Costa Mesa bolsters ‘City of the Arts’ status with return of ARTventure at Segerstrom

Costa Mesa has long billed itself “City of the Arts,” and a two-day event beginning Friday evening aims to prove the motto true, as art lovers convene at Segerstrom Center for the Arts’ Samueli Theater for the return of ARTventure.

Started by members of the city’s Cultural Arts Committee in 2015, the two-day juried art show and exhibition showcased Southern California artists working across multiple media, making room for youth artists to participate.

In the years that followed, the event moved from furniture showrooms at the SOCO & the OC Mix retail plaza on Hyland Avenue into the multitiered glass lobby of the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Center for the Arts.

City employee Caitlin Weigler checks in Celeste Nevarez’s art at Segerstrom’s Samueli Theater Thursday for Costa Mesa’s annual local juried art exhibition “ARTVenture.”

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

“This was probably my personal favorite accomplishment of the Cultural Arts Committee, to be able to establish a signature event,” longtime member Charlene Ashendorf said of the committee, which disbanded in July to allow for the formation of a full-fledged Arts Commission. “We could get 150 pieces of artwork and find jurists to jury the show — it was really very successful.”

While that momentum was thwarted by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, volunteers and committee members retooled and were able to provide a virtual ARTventure last year.

The event returns to a full in-person format Friday evening with a gala and awards ceremony followed by a free communitywide event Saturday, from noon to 5 p.m. Participating artists dropped off their pieces Thursday afternoon and will pick them up after the show’s end.

In addition to 270 pieces created by 115 artists, many of which are available for purchase, Saturday’s celebration will feature a multitude of art-centered activities and demonstrations in the outdoor Julianne and George Argyros Plaza, according to Laurette Garner, Costa Mesa’s newly hired arts specialist.

“Families can get their caricatures done and chalk artists will be doing pieces on the ground,” Garner said Thursday. “It’s going to be a great family event, and everything is free.”

Participants can listen to live music and take docent-led tours of the various public art pieces at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts campus. Ashendorf said Thursday since the Cultural Arts Committee was disbanded, she’s looking forward to enjoying the weekend as a visitor.

“Every year it has a different feel to it. That’s what makes it really unique,” she said. “I’m hoping this will continue, because this really brings the community, of all ages, together.”

ARTventure’s Saturday offerings coincide with Segerstrom’s celebration of National Dance Day, a series of workshops and performances presented in partnership with the nonprofit American Dance Movement, from 1 to 5 p.m., in Argyros Plaza. That event is free, but tickets, available online at scfta.org, are required.

Costa Mesa city employees Tracy Habiger, left, and Kevin Stoddart check in Jennifer Bloomfield’s art Thursday at Segerstrom’s Samueli Theater.

(Scott Smeltzer / Staff Photographer)

Samueli Theater is located at 615 Town Center Drive, in Costa Mesa.

Support our coverage by becoming a digital subscriber.