Arts & Culture

San Diego weekend arts events: Border Blasters, Chopin and so much visual art

By Julia Dixon Evans / Arts Reporter/Podcast Host

Published July 11, 2024 at 11:06 AM PDT

"Long Distance/Short Distance" is a collaborative sculpture by artists Diana Benavídez and India Thompson, on view at Bonita Museum and Cultural Center July 13 through Aug. 17, 2024.

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Border Blasters: TJ/SD Radio & Television Desintegrador de Fronteras

Visual art, Music | The Bonita Museum and Cultural Center is opening a new exhibit inspired by the "border blasters," the extremely powerful radio transmitters south of the border. This group exhibition, curated by local art, literature and music stalwarts Diana Benavídez, Bill Perrine and Itza Vilaboy, captures the creativity, work and influence of Tijuana-San Diego radio, television and music across the border region. The exhibit was also organized by BMCC's Wendy Wilson.

"This was something that was done to get around various radio regulations during the heyday of radio, so they would stick the transmitter in, say, Tijuana, or somewhere just south of Texas, and they would blast at a wattage that was generally prohibited in the U.S.," Perrine said.

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Radio, television and music was able to traverse the airwaves unencumbered by borders, and the resultant period in San Diego and Tijuana music and art is intrinsically linked to this broadcast history. The exhibit includes sound installations and visual art from many artists from both sides of the border, including Armando de la Torre, Maricruz Alvarado, Sam Lopez, Elijah Rubottom, and Benavídez. It spotlights bands including Tijuana No!, The Zeros, Nortec and more — check out the curator's collaborative playlist here. For example, one artist, Maricruz Alvarado, has recreated her teenage bedroom, filled with posters and the sounds of the band La Cruz.

You can listen to my interview with the curators by hitting the play button above.

After the exhibit finishes its run in Bonita, it will head to IMAC in Tijuana, on view Aug. 22 through Sept. 14.

Details: Opens with a reception 5-8 p.m. Saturday, July 13. Painting activity from 12-4 p.m. On view through Aug. 17. Museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. 4355 Bonita Rd., Bonita. Free.

For more arts events or to submit your own, visit the KPBS/Arts Calendar. If you want more time to plan, get the KPBS/Arts Newsletter in your inbox every Thursday to see event picks for the weeks ahead.

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Live Arts Fest

Dance, Contemporary dance | San Diego Dance Theater's annual celebration of new artistry in contemporary dance involves eight performances by local dancers, creatives, choreographers and movement artists. It kicks off Sunday, July 14 with a performance of work by Anna Medina, winner of San Diego Dance Theater's 2023 Emerging Choreographers Showcase and Awards. Also performing Sunday is work by Rebekah Brown performed by H2O Company. Additional performances continue next weekend, through July 21.

Details: 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. Sunday, July 14. Light Box Theater, 2590 Truxtun Road, Suite 205, Liberty Station. $20-$30.

NextGen 2024 Exhibit + C You Saturday

Visual art, Music, Family | The Institute of Contemporary Art San Diego-North is opening their annual NextGen exhibition, presenting a jury-selected cohort of emerging and innovative artists from the border region. This year's artists are Deanna Barahona, Santiago Diaz, Celeste Hernández, JAX, Marinta Skupin, Chanell Stone and Nathan Storey. The artists are primarily from the San Diego and Baja region, and many received or are working on MFAs from San Diego universities. This is a great opportunity to see new works in a wide range of disciplines by emerging artists in our backyard. The exhibition opens this weekend, and the reception coincides with ICA's monthly party, "C You Saturday." In addition to the new exhibit, there's a family-friendly art activity, music and refreshments.

Details: 4-8 p.m. Saturday, July 13. Gallery hours are 12-5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. On view through Sept. 1. ICA San Diego-North, 1550 S. El Camino Real, Encinitas. Free (donation-based).

Pianist Gustavo Romero is shown in an undated photo.

Gustavo Romero Plays Frédéric Chopin

Music, Classical | For the past 25 years, pianist Gustavo Romero has spent his summers at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library performing the entire piano works by a given composer. This year, he's chosen Chopin, the great Polish Romantic composer and pianist. Romero is a dynamic performer, and these concerts are a chance to dig deep in Chopin's repertoire. The series continues this weekend and runs every Sunday through July 28.

Details: 4 p.m. Sunday, July 14. Athenaeum Music & Arts Library, 1008 Wall St., La Jolla. $50-$55.

Tigercrow Collective: 'And Elsewhere'

While you're at Bread and Salt, don't miss Kline Swonger at ICE; "The Art of City Design: The Work of Frank Wolden and Friends" in the Brick Room; Richard Keely in the main gallery; and the 19th Annual SDSU Art Council Scholarship Exhibition at the Athenaeum Art Center — all spaces are open late on Saturday for Barrio Art Crawl.

Visual art | Tigercrow Collective is a group formed by visual artists Cat Gunn, Kirstyn Hom, Heige Kim, Jun!yi Min, and naomi nadreau in response to the uptick in anti-Asian violence during the pandemic. "And Elsewhere" is their first exhibit, and it is themed around memory, longing for home, and ideas of displacement and diaspora. Best Practice, a small yet mighty gallery inside Bread and Salt, will open the exhibit with a reception Saturday evening.

Details: 5-8 p.m. Saturday, July 13. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday. On view through Aug. 17. Best Practice, 1955 Julian Ave., Logan Heights. Free.

'Every Brilliant Thing'

Theater | The lead role in "Every Brilliant Thing" is so intense that in CCAE Theatrical's production, four lead actors alternate nights performing. This play by Duncan MacMillan and Jonny Donahoe is about depression, suicide and making a list of things that are worth living for. Allison Spratt Pearce, Steven Lone, DeAndre Simmons and Bethany Slomka perform in the lead.

Details: On stage through July 21. Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Friday; 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Saturday; and 2 p.m. Sunday. California Center for the Arts, 340 N. Escondido Blvd., Escondido. $40+.

'Duel Reality'

Theater | The theatrical (and acrobatics) company The 7 Fingers return to the Old Globe for "Duel Reality." You may remember their recent production at the Globe, last year's "Passengers," and "Duel Reality" will similarly meld theater and music with daredevil acrobatics. The story is inspired by "Romeo and Juliet" — expect plenty of on-stage battle scenes between the famously-at-odds families. Directed by Shana Caroll.

Details: On stage through Aug. 4. The Old Globe, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park. $49+.

"Mother's Day Flowers" is a work of printmaking and mixed media art by Kelvin Lopez, on view at J. Walcher Communications through Aug. 10, 2024.

Kelvin Lopez: 'Casa de las Flores'

Visual art | In this new exhibit, printmaker Kelvin Lopez pairs Mexican textile making with his background in printmaking. He uses monotype or relief prints and embellishes them with fiber art details to create "servilletas" or napkins. Lopez will also show some mixed media works (including live plants!), informed by regional textures and nature. Curated by Art, Power, Equity's Kamaal Martin as a takeover of the J. Walcher Communications (JWC) offices in Sherman Heights. The space is a striking Victorian house, and part of the excitement of this series of Art, Power, Equity exhibitions lies in seeing the way the artists thread their work through this space that is both nontraditional as a gallery and as an office.

Details: Opens with a reception from 6-9 p.m. Saturday, July 13. Artist talk at 7 p.m. Gallery hours are 1-4 p.m. Saturday through Aug. 10. J. Walcher Communications, 1940 Market St., Sherman Heights. Free.

Detail of Panca's "El Más Allá" installation at The New Children's Museum, which opens to the public on Friday, Aug. 13, 2021.

Arts & Culture

Panca's 'El Más Allá' Opens At The New Children's Museum

Julia Dixon Evans

Paint a Mural with Panca

Visual art, Family | Panca is currently working on a new public artwork, a mural at Liberty Station, and is inviting the community to participate in the painting. Just show up in clothes you don't mind getting paint on, pick up a brush and make your mark on a long-lasting mural. Regulars at the New Children's Museum may even recognize Panca's style and characters from her installations there.

The mural is located between the Dorothea Laub Music and Arts building and The LOT theater.

Details: 1-4 p.m. Saturday, July 13. 176 Truxtun Road, Liberty Station. Free.

Artist in Practice: Cole Douglas

Visual art | The Hill Street Country Club's current "artist-in-practice" is Cole Douglas, and you can get a peek at the work he's doing in their gallery during an open house this Saturday. Douglas is a former engineer, and uses painting to reimagine Black future. In the HSCC space, Douglas has been painting some large-scale, abstract works with a fascinating use of mark-making and scale.

Details: 2-6 p.m. Saturday, July 13. On view through July 22. Gallery hours are 3-7 p.m. Wednesday through Friday; and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. The Hill Street Country Club, 530 S. Coast Highway, Oceanside. Free.