante, Rafael Jorge Negrete, Juan Mendoza “El Tariacuri”, Gabriel Solis, and more, performing with the Mariachi Champaña Nevin, the San Diego Binational Symphony Orchestra and Ballet Folklórico Internacional.
Details: 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 16, 2022. San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., downtown. $33+.
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