Art About Agriculture, the popular pastoral art show presented annually by the Ag Art Alliance, will mark its twelfth anniversary this year with a fresh crop of 67 artworks that will be on view at the Santa Paula Art Museum from November 9, 2019 through March 8, 2020. The twelfth annual Art About Agriculture will feature artworks by 58 different artists that portray the beauty and bounty of agriculture in scenes ranging from fields, farmworkers and food to animals, barns and backroad vistas. All of the artworks on display will be for sale. The show will open with a premiere party on Saturday, November 9, 2019, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The cost of admission to the premiere is $10.00 for museum members and $15.00 for non-members.
Art About Agriculture is presented annually by the Ag Art Alliance, a collective formed in 2007 by photographer John Nichols and painter Gail Pidduck. The purpose of the exhibit is to promote awareness of agriculture by exploring its many facets through art - from workers to water, from machinery to fields, to the food that goes on our plates. When John and Gail hung their first exhibit of art about agriculture twelve years ago, they knew that Ventura County would be fertile ground for it and future exhibits centered on the diverse aspects of agriculture. They sensed that the general public would appreciate having a better understanding of the complex topics and issues that affect our local landscape. Art is valuable in getting people to stop and look, to think more deeply, and eventually to grow and change. An unexpected joy for Nichols and Pidduck has been to watch the number of artists who choose to approach agriculture as a subject continue to grow each year. Art About Agriculture is about artists and museums working together to improve the planet.
Among the 67 artworks on display will be one created through the Santa Paula Art Museum’s first-ever "Artist in Agriculture Residency." The purpose of the residency is to give artists opportunities for meaningful interactions on-site in agricultural locations in our community. This year, artist Lissa Corona spent time learning the history of Limoneira Ranch, the deep family connections her family has to Limoneira, and the profound impact that agriculture has had on so many family histories and dynamics. The Artist in Agriculture Residency is generously funded by a grant from the Limoneira Foundation.
The twelfth annual Art About Agriculture exhibition will feature art by Abiam Alvarez, Ramona Andrews, Virginia Beale, Steven Beers, Christine Beirne, Marcy Belton, Sharon Butler, Shannon Celia, Lissa Corona, Kit Boise-Cossart, Karen Scott Browdy, Kent Butler, Duane Dammeyer, Natalie Dark, Bruce Everett, Stephanie Fielden, John Fielder, Marian Fortunati, David Gates, Kevin Gleason, Jan Godachy, Wendy Gordin, Debbi Green, Patti Handfinger, Lynn Hanson, Ray Harris, Bob Hernandez, Kathleen Ikerd, Gabriel Islas, Linda Tyler Kidd, Doris Kleemann-Fischer, Chuck Kovacic, Beverly Lazor, George Lockwood, Lisa Mahony, Didi Martin, Julie Merrill, Joe Milazzo, Charlene Miller, Dorothy Orr, Susan Petty, Marnie Piuze, Anette Power, Michelle Prebble, John Robertson, Victor Schiro, Dan Schultz, Teresa Shields, KC Spink, Pamela Strautman, Patricia Prescott Sueme, Todd Swart, Cal Tabuena-Frolli, VaRouge Von Bedikian, Trevor Michael Walker, Nina Warner, Chris Zambon, and Kay Zetlmaier.
HEADER IMAGE: “Roadside Attractions in Fillmore” by Lisa Mahony, oil on linen panel.