The city of Santa Clarita is hosting ARTober to celebrate the arts during National Arts and Humanities Month.
“We wanted a month in the year to focus and recognize things happening in the SCV and to recognize the arts,” said Arts Coordinator Katherine Nestved. “(This is) a chance to do something special that we don’t do all the time.”
The city will be offering free arts and humanities festivities throughout the month, giving the community the opportunity to participate online and in person.
A quiz will be released online at SantaClaritaArts.com each Monday of ARTober. Those who take the quiz will be entered for a chance to win a $25 gift card, according to a news release issued Wednesday.
“We wanted to find a new way for people to interact with our website,” Nestved said. “We wanted something fun that would inform them on what was going on.”
The quizzes will encourage readers to explore what art projects the city has to offer as well as other resources on the website.
The four quizzes are: “Opportunity ARTober,” “Which Art Bear Are You?” “Perfect Art Day” and the “Image Reveal Test.”
Go to SantaClaritaArts.com starting Monday to take the first quiz.
The Arts Commision also encourages the community to get involved, Nestved said.
Sidewalk poetry
The city’s search for original poetry to be stamped into concrete sidewalks throughout the community will end Oct. 16.
Writers of all ages, professional and amateur, are welcome to enter.
“You do not need to be a resident to enter, but you must have a tie to Santa Clarita,” Nestved said.
All entries must be original, in English, a maximum of five lines, 32 characters per line (including spaces) and 160 characters overall, according to the news release.
The theme is “poetry of place,” Nestved said. “Something that speaks to the community of Santa Clarita and what it means to live in this city.”
Winners will have their poem stamped into a sidewalk, and also receive a $150 stipend, according to the news release.
Entries can be submitted to the Santa Clarita Arts website until Oct. 16 and winners are scheduled to be announced Jan. 25.
Arts Symposium
Alongside the several exhibit openings and events the city will host the first-ever Arts Symposium.
The event is scheduled Saturday, Oct. 20, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at The Centre on Centre Point Parkway.
“We wanted to create an opportunity for our local artists to connect with others from the L.A. area,” Nestved said. “Not someone they normally get to connect with or learn from.”
The event is free and open to artists of all skill levels and experiences.
The day-long educational conference will help advance local artists’ skills and careers, according to the news release.
The event will begin with a free breakfast at 8 a.m. followed by opening remarks at 9 a.m.
“The symposium will present three focused panel groups, for a total of nine sessions, on an array of topics from the cinematic, musical and visual arts,” according to the news release.
The city wanted to give the community more information in a different way, Nestved said.
The city’s Arts Commision is dedicated to promoting the arts all year-round, but ARTober is something special to really promote it, she said.
For more information on the ARTober festivities, go to SantaClaritaArts.com.
