Enlivening the Arts World
Freddy Janka Brings an Optimistic, Invigorating,
and Inclusive Spirit to the Rebirth of
the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara
By Roger Durling | Photos by Ingrid Bostrom | April 6, 2023
“Art is so important,” Frederick Janka tells me in his typical fervent manner. “Art translates to options. When you have an experience with art, it supplies alternatives and solutions. It’s important for youth to be exposed to art, for it offers exponential possibilities. Art saves lives.”
Janka — or “Freddy,” as he prefers to be addressed — has quietly and steadily become one of the most important figures in the art scene in Santa Barbara. In January, he joined forces with Arturo Heredia Soto (lead exhibition designer at UCSB’s AD&A Museum, and cofounder of Lum Art Magazine), Debra Herrick (UCSB associate editorial director and cofounder and editor of Lum Art Magazine), and Lila Glasoe Francese (president of the Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation and CEO of OHI Home), and the four of them masterminded the rebirth of the venerable Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (MCASB).
MCASB, which was established in 1976 as the Contemporary Arts Forum (CAF), had always been the city’s premier contemporary art-focused venue, and it abruptly closed its doors in August 2022 due to ongoing financial strains. “My style is to work collaboratively,” says Freddy about coalescing this group to resuscitate MCASB and reopening its doors. “I’m very attentive to the larger ecosystem and believe strongly that we need to work together to elevate art in Santa Barbara.”
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