FEB. 3: FIRST SATURDAY NIGHT OF THE MONTH

Hey! The first Saturday night of the month is this weekend! That’s party night for the visual arts at CSU Fullerton! Time to get out and feast your eyes, ears, and belly!

Say huh?

Let me explain. As a developing artist, each of you has got to jump through the requisite hoops to eventually become a practicing, self-supporting artist: classes, assignments, promoting your work, graduating, networking, coping with denials, exhibiting your work, and so forth. But being an artist isn’t only about work, sitting crumpled up in front of the computer, canvas, or wheel, hoping to birth the next greatest thing (or at least something to earn some cash). There’s fun involved as well and becoming a regular patron of local art scenes is a great way to entertain yourself, while at the same time learning what your peers are up to. Fortunately for you, as an artist who’s currently cultivating your creative juices, you already possess all the credentials you need for entrance into the various art scenes in So Cal. And art scenes we have, including Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, as well as scenes in Laguna Beach, La Jolla, and other cities. North Orange County is lucky enough to have a growing art scene right in nearby Santa Ana that CSU Fullerton can rightfully claim cornerstone status.

A couple of years ago the university partnered with the City of Santa Ana to restore an old building in downtown to act as the cornerstone of a rejuvenation effort. Santa Ana wanted an arts village in downtown and CSUF was to have a starring role. The building, Grand Central Art Center, is a combination residence, gallery, and exhibition space that houses graduate-level visual arts students. The first Saturday of the month, the village and GCAC open up at night for the community. GCAC usually opens one or two exhibits on that night so there’s a pretty hefty crowd of artists, groupies, and other arts vampires hanging out, eating, and listening to live music.

This Saturday night is the night, so I want to extend an invitation to you to come check out the arts scene in Santa Ana. I’ve placed a link at the bottom to the GCAC description of the two shows it is opening (one of them is a collection of safety equipment for pets!), though there’s plenty of other stuff to see in the village. I have another university event to attend that evening so I can’t make it, nor have I planned any gathering for you. I will, however, do so for the Saturday, March 3 opening. But don’t put off your visit until then. I'm really not that big of a draw. If you’ve got some free time Saturday night, I encourage you to spend some time cruising the village and enjoying your developing immersion in the So Cal arts scene.

PS: Below I include a link to info on Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, a destination I encourage you to visit as well, but on another Saturday night.
FEBRUARY 3 GCAC OPENING SHOWS
GCAC DIRECTIONS
BERGOMOT STATION