By Wendy Weitzel

Members of the local arts community met virtually on Oct. 7 to support each other and share how they are reimagining their work in the time of COVID-19.

Arts Alliance Davis was formed a few years ago as a grassroots effort to give artists and their supporters the opportunity to gather, collaborate and create meaningful impact. Meetings, typically every other month, are open to anyone. The October meeting, via videoconference, included 17 artists or representatives or arts organizations.

Much of the discussion focused on anti-racism. Davis resident NJ Mvondo, a self-described Black artist and community organizer, recently launched the interactive Healing Art Project to provide a positive platform for dialogue about systemic racism. Mvondo runs Multiculturalism Rocks!, an organization celebrating cultural diversity in the arts. The Healing Art Project is a treasure hunt for two-dimensional art – displayed in merchant windows in downtown Davis and beyond – encouraging patronage to local businesses.

An invitation from Multiculturalism Rocks! and Sol Summer Camp Davis

Artist Danielle Fodor created stencils to print in “places we can’t gather.” This one, talking about the importance of hand washing, uses mud as paint. (Danielle Fodor/Courtesy photo)

By Wendy Weitzel

The arts community is one of the hardest hit by the pandemic. With shows, concerts, galleries and all public work halted, local artists are looking for other ways to connect with the community. That was the focus at the May 21 Arts Alliance Davis meeting, where artists from all mediums gathered virtually to collaborate and brainstorm.

Arts Alliance Davis typically meets every other month. This one was via Zoom. The group unites artists, civic and arts organizations, businesses, patrons and other community arts supporters. Meetings are open to anyone.

Many artists and organizations rely on grants as an income source. Rachel Hartsough, the city’s arts and culture manager, said the city of Davis will be extending the terms of its Community Arts grants, and allowing flexibility for artists to postpone or reinvent their projects.

But budget-wise, Davis – like most government bodies – is eyeing cuts. “It’s looking really tough.” She said to expect a substantial reduction in the arts budget.

(From press release) The Davis Cherry Blossom Festival, originally scheduled for April 4-5, has been postponed, likely till October.

The annual free, all-ages weekend includes music, food, art, culture and beer, presented by the nonprofit Davis Cherry Blossom Festival, Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan, and Sudwerk Brewing Co. Like many events in Yolo County, it draws a substantial crowd. The Yolo County Health Department is asking organizers to hold off on gatherings of 150 people or more, to increase “social distancing” and thwart community spread of the coronavirus.

The Japanese hanami tradition celebrates spring’s flower blooms, especially the cherry (sakura) trees. By moving it to October, the festival will celebrate another Japanese observance, tsukimi: viewing and honoring of the autumn moon.

And upcoming art events

Autumn Labbé-Renault, chair of Arts Alliance Davis, speaks at the Jan. 16 meeting at the Davis Arts Center. Photo credit: Wendy Weitzel/Courtesy photo

By Wendy Weitzel

Since 2015, Arts Alliance Davis has united area artists and arts lovers, offering a forum for collaboration and sharing. That networking has evolved into a vibrant support community, clearly on display at its Jan. 16 meeting.

This gathering of nearly 30 joined forces at Davis Arts Center. Arts Alliance Davis meets every other month, at rotating venues. It unites artists, civic and arts organizations, businesses, patrons and other community arts supporters. The meetings are open to anyone.

This time, the group discussed two main issues: using art for activism, and a new state law’s impact on artists as independent contractors.

Jessica Perlstein Art, https://jessicaperlstein.com/

Davis residents are invited to help imagine "A More Beautiful World" at an art happening on Saturday, January 11 between 1 and 3:30 pm at the Dos Pinos Community Room, 2550 Sycamore Lane. Through music, art, and conversation, attendees will play together to develop the vision for a community-driven Local Green New Deal.

The event will hosted by artist Danielle Fodor and David Abramson for Yolo County Supervisor.

Organizers ask, "Imagine that we are in the year 2040. We have achieved a vision of climate-positive and equitable society in Yolo County. What will we see? What will we hear? What will we smell, taste, and feel as we walk around our neighborhoods and as we visit other parts of Yolo County?"

Help envision a county transformed, as artists turn words into drawings, a visual representation of a vision for a More Beautiful World.

For more information, please contact Danielle Fodor at daniellefodor@gmail.com.

Dylan Wright of Third Space waves his hand in reaction to a student’s artwork based on a prompt to 3- to 5-year-olds: “What does your world look like?” Wright was among the Arts Alliance Davis participants who toured Peregrine School on Nov. 21. (Wendy Weitzel/Courtesy photo)

By Wendy Weitzel

Davis artists and arts allies met Nov. 21 to collaborate about their holiday events and programs, and learn about an unlikely arts event space in town.

Arts Alliance Davis meets every other month, at rotating venues. It unites artists, civic and arts organizations, businesses, patrons and other community arts supporters. The meetings are open to anyone.

This gathering of nearly 30 members of the local creative community was at Peregrine School, 2650 Lillard Drive. School Director Lorie Hammond led a tour, offering information about its potential as a performance and meeting space. The 1-acre campus near Cowell Drive in South Davis has an outdoor stage, garden and grassy area.

(From press release) One of California's pioneering breweries will celebrate a major milestone on Oct. 26. Sudwerk Brewing Co. marks 30 years in business, with a free community celebration that includes live music and art, and supports two local charities.

The celebration is from noon to 9:30 p.m. at Sudwerk, 2001 Second St. The event supports the Davis Live Music Collective and Davis Schools Foundation, and includes a live mural competition, community mural wall, food by Tommy J’s Grill & Catering, face painting, new beer releases, a sour beer garden and more.

Tylar Traum performs in DMTC Teen Cabaret, 2015.

By Rachel (Hoover) Rycerz and Marc Valdez

Tylar Traum came of age onstage at Davis Musical Theatre Company (DMTC) before heading to New York City to study Theater and New Media at Marymount Manhattan College.  This year during school breaks, she brought her skills back to her home town of Davis.  Over winter break, she taught an Audition Workshop for 7-17 year olds at DMTC.  In July, she taught singing, dancing and acting for the same age group at DMTC Summer Camp.   Her latest project has been directing DMTC’s 2019 Teen Cabaret.

The first Teen Cabaret was held in in 2006.  It was created to showcase the talents of teen performers in DMTC’s Young Performer’s Theatre (YPT), as well as to help fund DMTC’s two theater youth scholarships.  DMTC first established a scholarship in 1995, initially for the amount of $100.   A second scholarship was added in 2003.  Currently, two $500 scholarships are given annually.  Tylar herself received one of the awards in 2017 for her dedication to YPT, including performing in the cabaret.

Producers Steve and Jan Isaacson present Tylar Traum with DMTC Award, 2017.

This year, seven teens will be performing songs from “DMTC…Past & Future.”  The singers include Nora Baggarly, Katarina Detrick, Ella Del Favero, Katelyn Reeves, Stella Silver, Annie Whiteford and Lindsay Whiteford.  You can see them onstage at DMTC, 607 Pena Drive this Saturday, August 10^th at 7:00 pm and Sunday August 11^th at 2:00 pm.  Tickets are $10 (plus a $2 facilities fee), and proceeds go to the Teen Scholarships.

DMTC 2019 Teen Cabaret Performers. Standing, L-R: Ella Del Favero, Annie Whiteford, Katarina Detrick and Katelyn Reeves. Front Row: Stella Silver, Nora Baggarly and Lindsay Whiteford.

Rachel (Hoover) Rycerz grew up on stage in Davis, performing in 30 shows before heading to Berkeley to major in English. She returned to the stage in Davis this past November as Miss Hannigan in "Annie."  This July, she played Hannah Pitt in Angels in America at Roseville Theater Arts Academy.

Marc Valdez is a community theater volunteer, and has served on the Board of Davis Musical Theatre Company (DMTC) since 2002, and keeps a blog, Marc Valdez Weblog, at http://marcvaldez.blogspot.com

By Carey Ann Hunt

As I biked through a wooded area on a path headed downtown from South Davis around sunset, I began hearing party music. The music and bright flashing party lights came quickly toward me and then zoomed right past. The speaker and lights were mounted to a bike and the rider was the leader of a long string of cyclists, many with brightly decorated and lit up bicycles. There were perhaps thirty of them that whizzed by me going in the opposite direction.

One of the bikers caught my eye and said as he past, “Psst, you’re going the wrong direction! Turn around, it’s a bike party”! 

Birch Lane students see a production this month of "Light the Way," a bike safety musical by Bike City Theatre Company. There's a public performance of the play June 1-2 at Patwin Elementary.
Photo credit: Owen Yancher/Davis Enterprise

By Wendy Weitzel

More than 20 artists and supporters of the arts gathered May 16 for the bi-monthly Arts Alliance Davis meeting, this time at the city’s Hunt-Boyer Mansion downtown. This story is a glance at what’s going on in the local arts community.

Arts Alliance Davis meets every other month, at rotating venues. The collaborative effort unites artists, civic and arts organizations, businesses, patrons and other community arts allies. It’s open to anyone who creates, supports or enjoys the arts.

A previous Davisite article announced Deirdre Sullivan-Beeman's Exhibit “Anima Mundi,” a Solo Show Featuring Limited Edition Prints.  The exhibit is open through the end of March.

Visitors appreciating Sullivan-Beeman's art:

At Pence Gallery with an Artist’s Reception on March 8, 6-9pm 

Known for magic realism and egg tempera technique, Sullivan-Beeman will be showing her largest all-in-print work to date

(From Press Release) Los Angeles and Vancouver, B.C.-based artist Deirdre Sullivan-Beeman’s solo exhibition “Anima Mundi” opens at Pence Gallery on Friday, March 1. The show will represent her largest body of prints to date. There will be an artist’s reception at the gallery the evening of Friday, March 8 from 6-9PM (212 D Street, Davis, CA 95616).

In Sullivan-Beeman’s show statement, she says, “The anima mundi (world soul) is an inherent correspondence between all living things on the planet. The anima mundi relates to our physical world in the same way the human soul associates with the physical human body. These works are a menagerie of the little pieces of me that go into each of my characters and narratives – our shared anima mundi.”

Technology meets artistry in a captivating art installation titled "Second Bite: The Wisdom of the Apple" that opens this weekend in Davis. The unique and multi-sensory art installation showcases nearly 100 interconnected Apple computers, powerful yet diverse imagery and mesmerizing music designed to challenge visitors to explore age-old themes and re-think long-held perceptions about the Apple, the Tree and the Snake. 

Supported, in part, by a grant from the City of Davis Arts & Cultural Affairs program, the thought-provoking exhibit is available for FREE public viewing from Friday, March 1 through May 31, 2019 on Thursday, Friday & Saturday evenings between 7 and 10 p.m. The art is installed in the warehouse behind Omsoft Technologies at 1930 5th St, Suite C. 

Sunday, Dec. 2nd, 9:30am to 1:00pm

Davis United Methodist Church - 1620 Anderson Road, Davis

Benefit the greater good by purchasing your holiday gifts at Davis United Methodist Church’s Alternative Giving Christmas Fair on Sunday, December 2 from 9:30am to 1pm. Come discover homemade items and handicrafts from around the world. All proceeds benefit designated non-profits such as Heifer International, the Sierra Club, Equal Exchange, Sahaya International, Limitless Horizons, Grace Garden, and United Methodist service projects in developing countries. Everyone is also welcome at attend the 8:30 and 11:00 worship services. For more information, contact the church office at davisumc@davisumc.org or (530) 756-2170

Posted for Helen Roland

By David Jacobin

Royal Guest Hotels is the greediest and most ruthless development group I have experienced in the town of Davis. Let me tell you a story of a group called Third Space Art Collective.