This edition of ON Culture was originally emailed to subscribers on November 7, 2025. To receive Leslie Dinaberg’s arts newsletter in your inbox on Fridays, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.
ON the Stage
The Santa Barbara Bowl season ended on Tuesday with a rocking evening of beards and boogying from ZZ Top. But have no fear, the Goldenvoice crew is busy planning next season and have already announced that Rainbow Kitten Surprise will be in town on Sunday, July 19, with special guest Spacey Jane. I saw them at Ohana Festival in September, and can’t wait to see Ela Melo and her fab crew take the stage here, with their high energy and eccentric yet poetic stylings. Tickets are now on sale here.
There’s lots of great theater coming our way, but the most highly anticipated show for me is Jagged Little Pill, which Out of the Box Theatre Company is bringing to Center Stage November 14-23. Based on Alanis Morissette’s album with the same title, with a book by Diablo Cody (Juno, Young Adult), I’ve been wanting to see this show since it hit Broadway in 2019, and now I’ve finally got the chance. Maggie Yates has the scoop here.
ON the (Big) Screen
Santa Barbara International Film Festival always does a fabulous job getting A-list stars, but this year’s Virtuosos Awardees are truly next level. They had me at Jacob Elordi, but the Frankenstein star will be joined on February 8 by Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another), Amy Madigan (Weapons), Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent), Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value), Sydney Sweeney (Christy), Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another), and Jeremy Allen White (Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere), will discuss their work and receive their awards in person on Sunday, February 8, at the Arlington.
Tickets for this one are sure to sell out, so get yours now at sbiff.org.
ON the Walls
For anyone who’s ever thought that flower art is cliched, Sullivan Goss is shaking things up with their new exhibit IRRESISTIBLE: Flowers & Their Admirers. Featuring work by a wide range of artists including Joseph Goldyne, the celebrated painter and printmaker; J. Bradley Greer; sculptor James Haggerty; the late artist Ellsworth Kelly, whose floral drawings celebrate form; ceramic sculptor Yassi Mazandi; the renowned Hank Pitcher; Blakeney Sanford’s photographs from her Portal Series and many more. As Gallery Director Jeremy Tessmer told me, “It’s a really good show about the idea that flowers are nature’s peak form of seduction; so much so that even sophisticated artists can’t resist them.” See it at Sullivan Goss Gallery through December 28.
A piece of surf history is now on the wall of Santa Barbara Maritime Museum as a special gift from Gary Simpson in honor of Executive Director Greg Gorga. The autographed surfboard from the 2008 world premiere of Bustin’ Down the Door — the acclaimed surf documentary narrated by Edward Norton and directed by Jeremy Gosch, chronicling the surfing revolution of 1975, when groundbreaking Australian and South African surfers challenged the status quo in Hawai‘i — is now on view as a new exhibit. The film had its debut at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on January 27, 2008, at the Arlington Theatre, followed by an after-party at SBMM, where the surfboard — shaped by the legendary Al Merrick of Channel Islands Surfboards — was signed by iconic surfers Ian “Kanga” Cairns, Peter “PT” Townend, Shaun Tomson, Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew, and Mark “MR” Richards.
Renowned artist Maurizio Barattucci, whose rich career spans more than six decades and bridges continents, cultures, and disciplines, has a solo retrospective exhibition titled Maurizio Barattucci: Observation, Reflection, Response currently on view at the Community Arts Workshop (CAW) through Saturday, November 15. Curated by Rebecca Zendejas from an extensive archive of work — many pieces are on view for the first time — the exhibit offers a broad overview of Barattucci’s artistic journey, reflecting the spiritual essence of nature and humanity through printmaking.
Born in Rome in 1939, Barattucci’s early artistic promise was recognized through awards and exhibitions in his native Italy before his emigration to the U.S. in 1956. In 1970, Barattucci co-founded a professional print shop in Redondo Beach. He played a pivotal role in establishing the L.A. Printmaking Society, serving on the board until his relocation to Santa Barbara in 1975. He taught figure drawing, painting, and printmaking at El Camino College and later Santa Monica College, where he served as Art Department chair and dean of the Arts before retiring in 2008. Barattucci was represented by renowned international art dealer Oscar Salzer for more than 55 years. His work has been widely exhibited across the U.S. and Europe, with solo shows at institutions including California State University, Long Beach, St. Lawrence University, University of Colorado Boulder, and USC. His prints and paintings have won numerous awards and are held in many permanent collections.
ON the Awesome List
The City of Santa Barbara recently awarded more than $240,000 in Cultural Arts Grants to 32 local nonprofit organizations as part of its mission to catalyze artistic innovation, expand access to the arts, and strengthen Santa Barbara’s cultural vitality. Congratulations go out to these Organizational Development Grant Recipients: ARTSPACE Inc. (Center Stage Theater), Children’s Creative Project, Creative Netwerk, Explore Ecology, Flamenco Arts Festival, Gunpowder Press, Notes for Notes, Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative, Santa Barbara Choral Society, and Santa Barbara Gay Men’s Chorus. Also to the following Community Arts Grant Recipients: Gateway Educational Services, Hillside House Inc., Mental Wellness Center, MOXI – The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation, Music Academy of the West, Santa Barbara Asian American Pacific Islander Solidarity Network, Santa Barbara Chamber Players, Santa Barbara Dance Institute, Santa Barbara Symphony, Santa Barbara Transgender Advocacy Network (SBTAN), Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, Santa Barbara Vocal Jazz Foundation, and Tomato Theatre Company. And finally to the Community Events & Festivals Grant Recipients: Brandwell Arts, Ceylon International Film Festival Foundation, eji event co. (Coffee Culture Fest), Elings Park Foundation, Grace Fisher Foundation, La Piazza Inc., Parks and Recreation Community Foundation (Arts in the Open at Plaza del Mar), Santa Barbara Police Activities League, and Santa Barbara Chinese School.
ON the Web
“One man’s trash is another man’s career” is the tagline for Roberto Varela’s charming short film about assemblage artist Dan LeVin. Titled “Objects of Curiosity: The Art of Dan LeVin,“ it’s an interesting dip into what makes Dan tick. Now you can watch it on YouTube here.
ON the Calendar
Coinciding with its one-year anniversary, the inaugural Ojai Playhouse Film Festival runs November 11-16, featuring a curated selection of internationally acclaimed films. Films include festival favorites How To Shoot A Ghost, The Testament of Ann Lee, Cover-Up, The Secret Agent, Mirrors No. 3, Nouvelle Vague, No Other Choice, Seeds, Hamnet, Sirat, Arco, A Poet, Ghost Elephants, The Chronology of Water, F**ktoys, Mad Bills To Pay, Silent Friend, and Sentimental Value. Full festival lineup details, along with additional fall, winter, and holiday programming are available on the Ojai Playhouse website.
Ojai’s film offerings are quite impressive. Currently taking place November 6-10 is The Ojai Film Festival, now in its 26th year. See our story about the festival here.
For a complete calendar of events this week and beyond, visit independent.com/events/.
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