ON Culture | Artful Delights and Holiday Happenings

This edition of ON Culture was originally emailed to subscribers on December 16, 2022. To receive Leslie Dinaberg’s arts newsletter in your inbox on Fridays, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.

ON the Walls

This colder weather makes it a great time to do some gallery hopping. My Pet Ram Gallery in the Funk Zone has a new show, Golden Hour, opening December 16 and featuring work from artists Stephanie Guerrero, Cary Hulbert, and Margaret Thompson. The Holiday Exhibition at Marcia Burtt Gallery, featuring work by Bill Dewey and Pamela Zwehl-Burke, among others, is worth checking out. It’s on view through the end of January. There’s also a new space in Ventura that sounds very cool. WANTS / NEEDS Community Arts Collective was founded by Santa Barbara native and multi-disciplined artist Ben Pecorari to be a curated concept space shedding light on unconventional, unique, and renowned makers and artists, as well as a hub for pop-ups. Among the artisans currently residing there is artist, graphic designer, and sign-painter Michael Matheson (a k a Metal Teepee), whose work you may recognize from Dune Coffee Roasters, Cajé, Revolver Pizza, Sama Sama, Westward General, Acme Hospitality, and more.

ON the Stage

The whole Grace Fisher Winter Concert was terrific last weekend, but I was blown away by the Folk Orchestra Santa Barbara’s set. Despite the urging of friends (yes, yes, you were right, Jim Buckley) and colleagues (you too, Joe Woodard) to go see them perform, I had never actually seen Adam Phillips lead this 30-piece ensemble of bagpipes, whistles, bodhrans, bouzouki, smallpipes, mandolin, fiddles, cellos and more before. Wow, what a fabulously fun and indescribably interesting group! If you snagged tickets to the sold-out Saturday show at the Presidio Chapel, you are in for a treat. And if you didn’t get those, you can still pick up tickets for Sunday at the Marjorie Luke Theatre.