Pajaro Valley Arts invite you to join us for our first exhibit of 2022 Take Aways: Art to Go!

Curated by: Jane Gregorius and Chris Miroyan
Assistant: Carol Walberg

Exhibit dates: January 19 – March 6, 2022
MASKS REQUIRED!!!!

Opening Reception: Sunday, January 23 (Postponed)
Due to the COVID-19 Omicron surge, we have decided to postpone the Opening Reception. We will analyze the situation on a regular base, in hopes that we can hopefully schedule a celebration as soon as we can before the exhibition ends.

This annual invitational exhibit features seventy-three of the county’s most notable artists. As a fundraising event, these artists are presenting works that fit into many budgets.

Jamie Abbott, Susana Arias, Ron Baldwin, Mike Beebe, Eva Bernstein, Hildy Bernstein, Joan Blackmer,
Michelle Brightstar, Linda Christensen, Trina Coffman-Gomez, Judy Cooper, Susan Costes, Pablo Cubangbang,
Poppy de Garmo, Terry Dowell, Barbara Downs, Susan Else, Linda Fillhardt, Janet Fine, David Fleming,
Sara Friedlander, Juan R. Fuentes, Felicia Gilman, Shelby Graham, Jane Gregorius, Lynn Guenther,
Karuna Gutowski, Deena Haynes, Hedwig Heerschop, Roy Holmberg, Dee Hooker, Tessa Hope Hasty,
John Hylton, Amy Díaz-Infante, Edward Izquierdo, Tobin Keller, Peter Koronakos, Carmen León, Lyn MacDonald,
Jasper Marino, Dan Martinez, Priscilla Martinez, Marty McGillivray, John McKinley, Ann Miya, Chris Miroyan,
Cheryl Moreno, Margaret Murray, Michael Mote, Mary Neater, Bruce Nicholson, Margaret Niven,
Charles Prentiss, Andrew Purchin, Taylor Reinhold, Jaime Sánchez, Beth Shields, Kathryn Stowell,
Donna Thompson, Lynne Todaro, Ginger Tolonen, Adriana Torres, Adon Valenziano, Peter Vizzusi,
Susanna Waddell, Jenni Ward, Lynda Watson, Mary Weeks, Dag Weiser, Gretchen Werner, Stan Welsh,
Melissa West, Daniella Woolf.

Several donated pieces will be part of a raffle drawing during the closing reception on March 6.

In this wildly popular show everyone benefits; you take home fabulous art the day of your purchase, the artists and PVA get their normal commissions, and new art comes into the gallery everyday!

Closing Reception & Raffle:
Sunday, March 6
2:00PM – 4:00PM

Exhibit Dates: October 27 – December 12, 2021
Opening Reception: Sunday, November 7, 2021, 1:00PM – 3:00pm

Mi Casa es Tu Casa is PVA’s annual exhibit inspired by Día de Los Muertos/Day of the Dead, a traditional holiday in Mexico that commemorates community members and family who have passed away. Altars/Ofrendas are built in homes, churches, schools, cemeteries, and museums that honor and remember the dead. PVA invites you into “our home”.

Mi Casa es Tu Casa is PVA’s annual exhibit inspired by Día de Los Muertos/Day of the Dead, a traditional holiday in Mexico that commemorates community members and family who have passed away. Altars/Ofrendas are built in homes, churches, schools, cemeteries, and museums that honor and remember the dead. PVA invites you into “our home”.

This year the exhibit is focusing on three themes. The 500- year commemoration of the Mexican Pandemic (1521-1600), family and community members who have passed during this past pandemic year and La Cultura Cura/Healing.

History: The commemoration of the 500-year anniversary of the pandemic in Mexico caused by smallpox and other newly introduced diseases resulted in the deaths of millions of Indigenous people. Beginning in 1521, ninety percent of the Indigenous population succumbed to diseases.

Loss: Using altares/altars, art, installations, we invited families and community groups to use the space to honor those they have lost during the time of the 2020 pandemic. Large gatherings such as funerals have been avoided to prohibit the spread of the disease.

Healing: Concha Saucedo writes that La Cultura Cura/Culture Heals. We are all born into cultures that have traditions, beliefs, practices, and other elements that offer healing such as Compadrazco, Temazcal/medicinal, steam baths, hierbas/healing herbs, dignidad/dignity, respeto/ respect, confianza/trust, carino/love for life, esperanza/spirituality, and myths.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

November 20, 12.00PM-2.00PM
Arpillera Workshop with Graciela Vega; 12-2pm at PVA Gallery back yard. Participants will make a brightly colored patchwork picture using scraps of cloth. Please call PVA or email to reserve your space. Limited to 20. History of Arpillera

Date TBD
Watsonville Film Festival showing of La Ofrenda, The Days of the Dead by Lourdes Portillo and Susana Munoz. Information will become available on PVA’s website.

Exhibit dates: August 25 – October 3, 2021
Opening Reception:
Sunday, August 29, 2021
2:00PM – 4:00PM

Pajaro Valley Arts presents the exhibit Reflections by the Monterey Bay Metal Arts Guild, a spectacular display of artisan jewelry and small metal sculpture. It will feature many pieces that are narrative in nature. MBMAG is a nonprofit that is devoted to educating the public about the metal arts, as well as promoting local artists in their pursuit to create new works.

Welcome to Pencas del Corazón, a community exhibition curated by Artists-in-Residence Yesenia Molina and Irene Juárez O’Connell. This residency and exhibit center around a community-created art series with the theme of nopales (prickly pear cactus), a cultural symbol that has been historically embraced by Mexican, Latinx, and Chicanx communities. Not only are nopales traditional sources of sustenance and nutrition, they are a representation of struggle, survival, and majestic beauty. They thrive and even bear fruit in harsh climates. When a penca, or pad of a nopal, falls off or gets cut off, it doesn’t die. Instead, it gives new life. It re-roots itself to mother earth and continues to grow, even in the roughest of conditions. That is how we see our people, la raza, living in the United States.

Art is an important vehicle for social change and resistance, especially in the face of nation-wide attacks on people of color, children, families and entire cultures. Survival and resilience have always been our natural response. Artists, cultural groups, and community members from Watsonville are building on the momentum that has been growing as a response to external social pressures and a collective internal yearning for the right to be fully valued as a culturally rich community. This project is part of a larger movement of, by, and for the people of Watsonville to support, uplift, and unify the community around the arts and eventually building a physical space for the arts right here in Watsonville!

Pencas del Corazón features five Watsonville-based artists: Gabriel Medina, Mayra Ruiz-Valtierra, Salvador Lua, Guillermo Aranda, and Janet Johns. Each artist led a virtual pop-up art session over the past year. At each session, pop-up participants learned about the artist’s process and were guided to create their own artwork. Art mediums include acrylic paint, pen & ink, digital art, metal work, and dance. We also facilitated conversations around community needs and developed some shared visions for a Watsonville community arts hub. A video produced by Alex Santana Jr. will not only highlight the art created throughout the year-long residency, but also capture the community’s connection with the theme of nopales threading it all together.
We would like to extend our gratitude to the Rydell Visual Arts Fund at Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. Our Pencas del Corazón project was awarded one of the first ever Rydell Visual Arts Partnerships. This exhibit celebrates the culmination of a year-long project between lead artists, Yesenia Molina and Irene Juárez O’Connell, the Watsonville community, and Arts Council Santa Cruz County. We are grateful for the partnership with Pajaro Valley Arts.
Finally we would like to extend a special thank you from the bottom of our hearts to all of the community members who participated in each pop-up and have contributed work to the show. It would not be possible without you all!

—Curators: Yesenia Molina and Irene Juárez O’Connell

Sculpture IS: In the Garden 2021, marks our Fifteenth sculpture exhibit in partnership with Sierra Azul Nursery
and Garden.

The jurors, Susana Arias and Jeff Rosendale, selected over 100 sculptures created by 42 artists and collaborators.

Visit the stunning two-acre demonstration garden, relax under the umbrellas, and spend an afternoon enjoying the exhibit.

Curators: Jane Gregorius & Chris Miroyon
Assistant Carol Walberg

Gallery Hours: Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11am – 4pm by appointment only.

Pajaro Valley Arts invite you to join us for our fundraising exhibit, Take Aways: Art to Go! This diverse annual invitational exhibit features local artists from Santa Cruz County. The art on view includes a wide variety of mediums including: sculpture, drawing, ceramics, fiber, mixed media, encaustic (wax), printmaking, photography, glasswork, and more. As a fundraising exhibit these artists are presenting works that fit into many budgets. In this wildly popular show everyone benefits; you take home fabulous art the day of your purchase, the artists and PVA get their normal commissions, and new art comes into the gallery every day!

This exhibit features seventy-six of the county’s most notable artists:

Jamie Abbott, Wendy Aikin, Jody Alexander, Susana Arias, John Babcock, Jean Sheckler Beebe, 
Mike Beebe, Eva Bernstein, Joan Blackmer, Linda Christensen, Trina Coffman-Gomez, Judy Cooper, 
Liz Crain, Margitta Dietrick-Welsh, Terry Dowell, Barbara Downs, Susan Else, Fanne Fernow, Linda Fillhardt, Janet Fine, David Fleming, Sara Friedlander, Ome Garcia, Felicia Gilman, Angela Gleason, Connie Grant, Jane Gregorius, Lynn Guenther, Karen Hansen, Deena Haynes, Hedwig Heerschop, Dee Hooker, Christianna Hunnicutt, John Hylton, Sefla Joseph, Bill Kennann, Peter Koronakos, Claire Lerner, Lyn MacDonald, William Marino, Stephanie Martin, Suzanne McCourt, John McKinley, Chris Miroyan, Cheryl Moreno, Michael Mote, 
Margaret Stanton Murray, Mary Neater, Bruce Nicholson, Rosy Penhallow, Paul Roehl, 
Jaime Sánchez, Rose Sellery, Beth Shields, Jeanne Rosen Sofen, Alexis Spakoski, Judy Stabile, 
Kathryn Stowell, Ann Thiermann, Lynne Todaro, Peter Vizzusi, Susanna Waddell, Carol Walberg, Jenni Ward, Lynda Watson, Mary Weeks, Stan Welsh, Melissa West, Daniella Woolf, and Watsonville Artist Movement: Ximena Greatorex, Gabriel Medina, Isa Moreno, Rocio Sanchez-Nolasco, Alejandra Ponce-Rojas, Mayra Ruiz-Valtiérra, Valentina Velasquéz

Gallery Hours:
Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 11.00am – 4.00pm, by appointment only. To request an appointment for you and/or your group please visit PVA’s website: https://pvarts.org/appointment/
If you have any additional questions, or would like to cancel a scheduled appointment please contact our Office Manager Brianna Flores at:
Max group size: 10 persons, masks and social distance is required.

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