CommonGround: A Festival of Place-Inspired, Outdoor ArtWorks

CommonGround is a biennial festival of place-inspired, outdoor artworks hosted in locations throughout Santa Cruz County, in downtown plazas, on nearby beaches and forested hillsides, and at local landmarks.

Focused on temporary and performative public art projects in rural, urban, and architectural spaces, the 10-day event features site-responsive installations and interventions across the area’s natural and built environments, connecting people, stories, and landscapes.

CommonGround is a mostly free event. While the majority of works can be visited at no cost, there is a small admission fee to the MAH to view supporting exhibitions and installations.

Visit the CommonGround event page.

Artists & Schedule

The Pyramids
By Jim and Brighton Denevan
Cowell Beach
Sep 13–22 / FREE
Installation Dates: Sep 13–15, 8am-6pm
Sign-up to assist

Watermarks of the Last Chinatown
By Huy Truong, Susana Ruiz, and Karen Tei Yamashita
740 Front Street, Downtown Santa Cruz
Sep 13–22 / FREE

Monuments
By Craig Walsh
Evergreen Cemetery
Sep 13–22, 8–10pm / FREE
Portraits: Luna HighJohn-Bey, Jim Lorenzana, and George Ow, Jr.

Fathoming: Among Whales and Walls
By Angela Willetts
Davenport Jail
Sep 17, 19, 21 / FREE

Sep 17, 7:30–9pm, with guest artist Alicia Escott
Sep 19, 7:30–9pm, with featured artist Angela Willetts
Sep 21, 7:30–9pm, with guest artist Victoria Perenyl

Welcoming Our Relatives: The Kincentricity Garden
With Tribal Chairman Valentin Lopez
Garden Area, MAH
Sep 21, 1–2:30pm / FREE

I Belong Here
By Tavares Strachen
MAH
Aug 23–Dec 29 / $10 Suggested Admission

Young, Gifted and Black:
The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection of Contemporary Art
Solari Gallery, MAH
Aug 23–Dec 29 / $10 Suggested Admission

Of Love and Revelation: Learning Photography from the Land
Art Forum Gallery, MAH
May 24–Sep 29 / $10 Suggested Admission

Rising Tide
M.K. Contemporary Art
Sep 13–29 / FREE