Off Register Returns

After a successful debut last year, Off Register, Santa Barbara’s first-ever art book and print fair, returns on October 18. With more than 60 new and returning exhibitors from all around California and from around the country, as well as some international, this free, all-day event will include panel talks and discussions in the gallery space at CAW, screen-printing demonstrations and live screen-printing, and activities such as button-making with SBCC Graphic Design and zine-making with the S.B. Public Library.

Organized by James Van Arsdale (Associate Professor of Graphic Art & Design at SBCC), Kestrel Tseng (owner of Bird in Hand Press), Madi Manson (Owner of 506 E Haley / Loudflower), Garrett Gerstenberger (owner High Desert Print Co.), and Alex Lukas (Associate Professor of Print and Publication at UCSB), Off Register was born out of the organizers’ shared commitment to support and empower the creative community in Santa Barbara. “There is a thriving scene of DIY (do-it-yourself) and DIT (do-it-together) creatives who make zines; design and print shirts and posters; create RISO art; design and publish independent books; and more,” Van Arsdale said. “We want to bring all of these people together for a day of celebrating that scene, connecting people, and putting engaging and evocative work out there into the world.”

Tseng is looking forward to the great local art and community institutions that are joining them as collaborators and exhibitors, including Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, Slingshot/Alpha Art Studio, and Santa Barbara High’s VADA and Media Arts and Design academy students. “Being able to shine a spotlight on the wonderful work these institutions do in the community is an important part of helping maintain arts accessibility. 

“I hope that Off Register will continue to serve as a gathering space that fosters and supports the printmaking community in Santa Barbara, the Central Coast, and beyond. With so many aspects of our lives increasingly digitized, I think art book and print fairs like Off Register can serve as a much-needed gathering space where artists can connect with each other and the public,” she said.

Education remains a central focus for Off Register. According to Lukas, there are panel discussions that “are akin to a traditional academic festival or conference,” hands-on demonstrations that “are a great way of thinking about learning through making,” and also the ability to interact directly with makers, where visitors can “see work [they] enjoy, ask the creators about it, why they made it, [and] how they made it.”

For Van Arsdale, Off Register’s message is simple: to send visitors home feeling inspired. “There are so many challenges in our lives right now, these creative outlets are vital to our well-being,” he said. “The more art we put out into the world, the better. We hope everyone leaves Off Register with the inspiration to create, and hopefully they also enjoyed some good food and live music, too.”

Off Register takes place Saturday, October 18, at CAW (631 Garden St.) from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free. See offregistersb.org.

Editor’s Note: This story was updated to add two additional organizer’s names: Madi Manson (Owner of 506 E Haley / Loudflower) and Garrett Gerstenberger (owner High Desert Print Co.).