Visual art, Dance, Music, Theater, Film and more
ENVZN Urban Art Takeover takes over two blocks of Commercial St. in Logan Heights on Saturday, filling warehouses, factories, parking lots, receiving docks and the like with all kinds of art. There's more than 40 regional arts organizations and artists involved at last count, from San Diego and Tijuana, with film, music, dance, visual art, theater, fashion. Food and drink.
Vanguard Culture held a similar event in 2018, and founder Susanna Peredo Swap said that this second iteration is intended to carry on her organization's mission of getting creatives to share work together.
"I started the organization [Vanguard Culture] 10 years ago with the hope that we could create a community that was a culture of collaboration, where instead of everybody fighting for the same piece of pie, we were supporting one another and lifting all boats, if you will," Peredo Swap said.
Some highlights include a Disco Riot performance of new work by Zaquia Mahler Salinas; a steamroller printmaking demonstration; visual artists like Larry and Debby Kline, Cat Chiu Phillips and Natalie Gonzalez; the Frontera Project; and a Fashion Week show.
Peredo Swap also pointed out a couple of don't-miss offerings. "The Alchemist In His Feelings" is a redux of a 2016 work by Debby and Larry Kline, featuring a giant golem-like statue clothed in a suit of trash that also represents a Han dynasty-era jade burial suit. Composer Malu created a soundscape for the room, and it will serve as the backdrop for Malashock Dance performances at 8 and 8:30 p.m. The exhibition is viewable from 6-8 p.m.
There's also a screening of the 1928 silent film "The Passion of Joan of Arc," with an original live score by Korean American composer George Sarah. It's performed by a binational nine-piece ensemble — strings, voice and electronics — all held inside a crossfit gym.
"It's not traditionally orchestral," Peredo Swap said of the score. "There's a little bit of avant garde in there, a little bit of electronic music. It's really cool and funky and weird and awesome."
The screening begins at 9 p.m. and the film is approximately 80 minutes.
You can peruse the schedule here, though Peredo Swap advises that it's best to break down your evening into 30 minute experiences, and select the pre-grouped events for each time slot. Listen to my full interview with Peredo Swap here.
Details: 5-10 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 2. Events are situated between the Soap Factory, 2995 Commercial St., and The War House Gym, 3191 Commercial St., Logan Heights. $20+.
Visual art
Mark Chamness: 'Outside the Mall' opens at The Hill Street Country Club this weekend. The longtime Oceanside artist is a skilled, working carpenter with a CalArts degree. During the COVID-19 pandemic, his artistic practice evolved, particularly in the use of trash. He collects plastic bags — found along beaches, the side of the road, wherever — and turns them into thin strips that he then adds into tufted fiber works. The pieces are abstract and evocative, with just the slightest shimmer that hints at the darker environmental omen of the plastic.
Details: Opens with a reception from 5-8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 2. On view by appointment through Dec. 9. The Hill Street Country Club, 530 S. Coast Hwy, Oceanside. Free.
"Connect: A Collaborative Exhibition" opens at both Art Produce and City College Gallery. Work by 29 artists will be divided up across the two galleries — including visual art and performance, like music and sound art or dance.
Artists include Christopher Lloyd Tucker, Sage Serrano, Brian Black, Kaori Fukuyama and more. Fukuyama will have work in both galleries. At City College Gallery is her new installation, inspired by the movements of a murmuration of starlings. "Undercurrent" is made of tiny cut pieces of dichroic film, jutting out from the wall in a twisting, undulating shape. The piece casts what seems like thousands of fractured, multicolored shadows. It's a continuation of a work she recently installed at the San Diego International Airport, part of their new "A Necessary Departure" temporary exhibit. Fukuyama's piece is just outside of the security line, and is protected by glass.
"When we installed this piece at the airport, of course, there's constraints and there is a set lighting there that I had to work with — and we made the best of it, but I did feel that it wasn't maybe the best way to show this piece. So, I wanted to create another version of this to show at a maybe more suited location. When you have a barrier, like a glass case, you just always have a little bit of distance. And because my work is so subtle, it loses a lot of the subtlety through that. So I'm very excited about this piece," Fukuyama said of the City College Gallery version.
Details: Opens with a dual reception on Saturday, Sept. 2. 3-5:30 p.m. at City College Gallery, 1508 C St. AH 314, downtown San Diego; and then 6-8 p.m. at Art Produce, 3139 University Ave., North Park. Free.
Dance
'Remembrances of California Ballet Repertoire' is a showcase that chronicles the history of the California Ballet through beloved works created for the company between 1977 and 1995. This is a collaboration between Grand American Ballet and choreographer Betzi Roe, to celebrate California Ballet's founder, Maxine Mahon. Works include pieces by Roe, Charles Bennett, Patrick Nollet, Paul Koverman and Jean Isaacs.
Details: 3:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 2; and 2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 3. City Heights Performance Annex, 3795 Fairmount Ave., City Heights. $40.
Theater
"Mugre" at Chula Vista's OnStage Playhouse is a world premiere play by Salomón Maya, a Chula Vista native. It's a story about three Latino men working at a San Diego car wash, and what happens when a strong-willed woman enters their lives. OnStage is continuing their pay-what-you-can ticketing system, with a minimum online donation of $10.
Details: On stage through Sept. 24. This weekend's showtimes are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Sept. 1-2. OnStage Playhouse, 291 Third Ave., Chula Vista. $10+.
Books
"Fiesta del Libro" at Consulate General of México in San Diego is a Spanish literacy collaboration with the Consulate General and Fondo de Cultura Económico USA. Mexican authors Ana Romero and Alberto Chimal will read and discuss their books, and there'll be storytimes and activities with librarians, free books and more, all with a focus on reading books in Spanish.
Details: 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 2. Consulado General de México en San Diego, 1549 India St., Little Italy. Free.
Music
"Tchaikovsky Spectacular" is the San Diego Symphony's annual end-of-summer show. Conductor Christopher Dragon returns to lead the symphony in three works by Piotr Tchaikovsky, including the return of the "1812 Overture," which was cut from last year's production due to the start of the war in Ukraine.
Details: 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 1. The Rady Shell, 222 Marina Park Way, downtown. $39-$59.
Live music picks
My live music picks range from worldwide sensation Sylvan Esso at the new venue in Del Mar, The Sound, to local "surf R&B" trio We The Commas at the intimate Soda Bar.
Friday: No Car Garage, Sun Burnette and North by North at 8 p.m. on Thursday at Casbah; Tropa Magica with Pijama Piyama, Los Pinché Pinches and La Cosecha Internacional at 5:30 p.m. on Friday at Quartyard; Sylvan Esso at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Sound; We The Commas, Winnabego and Topeka Clementine at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Soda Bar; Drug Hunt, Pearl Earl, Tino Drima and Crasher at 9 p.m. on Friday at Casbah.
Saturday: Ziggy Alberts at 7 p.m. on Saturday at The Observatory; Ten Bulls, Kate Delos Santos, The Lylacs and Blue Worship at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Soda Bar; Manual Scan, 16 Again and The Others at 9:30 p.m on Saturday at Casbah.
Sunday: Tom Sandoval & The Most Extras at 8 p.m. on Sunday at Music Box.
For more arts events, or to submit your own, visit the KPBS/Arts Calendar. You can sign up for my weekly KPBS/Arts newsletter here.
