Laguna Art Museum Expands the Ninth Annual Art & Nature
Festival with Diverse Programming and New Exhibitions
Beginning November 4, visitors can experience a special keynote lecture, family festival, plus three new exhibitions that explore the art-nature connection.
(Left to Right) Rebeca Méndez, Any-Instant-Whatever. 2-channel looping video, captured in Los Angeles in winter 2019-2020.
Jessie Arms Botke. Macaw & Cockatoos. Oil and gold leaf on canvas mounted on panel, 1926. The Irvine Museum Collection at University of California, Irvine.
On Thursday, November 4, Laguna Art Museum will kick off the ninth annual Art & Nature, expanding this year’s festival with diverse programming for all ages, as well as three new exhibitions that will be on display into the new year.
The 2021 Art & Nature Festival will present the featured exhibition Any-Instant-Whatever by artist Rebeca Méndez, a keynote lecture by Dr. Daniel Lewis, the Dibner Senior Curator for the History of Science & Technology at the Huntington Library, the Art & Nature Gala, Family Festival, and two additional exhibitions A Fanciful World: Jessie Arms Botke and Sky Space Time Change.
Bold, decorative studies of exotic birds and flowers are the subject of Jessie Arms Botke’s most notable paintings. A Fanciful World examines work from different periods of Botke’s career and travels, including a magnificent 29-foot-long mural that once adorned the Oaks Hotel in Ojai, California. Sky Space Time Change presents paintings, prints, sculpture, and photography from Laguna Art Museum’s permanent collection curated as a compliment to this year’s Art & Nature featured installation, Any-Instant-Whatever. Like Mendez, many of the artists of Sky Space Time Change also looked up to Southern California skies, contemplating through their artwork the interconnections among physical, environmental, and cultural systems.
Art & Nature Festival Schedule of Events and Exhibitions
Thursday, November 4 Art & Nature’s featured installation Any-Instant-Whatever opens to the public during the First Thursdays Art Walk, as well as A Fanciful World: Jessie Arms Botke and Sky Space Time Change. Laguna Art Museum will offer free admission from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
The museum is proud to partner with Kelsey Michaels Fine Art, The Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach, the Community Arts Project at Wells Fargo, and the Suzi Q Senior Center who are each presenting nature-themed exhibitions in conjunction with Art & Nature.
Friday, November 5
Dr. Daniel Lewis, Dibner Senior Curator for the History of Science & Technology at the Huntington Library, Art Museum & Botanical Gardens, will give this year’s Art & Nature Keynote Lecture John James Audubon: Art, Nature and Science in the Nineteenth Century. Tickets are $25 for museum members and $30 for non-members, and can be purchased on the Laguna Art Museum website.
Saturday, November 6
Laguna Art Museum will celebrate nine years of Art & Nature with the annual Art & Nature Gala at the Sherman Library and Gardens. The Gala helps support Laguna Art Museum’s education programs and exhibitions of California art that are an important representation of the life and history of the state.
Sunday, November 14
Art & Nature fans of all ages can join Laguna Art Museum and its partners during the Art & Nature Family Festival from 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. The event will include fun, enriching hands-on activities and educational stations throughout the museum that explore art, climate, science, animal welfare, and environmental education. Admission to the Art & Nature Family Festival is free.
For more information about Art & Nature and Laguna Art Museum, visit lagunaartmuseum.org. To stay connected and learn about upcoming events, follow the museum on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Laguna Art Museum is the museum of California art. It collects, cares for, and exhibits works of art that were created by California artists or represent the life and history of the state. Through its permanent collection, its special loan exhibitions, its educational programs, and its library and archive, the museum enhances the public’s knowledge and appreciation of California art of all periods and styles and encourages art-historical scholarship in this field.
Laguna Art Museum stands just steps from the Pacific Ocean in the beautiful city of Laguna Beach. The museum is proud to continue the tradition of the Laguna Beach Art Association, founded in 1918 by the early California artists who fostered a vibrant arts community. The gallery that the association built in 1929 is part of today’s Laguna Art Museum.
For more information, please visit www.lagunaartmuseum.org
Location
Laguna Art Museum is located at 307 Cliff Drive in Laguna Beach, on the corner of Coast Highway and Cliff Drive.
Hours
Monday – Tuesday, Thursday – Sunday: 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Closed Wednesdays
Closed Fourth of July, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day
Laura Lanzi
PR & Marketing Specialist
