Artistry has been intertwined with social justice activism for hundreds of years. Quilt patterns gave signals to slaves escaping through the Underground Railroad, one Lompoc resident said. Red knit caps symbolized resistance in Norway during Nazi occupation, another told the Sun. Calls for actionFor more information about joining Indivisible Lompoc’s events, visit indivisiblelompoc.org or follow […]
Music, Arts & Culture
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Indah Gallery presents a site-specific multimedia exhibit
Roy Vessil’s art will be up at the Indah Gallery in Santa Ynez through April 5. There’s an opening reception for the show, titled Galls and The Secrets of the Universe, on March 13 from 5 to 7 p.m. The show is “an absurd mythos theory of the humble oak gall,” Vessil described in press […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Everyone’s welcome to a family dance in Santa Maria
Gather the whole family for some two-stepping and disco moves at the Japanese Community Center on March 28. The theme for this year’s dance is Under the Sea. “Families are invited to dance, play, and connect at this ocean-themed, family-friendly rave,” according to the city. “Enjoy high-energy music, interactive fun, and dazzling lights in a […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The Bride! is a guttural yawp into the patriarchal void
Writer-director Maggie Gyllenhaal helms this updating of the Bride of Frankenstein story. Set in 1930s Chicago and up the Eastern seaboard, the story follows Frankenstein’s monster (Christian Bale), who’s referred to as Frank, as he asks Dr. Euphronius (Annette Bening) to create him a companion to help cure his deep loneliness. They resurrect a dead […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Dead of Winter is an Emma Thompson-driven austere psychological thriller
Dead of WinterWhat’s it rated? R When? 2025 Where’s it showing? HBO Max Like Allison Janney’s Lou (2022), Dead of Winter is Emma Thompson’s turn to embrace her age and wrinkles while still proving what a tough, resourceful old bird she can be. Barb is in mourning, and her memories of her husband, Karl (Cúán […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Dawson’s Creek is pure late-’90s and early-2000s nostalgia
Dawson’s CreekWhat’s it rated? TV-14 When? 1998 to 2003 Where’s it showing? Netflix, Hulu, Disney+ After the recent and untimely death of James Van Der Beek at age 48 due to colorectal cancer, I—and probably a lot of women my age—was sent into a nostalgic tailspin. It seems just yesterday that the weekly show rotation […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Discovery beckons all ages and experience levels to the Old Orcutt Yarnery
Lisa Long learned how to knit at a Del Taco 15 years ago. At that point in her life, her routine was a long cycle of working, cooking dinner, studying for her degree, and falling asleep in the early hours of the morning. She needed to reactivate her creative brain. “I called a friend of […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Santa Barbara County opens free public art workshop series
In March the county launched Make It: Building a Public Art Practice to help artists of all experience levels plan community-based projects. They’ll receive guidance about all the practical questions that arise when creating public art. The Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture, an umbrella for creative programs within the county, is offering […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
Submit drawings to Buellton’s community art project
Into the Forest is the theme meant to inspire local artists as they create work for Buellton’s newest community banner project. The nonprofit Hearting Arts, led by Kristin Neperud Merz, helps boost art programs in the city. Artists of all ages and experience levels are invited to submit their pieces before April 19 to be […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
The Bluff is a violent buccaneer revenge tale
Director Frank E. Flowers (Haven) cowrote with Joe Ballarini (A Babysitter’s Guide to Monster Hunting) this swashbuckling tale about former female pirate Ercell Bodden (Priyanka Chopra Jonas) now living a quiet and peaceful life on Cayman Brac with her disabled son, Isaac (Vedanten Naidoo), and her sister-in-law, Elizabeth (Safia Oakley-Green), who knows nothing of Ercell’s […]
Posted inMusic, Arts & Culture
How to Get to Heaven from Belfast is a delicious Irish mystery
How to Get to Heaven from BelfastWhat’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2026 Where’s it showing? Netflix Saoirse (Roisin Gallagher), Dara (Caoilfhionn Dunne), and Robyn (Sinéad Keenan) are childhood friends that have—as many do—grown up and grown apart. All in Belfast, the three hear of the tragic death of their fourth childhood friend, Greta (Natasha O’Keefe), […]
Posted inSun Screen
The Copenhagen Test is an ’80s-style sci-fi spy thriller
The Copenhagen TestWhat’s it rated? TV-MA When? 2025 Where’s it showing? Peacock Created by Thomas Brandon (Legacies), this sci-fi spy thriller follows former U.S. Special Forces soldier turned analyst Alexander Hale (Simu Liu), who works for clandestine organization The Orphanage that oversees the rest of the intelligence community. He’s in a budding relationship with hot […]