Follow Your Art: A Guide to Artistic Sebastopol
Sebastopol is brimming with artists, musicians, actors, authors, dancers and creative thinkers. We are often considered the cultural center for west Sonoma County, and no wonder.
Visual Arts
Do we love murals in Sebastopol!
Walk west from the Plaza on McKinley Street and you will see the Coyote mural extending all along the north side of the Oddfellows Building. Painted as a community event, facilitated by muralist Dave Gordon, the mural depicts the ocean creation myth of the Pomo people who inhabited this area before the European settlers. You can see other murals on Edman Way (near the parking lot behind City Hall and the Library), such as Dana Vallarino’s “See the World in an Apple Seed.”
The Sebastopol Center for the Arts (SEbARTS)
Sebastopol Center for the Arts hosts community and international exhibitions throughout the year, like its yearly Abstract and Black and White exhibitions, as well as the biennial Fabric Arts show, bringing cutting-edge work to Sonoma County. In addition, SebARTS hosts two open studio tours a year where locals and visitors are invited into the workspace of Sonoma County artists. Art at the Source occurs in early June, while Sonoma County Art Trails takes place at the end of September. On these self-guided adventures, you can watch the artists at work, learn about their creative processes, and purchase art.
Art Galleries
There are numerous galleries of fine arts and artisanal works located in the historic downtown of Sebastopol, and at The Barlow, showing the best of local Sonoma County artists and fine artists nationwide and from around the world.
Folk Art
Folk art is alive and well in Sebastopol. Check out the whimsical sculptures of Patrick Amiot, whose neighbors on Florence Ave graciously host his “junk art” characters made from tea kettles and alarm clocks, gas cans and buckets. There you will find mermaids, the Mad Hatter, Babe Ruth, Batman, Godzilla and wild-eyed Pele (the Soccer Player).
Theatre Arts
Sebastopol is rich with theater offerings, both the live stage and in cinema. Located at the primary intersection of Main St. and Bodega Ave (Highways 116 and 12), Main Stage West offers live performances with a unique pairing of a wine tasting room in the lobby.
Rialto Cinemas, on the edge of the Barlow, provide access to art films as well as closed circuit broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera, the Bolshoi Ballet, London’s National Theater Live broadcasts, tours of famous museums, and a delightful Academy Awards Viewing Party.
The Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival is counted as one of the top 10 documentary events in the country with films presented from all over the world. The films cover topics from the light and entertaining to serious contemporary issues. Frequently the director, producer or a representative will be available after the screening to talk about the production and answer questions from the audience.
Music
You can find national and local bands, like Burnside (above), almost every night at different venues in Sebastopol. (Photo by Jason Baldwin)
You can find live music almost every night in Sebastopol. Peacetown, a unique Sebastopol institution, sponsors a musical extravanza with multiple stages every Wednesday night throughout the summer in the Barlow, and over the weekend wineries, breweries or local restaurants, like Hopmonk, come alive with live music of all sorts. The Sebastopol Community Cultural Center brings folk and acoustic acts from around the country, and Sebastopol Center for the Arts hosts concerts during the summer and a sing-along Messiah at Christmas.
So whatever your artistic interests, follow your art to Sebastopol. You’ll find lots of artistic activities, as well as like-minded artists and art lovers. It’s that kind of town.