Old Pasadena Blog

Culture… as appealing and vital as it is, you don’t always find the time to take advantage of all the local opportunities.  So twice a year Pasadena ArtWeekend provides just the incentive to become a tourist in your own backyard.  They couldn’t make it any easier:  On Friday night March 13th the cultural institutions of Pasadena open their doors from 6:00-10:00pm at no charge; free shuttles take you to and from participating venues; and this year some of the city’s restaurants are joining in by staying open later and offering special promotions in honor of ArtNight.

ArtNight is a wonderful community event that gets people out walking, biking, and even using public transportation (get off the Metro Gold line at the Memorial Park station).  Participating venues are featuring the following exhibitions (many in addition to their permanent collections):

• Alliance Francaise – Passion by Stephane Blanchard

• Armory Center for the Arts – Off the Wall 2009 Biennial Art Auction

• Art Center College of Design – The Storyteller’s Art: A Retrospective of the Work of Designer Kit Hinrichs

• Norton Simon Museum – Matisse’s Amours: Illustrations of Pierre de Ronsard’s Love Poems

• One Colorado – Red/Rojo, an abstract color video by Marsia Alexander-Clarke

• Pacific Asia Museum – The Samurai Re-imagined: From Ukiyo-e to Anime

• Pasadena City College – Simply Because You’re Near Me, a series of video installations by Eileen Cowin

• Pasadena Jazz Institute – CHASIN’ the TRANE, LA saxophonists celebrate the music of John Coltrane

• Pasadena Museum of California Art – Data + Art, three exhibits explore art & science

• Pasadena Museum of History – Contemporary Masters, Artistic Eden II: Scenes of Contemporary Life in the San Gabriel Valley

• Pasadena Public Library – One City, One Story 2009: Mexican FIESTA with music, dancing, storytelling & crafts

• Pasadena Symphony – The rehearsal of Rebirth! featuring Vivaldi, Copland and Schumann

• Side Street Projects – Jalopy: Vehicles as Art & Artifact, one night only

I went for the first time last year, and I had a great time.  I enjoyed seeing some wonderful art and exhibitions, heard some music, and more than anything, felt grateful and proud of Pasadena for it’s generous number of cultural spaces.  Don’t miss this opportunity to show your support of them.

Posted by:  Janet Swartz, Office Manager

Tags: Alliance Francaise, Armory Center for the Arts, ArtNight, ArtWeekend, Metro

This entry was posted on Monday, March 9th, 2009 at 1:51 pm and is filed under Culture, Events. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.