The depth and breadth of Pasadena’s wide range of arts institutions—from the visual to the tactile to the musical—will be on display this Friday, March 10, as Pasadena continues two decades of celebrating local art in all its forms with ArtNight, along with the impending arrival of springtime.
“ArtNight was developed over 20 years ago to promote and highlight Pasadena-based arts and cultural organizations and bolster their membership,” according to Rochelle Branch, the City’s Cultural Affairs Manager. “Over the years, ArtNight has grown.”
The spring ArtNight will include presentations at 21 live venues across the City with visual art, dance, music and other performances from 6 p.m. to 10 pm.
Arts programming will include two design exhibitions at the Art Center campuses—“Inside the Mind of a Designer” surveys the work of Clive Piercy, the noted designer, author and educator; while the “Polski Projekt” exhibits Poland’s posters and type design.
Other visual arts exhibitions kick off with PUSD’s “No Boundaries 18” student art exhibition at Paseo Colorado and murals by local artists at One Colorado.
The Armory Center for the Arts exhibition, “Exposure: Native Art and Political Ecology,” will explore ec-based themes, while Light Bringer Project at Day One features “Wild,” a collaborative art experience featuring outdoor environments highlighting climate, sustainability and endangered species.
In Brookside Park,near the Rose Bowl, Kidspace Children’s Museum debuts “Butterfly Season,” offering visitors a chance to weave, spin and play in celebration of spring, while at City Hall, the “Fairy Garden” at City Hall Rotunda invites patrons to create a spring succulent terrarium.
The evening will also feature popular food trucks at many of the arts locations.
The Alkebu-lan Cultural Center heads a lineup of multicultural art and dance, along with the USC Pacific Asia Museum’s “Global Asias: Contemporary Asian and Asian American Art; and the Pasadena Conservatory of Music, which presents classical, multicultural and interactive performances.
Japanese Taiko drumming will take over the Shumei Arts Council, or patrons can watch a live rehearsal of “An Irish Celebration: Poetry, Songs and Humor,”at Parson’s Nose Theater.
The Pasadena Library’s “One City, One Story 2023” will highlight authors and books while exploring Afghani and Latino culture at the Lamanda Park Branch.
The city-wide festival will take place in all directions of the city, from City Hall outwards as well.
“Unlike art walks that are concentrated in a specific area,” said Branch, “a unique aspect of ArtNight Pasadena is the free shuttle bus service that provides transportation to all venues across the city – and some venues are perfect for pedestrians to reach as well,”
“Some venues add an extra layer of programming with City Mini-grants to add a new dimension for audiences,” Branch added.
“The diversity of programming includes live music, dance, visual art and creative workshops for all.”
ArtNight Pasadena is produced by the Cultural Affairs Division in partnership with the ArtNight Partner organizations.
Here is a list of the participating organizations and venue sites:
ALKEBU-LAN CULTURAL CENTER, 1435 N. Raymond Ave. www.Alkebu-LanCulturalCenter.com.
ARMORY CENTER FOR THE ARTS, 145 N. Raymond Ave. www.ArmoryArts.org.
ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN, HMCT Gallery, 950 S. Raymond Ave. www.HMCTArtCenter.org
ART CENTER COLLEGE OF DESIGN, Williamson Gallery, 1700 Lida St. www.ArtCenter.edu/Williamson.
artWORKS TEEN CENTER, First United Methodist Church 500 E. Colorado Blvd. www.ArtWorksPasadena.com
CITY OF PASADENA – CITY HALL, 100 N. Garfield Ave. www.CityOf Pasadena.net/arts.
JACKIE ROBINSON COMMUNITY CENTER, 1020 N. Fair Oaks Ave.
KIDSPACE CHILDREN’S MUSEUM, 480 N. Arroyo Blvd. www.KidSpaceMuseum.org.
LIGHT BRINGER PROJECT at DayOne, 175 N. Euclid Ave. www.LightBringerProject.org.
LINEAGE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, 920 E. Mountain St. www.LineagePAC.org.
ONE COLORADO, 41 Bonham Alley www.OneColorado.com.
PARSON’S NOSE THEATER, 95 N. Marengo Ave., Suite 110 www.ParsonsNose.org
PASADENA CONSERVATORY OF MUSIC, 100 N. Hill Ave. , www.PasadenaConservatory.org.
PASADENA MUSEUM OF HISTORY, 470 W. Walnut St. www.PasadenaHistory.org.
PASADENA PUBLIC LIBRARY, Lamanda Park Branch, 140 S. Altadena Dr. www.CityofPasadena.net/Library
PASADENA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT (PUSD), Paseo Colorado 300 E. Colorado Blvd., www.GoPUSD.com/NoBoundaries
REMAINDERS CREATIVE REUSE, 787 E. Washington Blvd. www.RemaindersPas.org.
SHUMEI ARTS COUNCIL, 2430 E. Colorado Blvd. ShumeiArts.org.
SIDE STREET PROJECTS, John Muir High School Campus Canada Avenue at Casitas www.AvenueSideStreet.org.
THE GAMBLE HOUSE, 4 Westmoreland Pl. www.GambleHouse.org.
USC PACIFIC ASIA MUSEUM, 46 N. Los Robles PacificAsiaMuseum.usc.edu
More information on ArtNight is available here.
