Brought to us by The Tannery Arts Center, Santa Cruz City Arts, local artists like Judi Oyama, and so many more, the art scene in Santa Cruz never ceases to amaze. Highlighting local history with the Historic Label Art Mural Project in Watsonville is just one example of how artists expression has the power to inform.
April 2022 Newsletter
Creativity can spring up pretty much anywhere in Santa Cruz County. From skate parks to street side flower beds, there are so many opportunities to see some amazing art installations throughout the county. Here are some of the amazing artistic gems that you might see as you tour the county.
Kirk McNeill’s Oceanic Life Spiral
Pacific Avenue in Downtown, is generally considered a colorful place to people watch and view the uniqueness of Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz City Arts has made a huge effort in creating art opportunities for artist to create murals and sculptures throughout the city. Many of these installations cycle every couple of years through programs like SculpTOUR, allowing a variety of artists to strut their stuff.
Check out more of these art installations: https://arts.choosesantacruz.com
Capitola memories: sand, sun and sea
In 2008, the sunny beach village of Capitola esplanade features colorful tiles painted by local families. Each 8 x 6 inch tile was painted the summer of 2008 for a project sponsored by the Capitola Art & Cultural Commission. These Capitola memories include starfish, flip-flops, and sunshine across 1,046 tiles.
Ken Wormhoudt Skate Park
Highlighting the link between Santa Cruz's surf culture and vast skate history, artist Judi Oyama teamed up with Phillips and David Pettigrew to transform a 18’ full pipe at the Ken Wormhoudt Skate Park into a crashing wave. The first of its kind in Northern California, the colorful concrete wave pays homage to the Monterey Bay.
Check out this great skate spot: https://www.cityofsantacruz.com/government/city-departments/parks-recreation/parks-beaches-open-spaces/parks/ken-wormhoudt-skate-park