I noticed this poster at the San Diego Central Library today. It announces a very special event coming up on the evening of August 18, 2026. Painting the Town: A Night of Art and Community will take place on the Central Library’s main floor exhibit space.
According to the event website, the evening will be the special opening night celebrating artwork created through the Wellness Program at Father Joe’s Villages, which empowers clients experiencing homelessness through creativity and self-expression. Enjoy inspiring artwork accompanied by live music from the San Diego Symphony.
I encourage you to check out the above link!
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The San Diego Museum of Art could use your support!
I just read an article this morning concerning layoffs at one of San Diego’s most beloved and important cultural institutions. They’re stressed financially due to the loss of critical grant money.
If you love the San Diego Museum of Art, you can help them out by visiting this museum webpage, and perhaps think about making a donation!
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The Bonita Museum has had some huge changes in the past year. A bunch of cool public art has appeared outside the museum, including the striking blue building exterior! I enjoyed seeing it all a few days ago.
I’ve already posted photographs of two works of public art by the museum’s parking lot: the WR This Cats Smarthorse sculpture that debuted in 2021, and the Inner Strength sculpture, which debuted earlier this year.
The Inner Strength sculpture was created by Chula Vista artist Michael Leaf. He is also responsible for the new blue museum exterior composed of differently cut aluminum panels, whose appearance is transformed as the day’s light changes. This unique building “skin” was created with special paint that changes hues. It’s appropriately titled Chameleon IT.
Some photographs on a fairly sunny day…
Michael Leaf has also contributed these two unusual seats, which he designed and built. They seem to be erupting vertically with energy. They’re titled Communication Chairs…
And he created this happy sculpture: Lead with Your heART!
The All American Car Show is being held today in San Diego, at Embarcadero Marina Park North near Seaport Village. I walked through this morning and got some photos of very cool vehicles!
The show features all makes and models of car, van, truck, motorcycle, etc. It is put on by The Mopar Club San Diego every year. The event through a raffle and donations raises money to support Fleet Week San Diego and STEP (Support the Enlisted Project).
STEP provides financial education and assistance to our military’s enlisted heroes. Please check out their website here!
Okay! Time for photos!
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Inner Strength rises near the center of the parking lot in front of the Bonita Museum & Cultural Center and Bonita-Sunnyside Library. You can’t possibly miss it!
The striking steel sculpture debuted earlier this year. It was created by South Bay artist Michael Leaf. The public art is part of a new sculpture garden located outside the museum.
(I’ll be posting photos of two other pieces by Leaf in the sculpture garden coming up!)
A plaque at the base of Inner Strength reads:
May “Inner Strength” serve as a reminder that true strength goes beyond physical strength; it is our ability to overcome challenges and rise above adversity.
Please let this statue inspire you to recognize the resilience that lies within each of us. May it stand as a beacon of hope and a symbol of unity for our community; encouraging us all to embrace our inner strengths and support one another on our journeys.
With Love and Light, Michael, Stephanie and Canon Leaf
At the center of Inner Strength is a heart.
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There’s a brand new website that follows the life and history of San Ysidro. It’s called San Ysidro Archive.
I learned about this new community resource today during my visit to The FRONT gallery and cultural center in San Ysidro.
San Ysidro Archive‘s stated mission is to serve as a living repository for the countercultural histories of 92173. By documenting local activism, joy, and resilience, the archive curates a communal memory that thrives independently of the border.
The website collects old and new photographs that people can contribute. It also tells the stories of individuals who make San Ysidro their home, including business owners, artists, longtime residents, and everyone in between. The website also helps people stay up to date with what is going on in the neighborhood through upcoming events, recent happenings, or ways to get involved.
What an awesome community project!
The San Ysidro Archive website is up and running, even though it officially launches in a couple days. I encourage you to check it out today!
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Casa Familiar has been serving residents of South San Diego County since 1968. Over those many years, the organization has amassed a collection of art that represents the life and culture of the South Bay border community. Through the collection, preservation, and exhibition of art, Casa Familiar promotes and encourages appreciation for the vibrant artistic community it serves.
Casa Familiar operates a gallery and cultural gathering space called The FRONT in San Ysidro. Today–and for about another week–The FRONT is home to an exhibition of pieces from Casa Familiar’s art collection. The exhibition is titled MOMENTOUS.
The exhibit contains four distinct sections: transborder culture, the poetics of living, the original people of this land, and art created for Casa Familiar’s annual ABRAZO Award.
I stopped by today to enjoy this important exhibition. The artwork is not only quite good, but it stems from each local artist’s personal experience, and is emotionally stirring. The image of a heart enters much of the art.
I was amazed and happy to learn some of the fine pieces were created by individuals that Casa Familiar has assisted!
Abrazo Award 2015, by David Flores, watercolor on Arches paper.Bodies, by Andrea Echeverri, high temperature glaze ceramic.Untitled, 2004, by Paulino Marquez, oil painting.Mi Abuelita, mi nietecita, 2015, by Arturo Rodriguez Torija, photo print.Triptych, 2014, by Jamex and Einar De La Torre, photo transfer on metal.Hotel Nelson, 2024, by Paola “Panca” Villaseñor, acrylic on wood.
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A thought-provoking exhibition of art opened recently in San Diego’s East Village, up in the second floor gallery of UC San Diego Park & Market. It’s titled The Space Between Words.
Any art that concerns language immediately intrigues me. What is the space between words? I wondered, thinking literally. Between written words: a short (or long) space. Between spoken words: a little (or much) breath.
According to a sign concerning the exhibition, language is more than something we speak. It is something we carry, remember, lose, invent, and share…
I recall reading or hearing that language is a prerequisite for human-level intelligence. Words are infinitely combinable symbols we share that can convey complex meaning.
Presented by Vanguard Culture’s ARTS LAB, The Space Between Words brings together the work of artists Jon Savage, Ale Uzarraga, Kelvin Lopez, and Jess Bergman. Their pieces explore the many ways we communicate when words alone are not enough.
So, I suppose, beyond language expressed by mind and body, there is art that itself speaks–art created by an artist’s mind and hands…
Some examples:
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An excellent exhibition opened in July at the Bonita Museum. Strength of Service: Women of the Armed Forces celebrates the 250th Anniversary of the United States of America by highlighting voices of local women who’ve served their country.
As the exhibition webpage explains, visitors can enjoy a unique look at local Military Women, history, personal stories, and inspiring artistic tributes.
A variety of military uniforms worn by local heroes stand at the center of the museum gallery. They bring home the fact that real people actually wore those uniforms and sacrificed to protect freedoms that we enjoy.
The walls surrounding the uniforms feature military honors, articles, personal memories, emotionally moving works of art, historical flags, and posted thank you notes penned by grateful visitors.
Two of the gallery walls contain a long, detailed timeline, covering the Revolutionary War to the present. Words, illustrations and photographs recall many ways women have served our nation over the course of its history.
If you’re in the neighborhood, I recommend a visit to the free Bonita Museum before this exhibition wraps up on August 29, 2026.
(I hadn’t visited the museum in a very long time and was excited to find new public art outside. I’ll be blogging about that shortly!)
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