The Working Artists Ventura Artist Council invites all to share in the joy of art with a grand-scale art installation and live performance on Feb. 7 from 4:30-6 p.m.

To mark the occasion of the five-year anniversary of Working Artists Ventura, artists and community members from the greater Ventura art scene will participate in a commemoration including testimonies by artists, residents, and civic leaders. Their statements will be followed by a contemporary interpretation of a maypole ceremony accompanied by traditional folk music.

The art installation “Celebrate the Roots” consists of interior and exterior components. Inside the 35,000-cubic-foot gallery space, sycamore leaves stream down from the rafters on strings. The central motif in the open-air amphitheater is a 27-foot driftwood tree trunk topped with a rotating metal armature where brightly colored ribbons connect to the surrounding architecture. At ground level stylized chalk drawings of roots create a unique system of cardinal directions.

The installation will begin construction on February 1st with the raising of the driftwood trunk and later in the week the gallery will be open to the public on the evening of February 6th in conjunction with First Fridays Ventura. The final day to view the wrapped driftwood sculpture will be February 14th.

How to access the site: Where: Working Artists Ventura Entrance at 175 S Ventura Avenue near the corner of Thompson Blvd.

If parking, enter the gravel lot on the east side of Ventura Avenue and Thompson Blvd. For overflow parking continue west on Thompson and turn left at the stop sign onto S. Garden Street to secondary gravel parking lot on the right-hand side just under highway 101 bridge. Street parking may also be available.

About the Working Artists Ventura Artist Council (WAVAC) The Working Artists Ventura Artist Council is a not-for-profit arts organization committed to sharing the joy of art with the widest possible audience in our community and around the globe. By providing the highest caliber of art exhibitions, art training, and art events in our programming, the WAVAC serves artists and community by providing a range of activities that invigorate the greater Ventura art scene. Through vitality, innovations, and diversity, and an uncompromising commitment to artistic excellence, WAVAC fosters engaging multicultural experiences that inspire. For more information about the Working Artists Ventura Artist Council and to support future programming, visit www.wavartistcouncil.com.

About Working Artists Ventura (WAV) For over five years, Working Artists Ventura has offered affordable live-work housing and communal theater/gallery space to a vast array of artists. Today, over 77 artists representing 21 countries live and work in this unique artist village. The WAV development also offers supportive housing, luxury condominiums, and commercial spaces for businesses – all in one LEED certified complex. For more information about the Working Artists Ventura Community and to apply for a studio, visit www.wavartists.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Pete Ippel
Chairman
Working Artists Ventura Artist Council
pete@hypermodern.net
Mobile: 234-738-3278