‘The Recycled Show 2025: A No-Waste Art Exhibit’ Opens at the Community Arts Workshop
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(SANTA BARBARA, CA, March 6, 2025) – The Recycled Show 2025: A No-Waste Art Exhibit returns to the Community Arts Workshop (CAW) for the second year in a row.
Curated by Rebecca Zendejas and dedicated in fond memory of original exhibit organizer and curator Jami Joelle Nielsen, the exhibition will be on view from Friday, March 28 through Wednesday, April 2, 2025, and will address environmental concerns with artworks conjured from a wide range of materials typically destined for the landfill. Several regional artists have been asked to create works of art centered on an environmental issue of their choice, with an accompanying narrative regarding the significance of their chosen environmental concern. Artists will confront important environmental issues such as climate change, species extinction, fast fashion, pollinator crisis, wildfires, tech waste, landfill waste, ocean plastics/pollution, and deforestation through their work.
Participating artists include: Wendy Brewer, Adrienne De Guevara, Kimberly Hahn, John Khus, Kathy Leader, Michael Long, Pali-X Mano, Heidi Parker, Irene Ramirez, Karen Sloane, Dug Uyesaka and Sue Van Horsen and Pamela Zwehl-Burke.
The exhibit will also feature several works of art by Jami Joelle Nielsen, whose own practice as a recycled-object artist prompted her to create the inaugural Recycled Show: A No-Waste Art Exhibit at the CAW (which was formerly a recycling center) in 2024. The vision for this show began taking shape in 2014, when Jami organized and curated the No Waste Earth exhibit at Art From Scrap.
The opening reception on Friday, March 28, from 5-9 pm, will showcase the artists’ upcycled creations, and offer an array of interactive experiences, including ecologically-themed craft activities with Art from Scrap and Ecostiks, typewritten poetry, and the community creation of a “No-Waste Mandala.” Several local environmental organizations will be on hand, and light refreshments will be provided. Artwork will be available for purchase, with a portion of sales supporting the CAW.
“Jami’s Recycled Show is exactly what the CAW is all about. A show created by the passion of a community artist, reflecting their love for art and their desire to make the community and the world better; made possible by the help of people throughout our community, and by this space. Jami’s death earlier this year was a shock and a tragedy. I am so glad that friends of Jami and CAW volunteers are coming together to bring the Recycled Show forward in her honor. It helps me know that while Jami may have passed away from us, her love and her passion carry on.”said Casey Caldwell, Executive Director of the Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative, about the event.
Gallery hours at the Community Arts Workshop, located at 631 Garden St., are on Saturday, March 29 and Sunday, March 30 from 12-4pm, or by appointment on March 31-April 2. The event is free to the public. Please call the CAW at (805) 324-7443 to make an appointment to view the exhibition. For further information, please visit www.sbcaw.org.