Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara’s Summer exhibitions — Arte del Pueblo: Open call for Artists / Convocatoria Abierta para Artistas

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Calling all artists and art lovers!
¡Convocatoria para artistas y amantes del arte!

We are thrilled to announce that Arte del Pueblo is returning to the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara for its third year and this summer, we are going bigger than ever.

Estamos emocionados de anunciar que Arte del Pueblo regresa al Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Santa Barbara para su tercer año ¡y este verano lo haremos más grande que nunca!

ARTE DEL PUEBLO
Open Call for Artists
Convocatoria Abierta para Artistas

Now in its third year, Arte del Pueblo is both a celebration and a conviction, that the walls of a contemporary art museum should reflect the full, unfiltered breadth of the community outside them. This year, the call goes out to artists rooted in Santa Barbara County, welcoming voices from across the Central Coast and beyond to bring new work into a museum that belongs to all of us.

No theme. No jurors. No gatekeepers. Just art, and the community that makes it.

We especially encourage artists who have not seen themselves reflected in spaces like this one, and we welcome everyone, regardless of background, training, or experience. See the flyer for all submission details and dates.

En su tercer año, Arte del Pueblo es tanto una celebración como una convicción, que las paredes de un museo de arte contemporáneo deben reflejar la amplitud total y sin filtros de la comunidad que lo rodea. Este año, la convocatoria va dirigida a artistas del Condado de Santa Barbara, dando la bienvenida a voces de todo el Centro de California y mas allá para traer obra nueva a un museo que nos pertenece a todos.

Sin tema. Sin jurado. Sin restricciones. Solo arte y la comunidad que lo crea.

Especialmente invitamos a artistas que no se han visto reflejados en espacios como este, y damos la bienvenida a todos, sin importar origen, formación o experiencia. Ver el flyer para todos los detalles y fechas de entrega.

Summer Exhibitions
Open Sunday June 7, 12-3pm
On View Through July 25

Alongside Arte del Pueblo, MCASB is proud to present two solo exhibitions by local artists whose work speaks directly to memory, identity, and belonging.

Norton Gallery
Tama Takahashi
Memories of Barbed Wire: Resilience in the Japanese American Community

Through large-scale photographs printed on vellum, sculptural works, and video installation, Santa Barbara-based artist Tama Takahashi revisits the forced incarceration of over 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II, drawing on her own family’s experience at the Minidoka concentration camp in Idaho. The exhibition includes evocative images of guard towers, barracks, and barbed wire, alongside a Memory Tree honoring former prisoners and their descendants, and an interactive “ema” display where visitors are invited to leave messages of peace.

Takahashi’s practice is driven by a commitment to increasing the visibility of Asian American artists and ensuring that young people of color can see themselves as both the subjects and creators of contemporary art.

 

Classroom Gallery
Christina McPhee
Diagramming Sentences 

Hospital Rock – Bones of the Moon (after Patricia Lockwood) Mixed media on washi paper, 2025 Photo: Christina McPhee, 2026
Christina McPhee transforms MCASB’s intimate Classroom Gallery into a space of radical imagination, large-scale drawings on unframed washi papers hanging like scrims, channeling voices from Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz to Joan Naviyuk Kane. The installation also includes animated video montaged to Mirrors, a new work by California-based composer Julie Herndon.

In conjunction with the exhibition, McPhee will offer two intimate drawing workshops: Decolonizing Drawing: Celebrating Radical Imaginary
? June 18 & July 16

Space is very limited email hello@mcasantabarbara.org for more information.

In A Giving Mood?

Donate to the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara Today!
You can do a one-time donation or Become a Member of the
MCASB 50 Future Fund!
Donate Today!
MCASB 50 Future Fund
We look forward to seeing you at the museum!
¡Esperamos verlx pronto en el museo!Questions/preguntas: hello@mcasantabarbara.org

Help us ensure a successful 2025 today. Please consider making a donation online here or contact us at development@mcsantabarbara.org. Thank you!

¡Ayúdenos hoy en garantizar un 2025 exitoso! Por favor considere en hacer una donación en línea aquí o escríbanos a development@mcsantabarbara.org. ¡Muchas Gracias!

We welcome everyone at our events. Please contact
dgarcia@mcasantabarbara.org for your access needs or special requests.

Todxs son bienvenidxs a nuestros eventos. Por favor póngase en contacto con dgarcia@mcasantabarbara.org para notificarnos de alguna acomodación de discapacidad o solicitud en particular.

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