Arts & Culture

WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville High School community last year was shaken when a beloved three-decades old mural on the wall of the school’s cafeteria was painted over during a construction project. The move, directed by site administration and the district facilities department, outraged the artists involved in...

In late July of 2019, a large, four-panel mural by Peter Bartczak of Clown Bank Studios was hoisted up onto the side of the old Watsonville City Hall. The mural depicted a family of ducks, carefully crossing a street in a crosswalk in front of...

The Watsonville Buddhist Temple (WBT) is one of the Pajaro Valley’s oldest institutions, having served as a center for both religious worship and community service since 1906. Founded by immigrants who arrived in the Pajaro Valley toward the end of the 19th century, the temple...

This summer, the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH) will celebrate its 25th Anniversary.  While the museum has been shuttered for most of the pandemic, staff has stayed connected to the community through outdoor exhibits, social media engagement and other projects. No one...

https://player.vimeo.com/video/363839532 Cholitas: Five indigenous Bolivian women, or cholitas, set out to climb the highest peak of the Americas, Mount Aconcagua. 82 minutes. In Spanish & Aymara with English and Spanish subtitles. En español y aymara con subtítulos en inglés. Watch CHOLITAS_trailer or watch full film in...

The first phase of Pajaro Valley Arts’ (PVA) annual Moveable Murals exhibit has been installed in downtown Watsonville, and this year’s show brings something new into the mix. Now in its third year, Moveable Murals showcases local artists in public venues across the city. This...

Gabe Medina and Marcus Cisneros had no idea how quickly their new media company, Calavera Media, would take off during the pandemic. Having started as a loose collective of creators, working with colleagues from Digital NEST and the greater filmmaking community of Watsonville, they officially...

WATSONVILLE—April Bennett was only about 2 years old when she went up on a stage with her father, Steve Bennett for the very first time. Steve was in the house band at Roaring Camp Railroads in Felton for many years, and April would often join...

WATSONVILLE—How can art be exhibited in the time of Covid-19? Ask Watsonville artist Monica Galvan. Take it outdoors is her simple reply.  That’s part of the mission of Arte del Corazón, a Watsonville-based organization that has been staging open-air art shows around the city to...

Since the start of the pandemic, Cabrillo Gallery has had to adapt exhibits through its website and social media. But the gallery’s newest show, “Bearing Witness: Manifesting Black History from Photographic Archives,” is one that might not have existed outside a virtual format. “Honestly, it’s...