2002-2003 started strong, with
"Injusticias - Camino a La Humanidad," an exhibit in September, 2002, at
Channing Peake Gallery in Santa Barbara. Reviews were positive and some of
the reviewers "got" the choice of venue, wherein we presented in your face, socially-conscious
artworks in a government building peopled by County supervisors and frequented
by laypersons going in to deal with their permits and parking tickets.
That show marked the
emergence of the MAZA Artist Collective, a growing group of Latino artists,
who subsequently expanded the show and exhibited "Injusticias 2" at the Ridley-Tree
venue of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. MAZA and mounted yet another exhibition
called "Day of the Dead" for the Santa Barbara Visitors and Conference Bureau.
With the heightened
exposure, MAZA artists gained feedback, sales and commissions to design web
and print materials for SB Museum of Art and UCSB Arts & Lectures.
We involved students
and community alike in educational events surrounding the October, 2002,
unveiling of SBMA's recent acquisition of "Mexico Today" by muralist David
Alfaro Siqueiros. Our educational program featured units on Los Tres
Grandes muralists Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros, as well as surveys of other
contemporary Latin American artists.
Finally, our tech team
of student videographers is maturing and producing, entirely on their own,
a weekly program called "A Lo Natural, y sin Mentiras." The show, broadcast
on Com17 Public TV, deals with topics of social import to teens.
In spite of these achievements,
2003 is also turning out to be a year of change and survival, due to budgetary
woes affecting the arts and education.
But, thanks to stalwart
sponsors, we continue to deliver our education programs. Special mention
goes to the California Arts Council, the crew at ComTV, the Santa Barbara
County Arts Commission, our Internet Service Provider RAIN, and Santa Barbara
High School -- particularly the MultiMedia Academy which now provides our
new digs.
In particular, we acknowledge
artists Raul Audelo and Osiris Castaneda, who have led the creation of MAZA
and through their hard work turned MAZA into a vibrant Latino Arts
organization which is truly educating and stimulating Santa Barbara's arts
community. It's the most exciting thing that's happened in the arts
in Santa Barbara this year!
This is the essence
of what the Arts & Technology Workshop does. We provide artists and
students the opportunity to develop themselves as artists and spokespersons
of their community.
-- Carl Demangate, Director
|
Recent works by students of the
Arts & Technology Workshop
|
