Pico Block Party and Artisan Marketplace

Pico Block Party is BACK! 18th Street Arts Center’s fourth major Pico Block Party community festival celebrates local Santa Monica artists and artisans. For the very first time, we will feature our brand-new, one-of-a-kind Artisan Marketplace, which will showcase the handmade goods of Santa Monica artists, artisans, chefs, and craftspersons!
The Pico Block Party series grew out of 18th Street Arts Center’s in-depth community outreach programs, including its bilingual neighborhood oral history project, CultureMapping90404.org. That project spurred the creation of a Neighborhood Advisory Council in 2018, who helped shape the content for this Pico Block Party.
Come sample the creativity in your own backyard, and support local artists in the process!
The free family-friendly artistic festival will feature art-making workshops with professional artists, performances, open studios with resident artists, exhibitions, food trucks, artisanal local goods, and other creative activities.
For questions or to request a free community group booth, email sbyank@18thstreet.org.
Art Workshops:
* Make puppets and act out short plays with artist Molly Allis
* Create homemade fabric prints using recycled plastic with artist Dahn Gim
* Create relief prints made of food inspired by the culinary cultures of the Pico Neighborhood with Janeen Jackson and Taste of Pico
* Learn how to compost with worms with Santa Monica’s Sustainability Works
* Enjoy artistic activities from a variety of local community groups
Performances (on the main stage):
* Experience Ballet Folklórico and other cultural dance traditions with Cabeza de Vaca Cultural Dance School
* Holla for the original rhymes and beats of the Hoolipack – Pico Youth and Family Center youth MCs
* Learn Earthian Folk Dance with artist and performer DaEun Jung & Friends
* Experience the wild improv and elaborate costumes of artists Beck+Col
Food and Vendors (more tba):
* The Green Truck
* Taco Cartel
* The Big Cheese Truck
* Oaxacan Ice Cream
* Handmade artisanal goods from local artists
Neighborhood Organizations:
* Pico Youth and Family Center
* Dance Alive Center
* Cabeza de Vaca Cultural Dance School
* Committee for Racial Justice
* Parent Connection Group
* Untitled No. 1
* The Broad Stage
* And more…
Artist Open Studios:
* David McDonald (Los Angeles)
* THE WINTER OFFICE (Denmark)
* ha:ar – Hande Şekerciler and Arda Yalkın (Turkey)
* Debra Disman (Los Angeles)
* Anthony Discenza (San Francisco)
* and more…
Also On View:
Marcus Kuiland-Nazario | MACHO STEREO
June 1 – July 26, 2018
Atrium Gallery (blue building)
Opening during Pico Block Party
Highways Performance Space and Gallery
Sponsors:
In-kind donations of deliciously healthy and nutritious snacks generously provided by GoGo SqueeZ and Bare Snacks.
Our corporate sponsor Kinecta has also been instrumental in underwriting the free arts workshops, and Dublab has generously provided in-kind support for sound equipment. Santa Monica Daily Press is our media sponsor.
Community Corps of Santa Monica is our partner in the Artisan Marketplace, underwriting the booth rental costs for low-income Santa Monica vendors.
Pico Block Party is made possible by the generous support of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division and the Los Angeles County Arts Commission.
Culture Mapping 90404 is generously supported by the James Irvine Foundation’s Exploring Engagement Initiative and IMLS.
Special thanks to Naomi Okuyama and Camera Obscura for artistic recommendations and thought partnership.