First Friday and a community painting day at Arts District Liberty Station

Find a new, favorite pastime and bask in the sun at Arts District Liberty Station this July. This vibrant arts and culture center will be holding a diverse array of experiences and activities this summer. Shop around at the new pop-up market at the North Promenade, nurture your reading skills at Reading Legacies of Visions Museum of Textile Art, groove to the beat at the Arts District Summer Music Series, and more.

FIRST FRIDAY

Check out the various art exhibitions, workshops, and more during this month’s First Friday at Arts District. You can view the entire lineup of events here with a highlight listed below:

· Faces By Miche just opened its doors in Arts District and welcomes the public to stop by for the Grand Opening Party on Friday, July 5 from 4-8 p.m. Located in studio 201 in Barracks 16, Faces by Miche believes art is therapy and the public is invited to stop by and maybe even create some magic.

· Mockingbird Improv is hosting a night full of laughs and improvisations. Starting at 7 p.m., Lyrics & Laughs will be a family-friendly show where vocal performances create the basis for improv scenes. At 8:30 p.m. Friday Night Flix kicks off with guests improvising movie scenes, followed by “All Hands On Deck!,” an improv game show meant for mature audiences, at 10 p.m. RVSP here for the show you wish to attend.

COMMUNITY PAINTING DAY

Join the community painting day and lend a helping hand to artist, Paola Villaseñor aka Panca, as she completes her Installations at the Station installation at Arts District Liberty Station. On Saturday, July 13 from 1-4 p.m., visitors will have the chance to get hands-on with art and add their unique touch to a vibrant mural that will be a lasting part of Arts District Liberty Station. Painters of all experience levels are welcome to stop by and are encouraged to wear clothing they don’t mind getting a little paint on.

BILINGUAL STORY TIME

Join Visions Museum of Textile Art for a Bilingual Story Time this July. Taking place every third Saturday from May to September, this month’s class on Saturday, July 20 from 10:15-11:45 a.m., will focus on quilting with the story of “The Quilt Story” in both English and Spanish translations. Following the reading, visitors are invited to craft their very own fabric collage. These monthly events allow community members to come together to celebrate cultural exchange, literacy, and artistic expression. The event is free and open to the public. This event was made possible with the help of funding from the NTC Foundation.

READING LEGACIES STORY HOUR

Reading Legacies will be holding its Monthly Family Story Hour from 3-4 p.m. on Saturday, July 20 on the first floor of Barracks 15. The event is free to the public and promises to be an afternoon filled with laughter, learning, and literary wonders. Reading Legacies encourages reading together with family and friends to facilitate supportive relationships. This month’s attendees will also receive a special coupon to Joyride Bookshop. The Story Hour will take place every third Saturday of each month through the end of the year.

GOOD FAITH MARKET

Attention all shoppers: there is a new market in town. Stop by the North Promenade on Sunday, July 21 from noon to 5 p.m. to shop for wares and art from local artists. As the latest collaboration between Good Faith and Arts District Liberty Station, the market will offer artists, small businesses, and vendors in the community a platform to showcase and sell their goods and services to a wider audience. This collaborative initiative seeks to further their mission to provide a nurturing environment for artists to develop, express themselves, and thrive, while also fostering a secure space for learning and creativity. The Good Faith and Arts District Liberty Station Market will return to North Promenade every third Sunday of the month through September.

SUMMER MUSIC SERIES

Get ready for the return of Arts District Summer Music Series every fourth Sunday of the month through September. This year, in honor of World Design Capital’s first binational designation of Tijuana and San Diego, Arts District will spotlight four bands celebrating a variety of Latin American genres. This month, Sonido de la Frontera will be taking center stage on Sunday, July 28. With music best described as a combination of Soundsystem culture, hip-hop production aesthetic, and the sounds of Latin America’s most prolific dance music, cumbia, the trio group induces the spirit of both culture and rebellion. The Summer Music Series takes place from 4-7 p.m. on the North Promenade. Attendees of all ages are invited to grab a picnic blanket and enjoy the free concert from the lawn, or indulge in refreshing beverages at Stone Brewing’s outdoor patio area while they dance along.

EMERGING ARTIST EXHIBITION

To wrap up her 18-month Emerging Artist residency in Arts District, Leslye Villaseñor is showcasing a solo exhibition in Gallery 201 titled Y lo que el viento no se lleva, en la tierra queda, culminating her time in Arts District. In this final showcase, Villaseñor presents a series of paintings capturing concealed objects and their surrounding landscapes. Drawing inspiration from items discovered in the Otay Valley Regional Park in South San Diego, the exhibition highlights cherished possessions left behind by the families of those who perished in the park. Each object bears a poignant narrative from its past, brought to life through Villaseñor’s evocative paintings. The culminating exhibit will be on display in Gallery 201 (2820 Roosevelt Road, 2nd Floor).

SUMMER CAMPS

· Milk Oolong Pottery: Learn skills on the pottery wheel, sculpting, hand-building, and surface decoration to create a variety of projects. Offering four different sessions, the Kids Pottery Camp classes through Aug. 9 from 9-11 a.m.

· Monart School of Art: Embrace your inner artist with half-day drawing and mixed media art camps. Weekly camps run through Aug. 9, each featuring a different theme including ocean fun, cartoons, amazing animals, fantasy and fiction, and more.

· San Diego Craft Collective: Kids are welcome to enjoy fun, hands-on projects in a specific area of interest including woodworking, game making, fiber arts, fashion design, sewing basics, and more. Weekly camps run through Aug. 16.

· San Diego Dance Theater: Hone your dance technique and learn from some of the best teachers in the area at SDDT’s annual Summer Workshop. The all-day workshops will run from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. from July 8 through July 19.

· The New Haven: Preschool camps in Montessori-inspired classrooms and an outdoor garden. Camps begin in July.

· Creative Academy of San Diego: Families and students ages 9-plus are invited to sign up for creative Sculpting (9 a.m.-noon) drawing (1-3 p.m.) and painting (4-7 p.m.) lessons at the ArtQuest Summer Camps. The weekly enrollment camps run through Aug. 10.

· San Diego Ballet School: Learn various dance techniques taught by experienced teachers in Ballet, Pre-Pointe/Pointe, Jazz, Character, Modern, Tap, and Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT). The weekly Summer Camps run from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. from July 8 through July 26.

NEW TENANTS

· Hawaii Fluid Art: The next time you’re in the Arts District, warmly welcome Hawaii Fluid Art, which opened their doors in Barracks 15. Devoted to offering artists of every skill level the chance to explore and acquire new artistic techniques within a semi-private environment, the new studio will offer various experiences to the public. Get crafty at a wide range of classes including Fluid Art, Resin Tumblers, Resin Beach Scene, Glass Painting, Mosaic Resin Frames, Hat Patching, and more! Visitors are encouraged to stop by.

· Data Science Alliance: With a mission to harness the power of data for the betterment of society, Data Science Alliance is another new addition to Arts District Liberty Station. The organization is eager to help nonprofits navigate the evolving tech landscape and aid in the responsible collection of data. They just opened their doors in at 2675 Rosecrans St. and are eager to share their knowledge.