Arts & Culture

San Diego weekend arts events: Kids Free San Diego, 'The Mineola Twins,' Aaron Siskind, City Ballet and ArtWalk

By Julia Dixon Evans / Arts Reporter/Podcast Host

Published September 30, 2021 at 11:22 AM PDT

This story was published more than 3 years ago.

Speaker 1: (00:00)

In the arch this weekend, we'll tell you about kids free month classical ballet from the city ballet Moxie theaters returned to the stage art walk and a show at the observatory that gets us talking about indie rock books and video games. Joining me with the details is KPBS arts, producer and editor, Julia Dixon Evans. Welcome Julia.

Speaker 2: (00:21)

Hi Jane. Thanks for having me. So kids free

Speaker 1: (00:23)

San Diego month kicks off today. What are some highlights?

Speaker 2: (00:27)

Yeah, this is the program of the San Diego museum council, and it runs the entire month starting today. I want to look at some of the places that have really great art installations right now that are also participating in kids' free month, just as a way to get some cool art to your kids and to you. And each museum is slightly different in what they're offering and what their admissions policy is. But for most of the places, if you fill out the registration on the San Diego tourism authority website, you can get a free kid admission with the price of an adult. So some of the highlights are at the Nat, the natural history museum, where they have installed work by Gabriele Rico. He is the Mexican conceptual artist who is currently exhibiting work at the new ICA San Diego. That's also in Balboa park.

Speaker 2: (01:14)

His work at the Nat is kind of tucked away in the taxidermy and it involves neon and beach balls. And then at the new children's museum, over the course of the pandemic, they have added a bunch of new murals and installations from some really great artists. There is a new west Bruce garden exhibit. There's a new Katie Ruiz mural. There's punk-ass immersive interactive exhibition. And then there's this brand new outdoor climb on sculpture. It's kind of a balancing thing by artists, RESA Puno and at the San Diego Botanic garden and Encinitas. I'm really looking forward to taking my kids to see this augmented reality exhibition. It's called seeing the invisible, and it has 13 really kind of fantastical spectacular contemporary artworks. And you can make art appear in the gardens out of thin air using your phone. One of my favorite works in the exhibition has a sheet like sculpture it's made from repurposed plastics and the augmented reality makes it look like it's flowing in the breeze as you move. And of course these things aren't really there.

Speaker 1: (02:23)

Very interesting. The San Diego museum council's kids free San Diego runs today through October 31st city ballet kicks off their season this weekend with some classical ballet. Tell us about this,

Speaker 2: (02:35)

Right? They're doing three performances at the Joan B Kroc theater in city Heights. And yes, they're sticking with classical ballet. This show includes three works by the company's choreographer, Elizabeth Westridge and her take on Marius Ped-up has Paquita where Peggy day is this young woman raised by gypsies who doesn't know that she is of noble birth. They're also doing original work set to the romantic music of American composer, Louis Moreau Gottschalk and French composer Francis Poulenc see valley has really great range and you can't go wrong with them for a classical ballet

Speaker 1: (03:12)

And Sydney ballet performs classics in concert tonight and Saturday night at 8:00 PM and Sunday at 2:30 PM. Mission fed art walk takes over a little Italy this weekend. What can we expect

Speaker 2: (03:24)

Right there finally back in person at little Italy. And there's a couple of things on my radar. First is artist Cheryl Soering's featured installation piece. She usually works with these tiny discs of brightly colored film, hooking them together in, in what are like shimmering waterfall pieces. And the work she'll show at art walk is called raining upward, and the public can actually help install these tiny colorful rain drops. There's also the art reach painted guitars auction, which art rock has become famous for over the years. And then there's also a full schedule, a musicians performing on my radar is Julia Sage, Jeff Berkley, Gabby Aparicio, and Israel Maldonado. The stages are scattered throughout little Italy and they have performances all day. So chances are just wandering around. You'll be able to hear something

Speaker 1: (04:15)

And it's all free art walk takes place in little Italy, Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM. And the theater world tell us about what's on stage at Moxie theater this month, right there

Speaker 2: (04:28)

Coming back from a long virtual break with the Mineola twins by a Pulitzer prize, winning playwright, Paula Vogel. This play was written in the late nineties and it spans several decades of the women's rights movement, but it all still seems so relevant, particularly navigating these serious political divides within a family. And in this case, it's within a set of almost identical twin sisters, actress, Samantha, again, plays both title characters, and there's a lot of comedy in the way she navigates these entirely different outlooks, the political leanings, and even the physicalities of the sisters. Moxie is requiring proof of vaccination and masks to be worn indoors. And they're also saying no children for now under the age of 12

Speaker 1: (05:15)

And the Mineola twins has a performance tonight and Saturday night at 8:00 PM. Then Sunday afternoon at 2:00 PM. The play runs through October 24th. Finally on Monday night, the band Japanese breakfast performs at the observatory. Tell us about,

Speaker 2: (05:31)

So this band is fronted by Michelle's honor and her music is so great. It rocks and has also really complex and beautiful. And Zonar is the author of the new memoir crying in H Mart, which is a beautiful story about loss mothers and food and grief. And if having a rock band career and being a published author, isn't enough, Zenner also just wrote the soundtrack, a brand new open world video game it's called Sable, and that just launched last week. Japanese breakfast wrote a full score along with some songs, and here is one it's called glider.

Speaker 3: (06:11)

[inaudible]

Speaker 1: (06:32)

Japanese breakfast performs at the observatory in north park Monday. You can find Julia's full weekend arts preview@kpbs.org. And for more arts events sign up for the weekly KPBS arts newsletter at kpbs.org/newsletters. I've been speaking with KPBS arts editor and producer Julia Dickson Evans. Julia. Thanks.

Speaker 2: (06:54)

Thanks so much, Jane. Have a good weekend.

Speaker 3: (06:57)

[inaudible] [inaudible].

Aaron Siskind's "Chicago 56 (1960)" is part of "Aaron Siskind: Mid-Century Modern," on view at MOPA Oct. 2, 2021 - Feb. 13, 2022.

This weekend in the arts: cool art to show the kids with Kids Free month, Moxie's "The Mineola Twins," classical ballet and more.

Kids Free San Diego

Visual Art, Museums, Family

October is the San Diego Museum Council's annual family promotion intended to encourage families with children 12 and under to get out and participate in the arts. If kids weren't free already, many of the participating SDMC institutions (I counted 29) offer a free child admission with the purchase of an adult membership throughout the month — advance registration is usually needed. Some museums have special offerings or activities, and I've combed the list to highlight a few.

The Nat: "Living Lab" is a new exhibition of live critters from the museum's collection (note how I didn't write "permanent"). Plus, I was recently introduced to "Unshelved," which is a special exhibition that provides a way for the public to check out their exhibitions library, including some behind-the-scenes details. Plus, right now, Mexican artist Gabriel Rico's special partnership with ICA San Diego is installed in "Unshelved" — neon sculptures and inflatable beach balls arranged among taxidermy and antlers.

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California Center for the Arts Escondido: The work of influential Mexican printmaker José Guadalupe Posada — known for his calaveras skeleton illustrations — is currently on view, plus there's always a youth exhibition, their Student Gallery.

José Guadalupe Posada's satirical skeletons from the "Legendary Printmaker of Mexico" exhibition at CCAE

New Children's Museum: During the pandemic, NCM welcomed a handful of new art installations. First, Wes Bruce's "The Wonder Sound" now has an outdoor garden component. Regan Russell's "Energized" vivid window mural is lovely from the sidewalk but it's even better from inside, standing in its colorful shadows. Katie Ruiz's mural, "Brian and the Bugs" is based on her children's book, "Brian the Wildflower," and greets you with bright colors and sweet creatures right as you enter the museum. Panca's new "El Más Allá" is interactive and absolutely charming, with murals, climb-in characters, massive building blocks and a 40 ft. slide. And Risa Puno's "In The Balance" was just unveiled this month, temporarily installed at the Museum Park across the street.

Visions Art Museum: Any kid who visits this Liberty Station fiber arts museum gets a free mini loom kit to make their own custom weavings.

Birch Aquarium: Check out the "Oddities: Hidden Heroes of the Scripps Collection," which is inspired by comic books and ocean creatures' super powers (scientists supposedly call those "adaptations"). Note that reservations are required, even if using the Kids Free San Diego code, and most days sell out.

San Diego Botanic Garden: You may even get the most art-resistant kid interested in a contemporary art exhibition with "Seeing the Invisible," a collection of 13 augmented reality works you can make appear out of thin air as you walk around the gardens — it almost feels like a sci-fi movie.

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California Surf Museum: Did you know we have a surf museum in Oceanside? Right now it is home to an exhibition about the history of the boogie board.

You can find more details about Kids Free San Diego here , and sign up for each individual museum’s offer here, on the San Diego Tourism Authority website.

Details: Oct. 1-31, 2021. Multiple locations.

City Ballet: 'Classics In Concert'

Dance

City Ballet kicks off their season with a weekend of classics and tutus, including three works by Elizabeth Wistrich — her popular take on Marius Petipa's "Paquita," original choreography set to the music of composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk, and "Elegies," inspired by a Francis Poulenc organ concerto.

Details: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Joan B. Kroc Theatre, 6611 University Ave., City Heights. $27-99.

'The Mineola Twins'

Theater

Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel's late-'90s work, "The Mineola Twins" is a great showcase for a gifted comedic actress, and local Samantha Ginn is up for the challenge. In this Moxie Theatre production, Ginn plays both Myrna and Myra, "almost identical" twins as they navigate entirely different outlooks during multiple decades of the women's movement in America. Directed by Moxie cofounder Jennifer Eve Thorn, the cast is rounded out by three more actors who also portray multiple characters (Emily Jerez, Phillip Magin and Desireé Clarke). Proof of vaccination or proof of negative PCR test within 72 hours. Guests under 12 not allowed. Masks required in the theater.

Details: Performances Thursdays at 7:30, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., Sept. 26 through Oct. 24. Moxie Theatre, 6663 El Cajon Blvd., City Heights/College Area. $22-44.

More theater: San Diego Musical Theatre's pre-professional program brings top-notch talent from their teen and young adult academy, and their first show back is "Rent," directed by Courtney Corey, which opens Friday Oct. 1 and runs through Oct. 14. It'll be set up in their new black box theater space in an immersive style. Masks and proof of vaccination (or negative PCR test within 72 hours) required.

Aaron Siskind: 'Midcentury Modern'

Photography

The Museum of Photographic Arts' new exhibition of the late American photographer Aaron Siskind's work focuses on the period in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Siskind's photography is abstract and softly obscured, and this particular period marks when he turned to paintings for inspiration — and painters as contemporaries. While in some ways it marked a rift in his relationship with the photography scene, this shift (and Siskind's work and success) helped elevate the photograph's place in the larger visual art world.

Details: On view Saturday, Oct 2, 2021 through Feb 13, 2022. Friday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. MOPA, 1649 El Prado, Balboa Park. Pay what you wish.

Little Italy Mission Fed Art Walk

Visual Art, Music

ArtWalk will take over Little Italy this weekend, with a massive slate of local musicians set to perform, a special "KidsWalk," an interactive, participatory art installation with Cheryl Sorg — whose brightly colored rainbow cut-out works are mesmerizing — and the work of 350 individual artists. And of course, street food. The event takes over several blocks in Little Italy, but a great place to start is the Piazza Della Famiglia.

Don't miss performances by Julia Sage (Saturday at 2:05 p.m. at Beech and India), Jeff Berkley (Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at Piazza Basilone), Gaby Aparicio (Sunday at 11 a.m. at the Date St. Piazza) and Israel Maldonado (Sunday at 5 p.m. at Date St.).

Details: Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 2-3, 2021, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Piazza della Famiglia, 523 W. Date St., Little Italy. Free.

Want more arts events? Check out a copy of the latest KPBS/Arts newsletter here, and be sure to sign up to receive your own curated guide to all things art and culture in San Diego, delivered each Thursday afternoon.