The city’s vibrant arts scene will be on display as ArtNight Pasadena returns on Friday, October 18. The free event from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. offers access to 14 world-class arts and cultural venues throughout the city, highlighting the talents, depth and diversity of Pasadena’s creative community and arts institutions.
“This is a really important event, a citywide event,” said Sheryl Scott, Director of Communications and Operations at the Gamble House, one of the participating institutions. The Gamble House, an architectural gem, will open its doors for rare nighttime tours, offering a unique perspective on its Arts and Crafts design, accompanied by the improvisational jazz of Royal Flux.
Across town, the Light Bringer Project will present an outdoor installation, “Home: Where Your Heart Lives,” created by local artists and students from the Pasadena Unified School District.
The project’s managing director, Patricia Hurley explained: “We are creating the scenario of a home, and we’re having moments in each room that we create for a selfie or for an experience.”
The event’s diversity is its strength. At the Alkebu-lan Cultural Center, visitors can witness dynamic on-stage tap dancing, while A Room to Create will host kinetic dance performances by the Pennington Dance Group. The Pasadena Museum of History will delve into the city’s cinematic legacy with “Lights, Camera, Action! Hollywood Magic in Pasadena,” an exhibition featuring artifacts from movies, television, and music videos.
For those interested in contemporary issues, the Art Center College of Design will present “Seeing the Unseeable: Data, Design, Art,” exploring the impact of Big Data on daily life. This exhibition is part of Getty’s “Pacific Standard Time (PST) Art and Science Collide” initiative, which underlines Pasadena’s role in broader cultural conversations.
ArtNight emphasizes community engagement and education. The Armory Center for the Arts will showcase student artwork in “From the Ground Up,” encouraging visitors to participate in hands-on activities. At the artWORKS Teen Center, families can create sugar skulls and screen prints, activities designed to empower at-risk youth through artistic expression.
“ArtNight brings a lot of new faces through our doors!” said Kurt Rahn, Communications Director of Learning Works Charter School, which oversees artWORKS. “ArtNight is fun because it gives our students a showcase for their hard work.”
The event’s inclusivity extends to its logistics. Free shuttles will connect venues, and each location will offer Braille versions of the ArtNight brochure.
Some sites, including City Hall, will feature food trucks, turning the evening into a feast for all senses.
ArtNight Pasadena reflects the city’s cultural underpinnings. Smaller arts groups and individual artists can find support to participate alongside established institutions with support from the City’s Arts and Culture Commission through mini-grants.
With so much to experience, visitors are encouraged to plan their evening. For more information, including a full list of participating venues, visit ArtNightPasadena.org, available in English and Spanish.
