Third Friday Art Walks at the Capitola Mall is GONE! Enter: First Thursday Art Walks at the Capitola Mall. March 1 is our grand Re-Opening. Join us 5:30-8:00 to view the works of local artists, music by Next Stage Productions and support the Santa Cruz SPCA. Every month we invite local music groups to perform and feature a Local charity. A portion of the participation fee goes to our featured charity.
Capitola Mall is reaching out to the community. The recent town hall meeting hosted by Merlone Geier Partners was well attended. The mall management shared their dreams of making the mall a destination location. Changing the inside arrangements of the food court, making use of open spaces into social hubs and so much more.
Supporting their vendors, like Art of Santa Cruz, an art gallery showcasing 70 local artists and their work, is a way Capitola Mall management is reaching out to our community. Showcasing independent, budding artists once a month was a concept of an employee of Art of Santa Cruz in 2014. Merlone Geier Partners has joined with Art of Santa Cruz to continue with this tradition.
Hours are spent reaching out to local artists to offer a place and a way to test new creations and to expose the general public to their work. Monterey Bay Area, according to the 2010 Census, is the fifth largest concentration of Professional Artist in the United States. These numbers do not include the cottage industry of artists which we see a huge number here in our area. To be number five is amazing when you consider we follow New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Santa Fe.
Artists create, they are not professionals at marketing. Putting your work out for the public to appreciate and purchase is daunting to some. First Thursday is an intimate setting that artists can share the lovey they put into every piece of art.
Support your local artists: put First Thursday on your calendar every month. Watch for new fun events at the Capitola Mall in the months to come.