Artist Completes Murals at Each Anaheim Elementary School District Campus

Artist Carla Roque with her son and artist assistant, Sammy Roque.

Buena Park’s Carla Roque has recently completed her 23rd mural for the Anaheim Elementary School District, one for each campus in the district. In the coming school year, Roque plans on painting a second mural at each school.

Read more here.

Wearable ART Museum Launching

in Orange County

Ice Collar by Greg Orloff

WAM!, The Wearable ART Museum, is preparing for its launch right here in Orange County. Founder and Executive Director Lisa Berman describes the museum as, “the only non-profit cultural center on the west coast dedicated to wearable art, fashion, textiles, costumes and studio jewelry.”  

Read more here.

Murals Along Orange County’s Coast

A mural by Jody Williams and her 17 year-old daughter, Samantha Seguine. 

Voice of OC’s Erika Taylor has put together a stunning look at some of the murals that grace Orange County’s coastal cities in a recent article that appears in the independent, nonprofit journalism news site. 

To read the full article, visit: https://voiceofoc.org/2023/07/muraling-orange-countys-coast/?emci=c82c1e1d-521c-ee11-a9bb-00224832eb73&emdi=a8ad1642-c61c-ee11-a9bb-00224832eb73&ceid=190764

In Memoriam 

Nicolas Coster, well-known for his film and television roles, has died at 89. He starred in two world premiere productions on stage at Laguna Playhouse: “Mr. Shaw Goes to Hollywood” by Mark Salzman in 2003, and “And the Winner Is…” by Mitch Albom in 2006.

A veteran actor with more than 100 film and television credits, Coster’s film, television and theatre career spans decades. Among many other titles, Coster worked extensively on various long-running daytime soap operas.

Read more here.

Member Spotlight

Relámpago Del Cielo

The Santa Ana-based Relámpago Del Cielo has been entertaining audiences and making a difference in the community for nearly 50 years. Their mix of low-cost Mexican Folkloric dance classes for all ages, dance recitals, and local and international performances has brought them accolades from 46th Congressional District Representative Lou Correa, the City of Santa Ana and Disney. They are the featured group for the annual Disneyland Resort Holiday Show “¡Viva Navidad!” and the Disney/Pixar show “A Musical Celebration of Coco” for Día de los Muertos.

Relámpago del Cielo, which means “Lightning from the Sky” in Spanish, has hosted approximately 10,000 students over their 48 years, including studio classes, and after school programming at various schools, colleges and universities. They currently have almost 300 students enrolled in their program. 

For Artistic Director Marlene Peña-Marin, the organization also means family, passion, perseverance, love and pride to its participants. 

“To the community, I hope we have been a tool to educate all those that witness our performances sharing the heart and beauty of the Mexican culture,” she said. 

Relámpago del Cielo will be performing “Querido Mexico…” at the Musco Center for the Arts on Saturday, July 29 at 7:30 p.m. Their performance company will be joined by Mariachi Santa Monica. 

Visit https://rdcgf.org/ for more information about the organization. 

Welcome New ArtsOC Members

Arts Orange County is a membership organization. Our members help us forge innovative and effective collaborations, grow informed and active audiences and ensure that the arts are seen as essential to the emotional, physical, and economic well-being of our region. Our newest members are:

Ballet Project OC

https://www.balletprojectoc.org/

SoCal Ballet Scene

https://www.socalballetscene.com/

Pacific Vocal Series

https://www.pacificvocalseries.com/

Hope Center for the Arts

https://hope4arts.org/

Margaret Elysia Garcia

https://www.margaretelysiagarcia.com/

Scarlet Wu

Music Educator

Mr. Ramsey Andrijevich 

VP, Sr. Wealth Manager - Lido Advisors, LLP

For Membership information, contact Karen Ahola at kahola@artsoc.org

Tickets Available Now for the

Annual OC Arts Awards on October 17

This benefit evening recognizes and celebrates the arts organizations, artists and arts patrons in the OC community whose significant contributions during the past year, or over the course of a lifetime, have notably impacted the arts in Orange County. For tickets and more information, visit https://artsoc.org/events-and-programs/orange-county-arts-awards/

Requesting Submissions for “In Memoriam” at Arts Awards

ArtsOC customarily devotes a portion of its annual Arts Awards event to remembering those who passed during the prior year. This year's event is on October 18, and we invite you to submit for our consideration individuals who contributed to our OC arts community as artists, arts leaders, arts educators, and arts patrons. Please share with us a sentence or two about them and their affiliations and, if possible, an image. Send to rstein@artsoc.org.

We acknowledge with respect our presence on the ancestral lands of the Juaneño Band of Mission Indians - Acjachemen Nation and the Tongva People.