Art show at the Octagon. Photo by Chip Scheuer.
It’s hard to believe Santa Cruz will celebrate its 100th First Friday Art Tour on April 6. The tour, founded back in 2003 by intrepid artists Kirby Scudder and the single-named Chip, has since exploded into a citywide phenomenon that attracts thousands every month. “It’s far exceeded my expectations,” says Scudder.
Originally conceived as a self-guided tour of establishments that had agreed to hang local artwork, it took a while to get going. “We always hoped to have galleries and museums involved,” Scudder says. “Obviously that took a lot longer than expected.”
Scudder and Chip almost gave it all up back in 2006. Luckily, with a little bit of ingenuity (guided tours, a party bus) and a stubborn resolve to succeed, First Friday has become the premier artistic, and social, event the city has to offer, giving hundreds of artists the opportunity to share their work and interact with the community every month in a celebration that includes more than 50 venues.
Here are just some of the events to watch for this Friday:
- Santa Cruz Film Festival: The Big Reveal The Tannery Arts Center hosts SCFF’s ceremony announcing this year’s film lineup. The evening will feature free dance classes from the World Dance & Cultural Center, the music of DJ MLE Wax, dance performances and art exhibitions from 8pm–midnight at the Tannery Digital Media & Creative Arts Center, 1060 River St., Santa Cruz.
- Chip Scheuer Lulu’s at the Octagon hosts an exhibition of Santa Cruz Weekly photographer and longtime local Chip Scheuer. For 25 years Scheuer covered hard news stories as a photojournalist and videographer for the Register-Pajaronian, KION and KCBA; his coverage of the Loma Prieta earthquake won a mayoral proclamation by Scott Kennedy. Not surprisingly, Scheuer’s art photos exhibit a street-level toughness that lend an immediacy too often missing from other similar documentary photographers. Says Scheuer, “As a photojournalist, my biggest victories were other people’s worst nightmares. With art there are no victims. It feels good to show people work they enjoy rather than images they need to see.” Lulu’s at The Octagon, 118 Cooper St., Santa Cruz.
- Sesnon Art Gallery: UCSC Pop Up Art Project Featuring seven student artists, this installation at the Rittenhouse Building is sponsored by the Sesnon Gallery and presented in conjunction with Katerina Lanfranco’s Natural Selection (on display at the gallery in UCSC’s Porter College). The installation is part of an innovative new project that seeks to reappropriate Santa Cruz’s empty buildings into ad hoc art galleries by bringing student artwork off the hill and into town. 1375 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz.
100TH FIRST FRIDAY is Friday, April 6, at locations throughout downtown Santa Cruz, the Westside, Harvey West and Midtown. For information visit www.firstfridaysantacruz.com.
