Community members are invited to a special town hall meeting at city hall on Wed., Oct. 16, when members of the newly formed Cultural Arts Commission will solicit input from the public on plans to bring a new community arts festival to Malibu next fall.
Daniel Stern, a member of the commission, envisions the locals- oriented festival—to be called the “Splash Festival”—as an opportunity to showcase all of the artistic talents within Malibu’s borders.
“I’m looking forward to see- ing what is out there,” Stern said. “It is so much fun going on an art walk or going to an artist’s studio and seeing how artists work. This is a way for people to see arts culture that is in Malibu.”
Stern, an actor and sculptor, said the meeting, which starts at 6 p.m., is a chance for the commission to share with the community ideas the group has come up with to promote classical arts in Malibu.
“I really hope it is a great turnout,” he said. “It is really important to explain to our citizens, artists and businesses what is going on. All people can be a part of this.”
The Cultural Arts Commission, founded in February, grew out of a special arts task force, which formulated ideas on how to promote the arts in Malibu.
“We were trying to think, ‘What can we do for the artists of the city, for the city and for the people that enjoy the culture,’” he said. “We said, ‘Let’s start with what we have rather than something new. There are so many artists and art institutes, from the ballet companies to the Malibu Art Barn, the Malibu Stage Company, the Film Society…there is a lot of art culture here, we just need to expose it.”
Malibu is home to many specialists in arts fields including singing, dancing, theatre, poetry, painting and sculpting. Stern said Malibu is one of the artistic centers of the world, but a lot of people don’t know about it because none of the talent has ever really come together.
“The tricky part is how do you do an art walk in Malibu,” he said. “It is so spread out and there is not a gallery row. My studio used to be in Culver City where there was an enormous art walk.”
Nearby cities such as Santa Monica and Venice Beach have art events each year. The Malibu Chamber of Commerce holds the popular and annual Malibu Arts Festival each year.
The Splash Festival will be a tad different, though, in that it will be put on by the city government through the commission.
City Councilmember Laura Rosenthal said it is important to showcase the array of artists who live in Malibu.
“That should be job one,” she said. “We have so many talented people in this city and I am very excited to see how the Commission will highlight their work.”
The arts commissioners have kicked around ideas such as having a large tent in the Civic Center, with juried arts shows where Malibu artists can compete to show their work in city hall or public art places around town.
Poetry readings, art demonstrations, film shows, music and fine art displays would also be part of the mix. Stern said the commission also envisions other cultural events taking place simultaneously across the city, such as the Malibu Playhouse putting on a play during the festival.
“Whoever wants to participate or whatever art institution wants to participate, we are going to put your studio on a map, and we will give you a flag to put up to signal your studio is open,” Stern said. “It will be sort of a self-tour where people can visit different art studios.”
Rosenthal and Stern said since the planned start date of the Festival is still nearly a year away a lot of things still need to be done in order to showcase Malibu’s cultural arts.
“Funding and staffing have not been determined, nor have necessary approvals been given,” said Rosenthal.
Stern said now is the time for artists, businesses and community members to get involved with the commission and the festival.
“We had a great outpouring for the arts task force,” he said. “This is the start of the citizen participation for the Splash Festival. We are saying, ‘It is happening. Come and jump onboard.’”