We really love the art installation of cardboard fish that talented local artist Matthew Mahoney made for Sea Rocket. He's currently finishing up his studies in art at Point Loma Nazarene University and has developed some intriguing new work for his Senior Exhibition. The show will be up at the Keller Gallery at Point Loma Nazarene University from March 15 - 18, with an opening reception on Tuesday, March 16 from 5 - 8. If you liked the fish as much as we do, please check out what this ambitious young artist is up to now…

At Sea Rocket, we're about getting to know our local land and culture. Skateboarding may not have much to do with food, but if you're looking for deep roots in San Diego, it's got 'em. Brian Fick will be showing his skateboard photography at Sea Rocket with an opening celebration on March 7th.

Brian and I started skateboarding around the same time in the mid-80s, but in different parts of the country. We both moved to San Diego in the early 00s and got to skate together a lot on the various vert ramps around the county. From there, Brian became a photographer and I got into small businesses. Our paths are crossing again on March 7th when we get to showcase his work at Sea Rocket.

Not just anyone can take skate photos the way Brian does. One of the reasons his photos represent skating so well is because he's also a damn good skater. Okay, I've never seen him land a tweeked out 540 indy, but I've seen him come really close. And not only that, he's got a big bag of tricks.

When you know what you're doing both behind the camera and on the board, the photos rise to another level. You're hanging out with the people who will make great subjects for your photos and you know what you want to look for. You know what angle captures the skating and the terrain the best. You know when it's worth it to keep shooting until you get the best shot. There's a lot more to it than that, I'm sure, from a photographic and artistic perspective, but I'd likely stick my foot in my mouth trying to describe it beyond my understanding of it as a skateboarder.

If you didn't know, San Diego has deep roots for skating. The first time rollerskate trucks were combined with a wooden plank was in 1947 by Peter Parken, a local San Diego surfer. By the 70's, there were skate parks in Spring Valley, Carlsbad, Vista, Escondido, La Mesa, and El Cajon, and in 1978, the legendary Del Mar Skateboard Ranch opened, the place where Tony Hawk got his start. Skateboarding died in the early 80's and Upland and Del Mar where the only two parks left. You had skaters from around the world buying one way tickets to San Diego and practically living at the skate park until it closed in 1987 because the property owners decided the park's clientele wasn't what would bring them the most money in the long term in terms of property value.

Skating went through ups and downs through the 80s and into the 90s. In the 90s, H-Street started in San Diego, including the amazing Danny Way, and then Plan-B grew out of that. Today, San Diego is so loaded with skate-related companies and the world's best skateboarders that it's mind blowing, especially for a skater who grew up in the boondocks.

On Sunday, March 7th from 4-10pm, we're celebrating Brian's photography work and our local skateboarding heritage at Sea Rocket Bistro. We'll be serving up some of our lunch food for dinner, so come enjoy sloppy joe's made with pastured pork, fish tacos with local, wild-caught fish, and other food and drink specials. It's going to be crowded, so if you want a relaxing dinner please come at 4pm right when we start serving.

Maybe some of us will meet up down at the Washington Street Park for a little pre-party session.

Hope to see you there!

Sea Rocket Bistro recognizes that it's located smack-dab in the center of a thriving creative community of artists and culture-makers. To better engage and be a part of the neighborhood, we're members of North Park for the Arts, a collective of North Park businesses and artists dedicated to the promotion of arts and culture in and around North Park. The group recently changed their name from North Park Nights to North Park for the Arts to emphasize that art is more than just an event or a party.

Here's a quick Art Rocks Radio interview with artist and owner of Pigment, Amy Paul, and Art As Authority founder Kevin Freitas, both members of North Park for the Arts.

And here's the press release announcing why the name change is so significant.

North Park Nights Announces
NAME CHANGE to NORTH PARK FOR THE ARTS
  
San Diego, CA (February 10, 2010) -- To better reflect the goals and unique place North Park Nights holds in the development of North Park's growing and diversifying neighborhood, it has been decided they will change their name from "North Park Nights" to "North Park for the Arts" (NPA). This change more accurately defines the group; a group of creative business owners, community members, and artists dedicated to maintaining and broadening North Parks' established arts and culture district. This change also reflects the need to move from an "event" based organization to one that is clearly focused on the marketing and support of North Parks' businesses and artists. "We exist to fund, promote and generally secure the safety of art in our neighborhood and ultimately our city" says NPA co-chair Amy Paul.

More than 30 San Diego Businesses have been working tirelessly for years as "Ray at Night" then as "North Park Nights" and now under the larger umbrella of "North Park for the Arts."  The group will continue to work together to host events in and around North Park organized by a collective of North Park businesses dedicated to promoting and retaining arts and culture in the neighborhood.

North Park for the Arts includes select businesses from the 805 freeway, and runs west along University to 28th Street. Many contributing businesses are also located along 30th Street from Polk on the north side, to Upas Street on the south end.

NPA is a community-based project supported in part by The San Diego Art Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to building arts and culture in San Diego.

This year NPA will launch the North Park Arts and Entertainment Guide.  Part walking guide to local art events and coupon book, part art-zine, it's a pocket size guide to accessing San Diego's premier Arts and Culture district.  In addition to highlighting the bustling art community, the guide will feature maps, coupons, calendar of events, and where to eat and shop North Park.
 
"This community is one of San Diego's many unique neighborhoods. It is mostly small businesses; almost all locally owned and operated creative organizations," explains NPA co-chair, Lea Caughlan. "By working together and truly supporting arts and culture, this neighborhood revitalization that has been happening over the last decade can continue its promotion as a community wide effort towards renaissance".
 
Contact Information:
Kevin Freitas, NPA Press Relations
Ph: 619.337.4891
Email: artasauthority@artasauthority.com
 
A little bit of history...
  
North Park has a strong group of working artists and galleries that are a source of cultural activity and community identity. Together with a growing number of local community-minded, environmentally responsible restaurants and businesses, they fuel the economic vitality that continues in the area despite the slow economy.
 
Times are tough for most Americans trying to squeak out a decent living and existence. Thinking about the necessity of art in our daily lives when we are looking for work or concerned about job security is not always easy to do nor, frankly, necessary. However, art and artists can make a positive impact on the general well being of a neighborhood and therefore are a necessary element to a community's growth and development. Cultural activity is a stimulating and therapeutic force in a depression. Artists, musicians, and performers organize events that attract and connect people, raise spirits, and facilitate problem solving and dialogue about what's on all our minds. This also gets us out supporting the restaurants and bars that in North Park are likely the unique creation of a local small business owner.
 
Retaining North Park's creative foundation during this tough time is imperative. Artists have always played a major role in community building. By establishing strong partnerships between artists, business owners and community members, we can maintain the integrity and economic health of the community. This collaborative work between residents, activists, business owners, teachers, and artists is pivotal to San Diego's ability to become a viable and sustainable art and culture destination. North Park Nights was the vision of a collective of artists and North Park businesses who came together two years ago under the auspices of North Park Nights, with a plan to promote North Park as a community of innovative thinkers and locally owned businesses, to sustain economic growth and to create concrete solutions for further developing the arts. As North Park develops, rent hikes are threatening the availability of artists' studio space, pushing artists out and disintegrating or at least decentralizing artists' networks.

Galleries are moving elsewhere, and the authenticity and cultural energy that made North Park interesting is dissipating. North Park Nights sought a new model to keep culture at the center through cross promotion and by opening up our business walls as high traffic exhibition space to give artists the exposure they need.
 
North Park is engaging a larger responsibility in the face of dark economic times- to ensure that everyone succeeds. To truly reflect a spirit of community collaboration, North Park Nights admits the need to grow beyond an event-based entity into a collective of members, artists and local businesses that will join forces under one name and one goal: North Park for the Arts, or NPA. While a name change may appear undermining or confusing, the impetus and desire to make North Park a vital arts district has never wavered. Our commitment to this community and its artists has never changed. While a name has been put to rest (it is after all just a name), large quarterly events are still scheduled and Ray at Night lives on. There is now a new hope that all of us will continue our individual endeavors while supporting a larger and more beneficial cause - to keep the arts and local businesses thriving and connected as one community. A new spirit of collaboration has been created and allegiances formed; won't you become a part of it?
 
About North Park for the Arts
 
NPA is a collective of north park businesses dedicated to the promotion of arts and culture in and around the neighborhood of north park.

Arts are the catalyzing force behind revitalization, and we believe that as a neighborhood we have the unique ability to serve this community by continued promotion, which in turn, encourages the growth and health of all businesses.

NPA is a community based project that has found a home as a program of The San Diego Art Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to building arts and culture in San Diego.

The growth and strength of a committed collective group of businesses, artists and community leaders has laid the foundation to set North Park and its artists apart from any other community. By radically changing the status quo and working together, our shared resources and shared success, will bring about a genuine renaissance.

North Park for the Arts (NPA), a community based organization
& program of The San Diego Art Institute, non profit organization.
SDAI is a registered 501c3 organization,
 all donations are tax deductible.

North Park for the Arts
www.northparknights.org (for now, new address to come)
Amy Paul
Co-Chair, NPA
amy@artbyamypaul.com
 

Last month the 30th on 30th kicked our butts. We got slammed on a Saturday night with twice as many customers as usual. So if you came that evening, we apologize for the lack of service. But fortunately life is full of second chances, and this Sunday, February 28th, we've got the 28th on 30th.

Restaurants up and down 30th street are offering specials. Ours will be a draft beer and a pastured pork sloppy joe for just 8 bucks. Looking forward to seeing you on the 28th. Cheers to second chances!