Underneath the towering fig tree in Mission Park was the heart of the Art Walk Ventura. Merging the Avenue to Main Street was a pop-up-tent village of artisans, the Albinger stage and a film festival hosted at the Knights of Columbus building.
“It’s great to get out in front of people … they did a really good job advertising, I mean, look, there’s people all over the place,” Kevin Gallegly, an artist underneath the fig tree, said.
Gallegly mentioned that while it is important to sell, just the exposure of being at an event such as Art Walk helps an artist connect with the community for future sales.
“I paint because I have to,” Gallegly said, highlighting his passion for what he does. He explained that if these “paintings of need,” so to speak, aren’t shown to the public, they just “sit in the garage and end up in goodwill.” He loves what he does because he believes that art can become a connection beyond the decorative.
Besides the art exhibits and stores, Mission Park held live dancing events like Danza Azteca, a series of performances by the Aerial Studio, and a communal mural in front of the Mission. Just across from the park – at the Knights of Columbus building – the second cinefest was held.
“Two years ago, I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to have a film festival? … What we’re spotlighting there is young performers, young filmmakers that need that extra boost,” Lakin said.
“I think [Ventura] is an art scene, but I think it’s a growing art scene … we are so close to where films are getting made … and I think it’s just about being more a part of that,” Ethan Messecar, the director of the Art Walk cinefest, said.
Capping off Mission Park’s expositions and entertainment was the numerous live music events on the Albinger stage that finalized the energy of the event. Besides solo performances dotted throughout the streets, a multitude of bands gathered here to perform.
“It’s meant one hitting to me, but it’s meant something [different] to a lot of other people,” said Meier. (Viggo Bortolin)
A member of the band Whole Hog, Corey Highberg, shared his thoughts about performing at the event.
“I think Whole Hog was always about everybody going all out and allowing yourself to express yourself … We’re honored to be a part of Art Walk, to be a part of the Ventura community and Ventura County’s different art expressions.”
Throughout the car-free downtown area of Main Street, dozens of businesses – many of which don’t normally show art – housed sponsored artists in or out of the store itself. These artists, and the artists that inhabited stalls lining the street, displayed or offered to sell diverse pieces such as paintings, drawings, mosaics and other trade crafts.
“You’ll notice that we place art walk smack in our downtown business district … so we use those businesses as galleries … artists get a chance to put their work up in places where there’s usually not art,” Lakin said.
Ventura Art Walk gave artists of various skills and goals a greater opportunity for exposure and general connection with other artists in Ventura County.
“I think just about every artist in Ventura County finds some way to get here … What’s really nice about this is it’s for the public but it’s also, by artists for other artists, for us all to network, be involved in community things [and] have work shown,” Yasemin Zografos, a print maker displaying from Eclecteak Home Furnishing, said.
Central to the function of the event, store owners who sponsored artists tied the art deeply into the “brick and mortar” of Downtown Ventura.
“The artists [outside] are artists that I have in my shop all the time … this artwalk is a great opportunity for our artists, whom we represent all the time, to actually be on site and get to meet customers,” Angela Rosales, owner of Very Ventura, said. “The [Art Walk] takes great care to partner with us and gives an opportunity to be involved.”
Ecugreen, another Main Street retail store and Art Walk venue, had three featured artists showcased as well as an orchestra just outside their doors.
“Our store is based on building community,” Martha Cantos, the owner of Ecugreen, said in emphasis of the importance of a relationship between business owners and artists.
The Art Walk venues, expositions and displays reached beyond just Main Street and continued up Ventura Avenue. Art Walk in this area presented itself in separate displays in artistically based stores and galleries, and in unique venues like a car show.
One of these galleries was the Vita Art Center, which displays contemporary paintings and sculptures. Vita Art Center has participated in the Art Walk since its founding; the gallery has had multiple showcases highlighting artists of various disciplines.
Mary Perez, the Founding Executive Director of Vita Art Center, remarked on the ability of Art Walk to bring the Ventura County art community together.
“We’re all focused on doing our own thing … this is a time when we all get to participate,” Perez said.
The northernmost venue was the IDEA Center, a space for middle and high school students to create and sell products using the facilities provided at the center. Robert Purcell, the director of the IDEA Center, explained the impact the makerspace has on its members, highlighting the experience they gain in manufacturing and entrepreneurship.
“I think more spaces like this need to exist, and we’re just happy to be one part of that puzzle in our greater community of Ventura County,” Purcell said.
Down Fix Way, a series of highly modified, diverse and individualized cars were set up on display. This area of Artwalk held its own small booths and concessions, but was dominated by the wide range of cars that each represented the owner and designer.
“I feel like cars, you can never be done with. Like an artwork in the Renaissance … it’s never finished … but they always look good,” Malachi Galleus, a member of the car show, said.
Ventura County gathered together at Art Walk Ventura to recognize, appreciate and support local artists in the diverse forms of expression seen across Ventura County. The event illuminated the rich artistic culture of Ventura that is often overlooked, and the expression of the community was seen, heard and driven in the many different mediums it takes form in.
“To watch people performing and creating is just a joy in itself,” Lakin said. “And this is all about joy here, that’s what this whole day is.”
