What do haircuts, art galleries, drum circles, and walking all have in common?
According to the San Luis Obispo County Arts Council, they’re all part of the foundation’s effort to enhance a familiar event with an exciting new twist.
“Art After Dark is a free self-guided art walk that occurs monthly on the first Friday of the month from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.,” SLO Arts Council Program Coordinator Summer Truschke said. “Visitors can experience paintings, demonstrations, performances, and readings all within the same evening.”
And now, Truschke said, the council is collaborating with R.A.C.E. Matters San Luis Obispo’s hair salon, Texture, to celebrate local artists and Black History Month.
The launch event, taking place at Texture on Feb. 2 as part of Art After Dark, will feature a digital gallery of works by local Black artists alongside hip-hop and Black history “visuals and conversation starters,” according to event materials.
The hair salon, located at 474 Marsh St. in SLO, opened last year serving as part of R.A.C.E. Matters SLO’s efforts to bring in hair stylists who could cut and fashion Black and multicultural hairstyles often not catered to or handled by local salons.
But it’s the second part of the event that Truschke is personally excited about.
“At 5:30 p.m. and 7 p.m., local musician and educator Tracy Morgan will be leading drum circles that are open to the public,” she said. “Anyone who wants to join in can, as there is no sign-up required and the only thing we are asking for is potential donations to help keep things like this happening at our events.”
The Black History Month event was a natural collaboration, Truschke said, because the goals of both R.A.C.E. Matters SLO and the SLO Arts Council are to get people talking about art and its impact.
“The event not only invited people to meet and connect but offered artists to have a low-barrier opportunity to shareāand sometimes even sellātheir work,” she said.
The salon serves as the kick-off event’s host, Truschke said, and it will be a focal point to continue celebrating multicultural and cross-art events.
Local businesses like The Bunker Art Gallery, Ceremony Skate Shop, and many more art galleries and businesses are lending a hand to what Truschke described as the Arts Council’s effort to grow the Art After Dark program.
“We recognize that the program is a long-standing community-building event in SLO,” Truschke said. “So using it as a foundation, we’ve planned out four bigger events throughout the year to continue getting the word out and let people know it is still alive and thriving.”
She said the event struggled over the past few years, but a strong turnout in 2023 inspired the SLO Arts Council to explore these new horizons.
“Art After Dark took a big hit in the pandemic when the community could no longer go out and walk,” Truschke said. “But we saw the interest in participation in Art After Dark growing during 2023, so we wanted to create a series of events to build on the energy our community has with engagement in the art sector.”
She’s hopeful this launch event will inspire other local businesses, galleries, and organizations to reach out to her and the SLO Arts Council and join the growing number of groups that support Art After Dark.
“Any business in SLO County can host Art After Dark,” Truschke said. “I would encourage the community in general to visit our webpage and look over the virtual map on the first Friday of each monthāthere’s always an exceptional variety of things to experience in several different neighborhoods.” Ī
Staff Writer Adrian Vincent Rosas is playing air drums right now. Play along with him at arosas@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Feb 1-11, 2024.