Paul is trying to save Art City.
by Paul Lindhard
I have been an artist, painter, sculptor, public art, and multimedia collaborator for over fifty years. I moved to Ventura in 1985 from Santa Barbara with a vast and varied range of art materials and studio parts. Art City Studios did not become what it is overnight but has constantly been evolving over the past thirty-seven years.
Recycling and repurposing are the stock-in-trade of what we do here. Cobbling together a studio is usually the first step in the artistic practice. Whether it is personalizing a space in a warehouse or other commercial structure, or sheltering projects from the elements, the environment you create can greatly enhance the scope of the work that is achieved.
Creating a viable space often costs more than a single artist can afford, whereas a collective studio can amalgamate compounded resources and energy. This becomes a community itself and, in turn, we were a great fit for the community of Ventura, remarkable synergies evolved. A Cultural Affairs Department offered grants and other self-perpetuating opportunities for a very productive partnership, making visionary Arts & Culture collaborations the cornerstone of an inspired and sustainable future.
I am grateful to have had this decades-long creative experience in Ventura. The Arts, Culture, and good work we have done with this community are the cornerstones of a sustainable and inspiring future. What we have developed here cannot be sanitized, confined to a box, or thrive from formulaic regulations.
Creating something from nothing is actually a messy process. Here at Art City, we celebrate innovation in an organic way. Like Nature itself, the grand design embraces a healthy diversity and learned respect for all the aspects of a dynamic evolution.
Art City has grown through all these years into an enduring manifestation of these principles. Our collective investment and commitment to the City of Ventura, indeed to the entire Central Coast of California, stands tall despite the many obstacles that we have faced. Our history here stands as a proud and tangible legacy for the future, whatever it may bring.
Art City Studios
197 Dubbers St., Ventura, CA. 93001
805 653-6380 / 805-648-1690
[email protected]
www.artcitystudios.com
Editor: The one-acre lot at 197 Dubbers St. has been sold for $1.75 million which means Art City might be closed.
