Two Mexican-themed exhibitions and a free family festival come to the this spring. 鈥淩afael Perea de la Cabada: Alien Heartland鈥� and 鈥淢exican Prints: Selections from the Gil Garcia and Marti Correa de Garcia Collection鈥� go on display Feb. 23 through March 31. The exhibitions open with a free public reception Thursday, Feb. 23, from 4-6 p.m.
鈥淒铆as de M茅xico: A Family Festival鈥� continues this celebration of Mexico鈥檚 vibrant culture with a day of fun activities, crafts, music, dance, storytelling, food and more on Saturday, March 24, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in and around the museum. The event and most of the activities are free and open to families of all ages.
鈥淎lien Heartland鈥� offers a retrospective of Mexican-American artist . Perea, who was born in Mexico City, spent the first half of his life in his native country before coming to California to earn a Master of Fine Arts degree in painting at UC Santa Barbara. This exhibition includes drawings, prints, paintings and sculptures made in both countries, exploring themes of contemporary Mexican-American culture. Perea鈥檚 abstracted, expressive artwork is held in museum and private collections in California, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and several countries in Europe.
鈥淢exican Prints鈥� showcases the holdings of local collectors Gil and Marti Correa de Garcia. The collection, which focuses on prints from the mid-20th century, emphasizes the vital graphic aesthetic of Mexico with work by artists including , , and others. Mr. Garcia is the lead architect of . He was a Santa Barbara city councilman for 10 years and has served on the boards of 90 non-profit organizations. He is on the board of Southern California Sister Cities International, past president of the United States/Mexico Sister Cities Association, and current president of the .
Mrs. Marti Correa de Garcia is the treasurer of the Santa Barbara/Puerto Vallarta Sister City Committee.
The 蜜桃传媒 Ridley-Tree Museum of Art is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, please call (805) 565颅6162 or e-mail museum@westmont.edu.