Costa Mesa’s ARTventure to bring art-making to the masses in weeklong format

Much more than an art show, Costa Mesa’s annual ARTventure lets locals get up close and personal with various media, encouraging them to get their hands dirty — and their minds elevated — by actively engaging in the creative process.

What began in 2015 as a three-day juried exhibition of work from visual artists throughout Southern California has since expanded into a weeklong celebration kicked off by a community arts day filled with hands-on activities involving ceramics, painting, music, dance and more.

This year’s event begins Saturday with the exhibition’s opening at the Norma Hertzog Community Center and community festivities on the nearby Lion’s Park lawn, all taking place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Costa Mesa’s ARTventure features a weeklong juried art exhibition of works, from artists throughout Southern California, on display at the Norma Hertzog Community Center.

(Courtesy of the city of Costa Mesa)

In addition to enjoying the show, participants will find art-making of all sorts going on, as organizations, including the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity, ceramics studio ARTime Barro, the city’s Mobile Recreation Program and local school art programs, host booths and lead live demonstrations.

Musicians and puppeteers will perform on two stages throughout Saturday’s community arts day.

Organizer Ashley Thomas, a senior recreation manager for the city, said back when ARTventure was held as a one-weekend event, artists in the exhibition continuously asked if there might be some way to keep the artwork up longer.

After the city completed renovations in and around Lions Park in 2021, the new community center provided the perfect venue for housing the pieces for a longer period.

Costa Mesa’s ARTventure, a juried exhibition of community art, takes place Saturday at the Norma Hertzog Community Center and Lions Park.

(Courtesy of the city of Costa Mesa)

“We’ve really activated it, and we’re getting bigger and bigger every year,” Thomas said Wednesday. “It’s really like three events, by the time you do the exhibit and the opening and closing days.”

More than 325 pieces of visual art, including 23 works submitted by area youth, will continue to remain on display on Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and then Monday through Friday, from 1 to 7 p.m. ARTventure officially culminates in a Sept. 21 awards ceremony for featured artists at the Orange County Museum of Art, from 6 to 9 p.m.

Musicians perform during Costa Mesa’s 2023 ARTventure event.

(Courtesy of the city of Costa Mesa)

Thomas said the annual tradition is a fun way for the city to celebrate its status as a City of the Arts, a designation granted by the Costa Mesa City Council in 1984.

“We want to dive into arts in the community and allow the community to experience the arts, and this event does a very good job of that,” she added. “We’re so heavily focused on local art and art businesses and local performers and art activities that it’s really turned into a beautiful community arts show. Sometimes we don’t realize how much we have in our little city.”

ARTventure is free and open to the public. Costa Mesa’s Norma Hertzog Community Center is located at 1845 Park Ave. OCMA is located at 3333 Avenue of the Arts, in Costa Mesa. Register online for the Sept. 21 awards ceremony at surveymonkey.com/r/3V6S2TV.

Each year, Costa Mesa’s ARTventure community day lets locals interact with visual and performing arts as part of a weeklong juried art exhibition.

(Courtesy of the city of Costa Mesa)