Search results for

BEST PRACTICE is proud to present Belly, an exhibition of new paintings and sculptures by Los Angeles-based artist Aaron Douglas Estrada. Belly examines the metaphorical expression “belly of the beast,” a phrase used throughout history for being in the heart of a challenging situation. The work explores identity, the dynamics of commodities, and navigating through life’s everyday struggles. Each artwork becomes a repository for acts of decolonization and a testament to self-preservation rituals. It serves as an archive for memories, with the intent to both honor and question. This exhibition contains a diverse array of materials, sounds, and paintings. These include chandelier webs crafted from chains, hand-painted subwoofer music boxes that serve as veladoras (candles) filled with bouncing beans accompanied by audio clips. The sculptural works incorporate salvaged materials from random encounters and gifts from loved ones. The paintings are transformed from drop cloth canvas into serged tapestries that reference Indigenous textiles and cobijas. These materials allude to the intricate nature of identity and its challenges within a consumption-driven economy. This intricacy forms a web of socioeconomic factors that ultimately shape the very essence of our being. What does it mean to confront adversity, honor heritage, and exist in a world both challenging and beautiful? Aaron Douglas Estrada is an artist whose work explores the relationship between the body and its surroundings, moments of play, and the process of decolonization. As a first-generation Salvadorian native of Los Angeles, he draws inspiration from his upbringing in the city and his interactions with diverse cultures and lifestyles. Through his artistic practice, he documents the materials he encounters and captures the energy embedded within them, reflecting on collective memories and everyday life. His work serves as an archive for these memories, incorporating songs, sayings, and cultural symbols that carry multi-layered histories into his sculptures, paintings, murals, public artworks, and installations. Related links: Best Practice: website | Instagram Aaron Estrada: website | Instagram

R.B. Stevenson Gallery is pleased to present the exhibition "Seen & Forgotten" featuring new paintings by San Diego artist Stephen P. Curry. How to visit: The exhibition opens with a reception for the artist: 5-8 p.m. Saturday October 21. Gallery will be open at 1 pm. for early viewing. On view through November 22, 2023. Gallery Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday Contact: Phone: 858.459.3917 rbstevensongallery@sbcglobal.net "Still life painting is a questioning of beauty in light of our immediate reality. These paintings begin with imagery of current events that are depictions of destruction, violence, and death in the initial underpainting process as a way to influence, contradict and subvert the act of observation and the painting process as well as the final opposing representation of the beauty of nature. These contradictory images exist simultaneously to engage in a conversation in the seen and the unseen or forgotten. At the same time challenging, yet playful compositional choices are meant to break with traditional still life and illusionistic representational effects are intentionally brought up short by the physical nature of the paint itself. Drips and splatters, dabs and smears, paint does what paint does." -Stephen P. Curry Related links: R.B. Stevenson Gallery website | Instagram | Facebook

Artonic Quartet is thrilled to partner with Soprano Tasha Koontz, FF Collective, and the University of San Diego to present a program premiering music from The Schemes and Scandals of "Fat Leonard" Francis. Experience modern sonic storytelling with this dramatic ensemble composed of Artonic Quartet, made up of San Diego Symphony members, joined by soprano Tasha Koontz, featuring music by Caroline Shaw, John Adams, Phillip Glass, and San Diego's own Tommy Dougherty. Each piece on the program has its own tale to tell, including the world premiere of music from Dougherty's Schemes and Scandals of Fat Leonard, based on a true story of epic bribery and blackmail aimed at the U.S. Navy, and selections from Evergreen, the newest classical album from Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw where the singer improvises fresh melodies. In 2013, Malaysian military contractor Leonard Glenn Francis (known as “Fat Leonard”) was arrested in San Diego in an NCIS raid after years of maintaining control of the U.S. Navy’s massive Seventh Fleet by subording Navy officers with lavish parties and extravagant gifts which included luxury goods and prostitutes. At his hands, the Navy—a pillar of the American understanding of honor— had fallen prey to unthinkable corruption and the largest military security breach since the Cold War. Schemes and Scandals unearths the unheard female voices buried in the rubble of the far-reaching but largely under-publicized scandal to ask what is left when “honor,” patriotism, and the men who cling to them crumble. The program will also include a pre-concert informational session with Robert Gonzales, the world's leading "Fat Leonard" scholar. Related links: Artonic Quartet website FF Collective website | Instagram California Festival website | Instagram

San Diego’s housing shortage is a problem that has dogged city leaders for years, and it’s increasingly becoming a flash point for residents.

July 17 – 21 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Upcycling Denim This week of Summer Camp is all about fashion design. Learn basic sewing techniques, practice design and drawing skills and then bring your idea to life in a wearable work of art. This 5-day camp will be exercising different techniques every day! We will be upcycling old denim and making our very own custom creations. Use one of our sewing machines or bring your own. Beginners welcome! This camp is recommended for 8-18yrs. Upcycled denim jackets and all other materials provided. Sewing machines are available for borrow. What to bring: A sun hat or sunscreen if your child is sensitive to sun. It’s best to dress in layers. We will be outdoors. Bring a refillable water bottle with water in it and a snack (no sugar or peanut products please). Bring your sewing machine if you have one. If not, let us know you need to borrow. There is an afternoon Sewing Summer Camp from 1 p.m. – 4 p.m. this same week. If you’d like your camper to stay, there’s a $20 fee for the week to cover the 1-hr gap. They can bring a lunch and have lunch with us with the option to do some fun crafts after lunch. Click here to add the lunch break. We will also transfer your child from another camp in Liberty Station. • Scholarships available • Homeschoolers welcome • Military and sibling discounts Stay Connected on Social Media! Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Four-time Newberry Honoree, three-time Coretta Scott King Award winner, MacArthur Fellow, and National Book Award-winning bestselling author Jacqueline Woodson visits the San Diego Central Library @ Joan Λ Irwin Jacobs Common to present her latest Young Adult novel, Remember Us. An audience Q&A and book signing will follow the presentation.

Choreo & _______ is a performance plus an activity that allows for people to engage in something physical between short dance performances. This intersection of performance and participation creates a unique embodiment opportunity for dancers and audiences-participants alike. Choreo & _______ is about engaging with meaningful opportunities to move our bodies, play, enjoy physical expression, and build community through movement. Under the direction of Lead Artist Martin Anthony Dorado, Choreo & SCARYaoke will include dance performance + karaoke, spooky style. Between performances by Meesh Herd & Giovanna Francisco, The Tchotchkes, Tina Carreras, Erin Kracht, and Brianna Pilkinton (Accipiter Dance), the audience will have the opportunity to perform karaoke featuring '80s, '90s, and early '00s jams, and mingle in a festive costume party environment. Tickets are $15 for all participants. Related links: Disco Riot website | Instagram | Facebook

On display now through Sunday Jan. 29, 2023 The San Diego History Center presents the final weeks of "Collecting San Diego; Selections from the Dijkstra (Dike-stra) Fine Art Collection," featuring 15 works by San Diego artists becoming part of the museum’s permanent collection. An extraordinary gift for the future now on display in the heart of Balboa Park. Admission: The San Diego History Center is a donation based museum. Suggested donation is $10.00 The operating days and times are Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit https://sandiegohistory.org/exhibition/collectingsandiego_dijkstrafineart/ or call 619-232-6203 San Diego History Center on Facebook

The former president needs to arrange the money to comply with a New York Court ruling in less than a week, but says he can't find a company to put up the bond.

"The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci" opens at The Globe and explores the mind of one of the world's greatest thinkers.