-San Diego’s most iconic art show returns to Balboa Park for its 8^th annual showcase-

Art San Diego, with presenting sponsor UBS Financial Services, is a four-day contemporary art show featuring an international slate of artists and galleries. The show will run from Thursday, November 3 to Sunday, November 6 at the Balboa Park Activity Center. The 2016 theme is [THRESHOLD]—standing at the precipice of what’s yet to come; perched on the brink of something extraordinary, expansive, and ever evolving. This theme will inform several of the special programs, including the LaunchPad Program, Art Labs, and the Spotlight Artist Program. As part of Redwood Media Group, Art San Diego is the city’s only contemporary fine art show and has become one of the leading cultural events in Southern California.

Photo Credit: Robert J. Hills / Art-SanDiego.com

“We are really excited to continue to grow the success that Art San Diego has already seen,” said Eric Smith, president and CEO of Redwood Media Group. “Every year, we incorporate new elements to ensure there is always something new for our attendees to experience—and this year is no different.”

The show features over 500 leading contemporary artists, museum exhibitions, art labs, events, and talks focused on collecting. Art San Diego will also launch the third exhibition of the Open Walls Project in October and November. This year, one artist will be chosen to create work that will go up on ten separate billboards, telling a cohesive story based on the show’s curatorial theme [THRESHOLD].

Art San Diego will also feature a special exhibition by the 2016 San Diego Art Prize recipients chosen by San Diego Visual Arts Network: William Feeney and Shinpei Takeda. Now in its 10th year, the SD Art Prize awards a cash prize and exhibition opportunities to established and emerging San Diego visual artists whose achievements merit the recognition. Feeney and Takeda will in turn choose two established artists to mentor them and to co-exhibit with at the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library.

The LaunchPad Program will feature Stefani Byrd, whose practice includes video, new media, and interactive technologies. She is most noted for her interactive temporary public art installations, which are hybrids of video and performance art that both disorient and re-orient the viewer. Byrd has received grants and support from groups such as Creative Capital of New York, Flux Projects, the San Diego Art Institute, the San Diego Art Fair, Atlanta Celebrates Photography, and Idea Capital. Her work is held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia and the Columbus Museum of American Art, and is also archived as a part of the Public Art Database project.

Founded in 2009 as the first and only contemporary art show in San Diego, Art San Diego is now an annual showcase, featuring not only San Diego’s most talented artists, but also leading artists from around the globe. The show has enriched the city each year with compelling site- and theme-specific art projects, art talks and panel discussions, a selection of dynamic and cutting-edge film, video and new media works, and a curated selection of emerging and spotlight artists. More than 60 galleries from the U.S., Canada, Europe, Latin America, and Asia will showcase paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, photographs, videos, and cutting-edge multimedia artworks during Art San Diego 2016.

One-day tickets for Art San Diego are priced at $20 online/$25 at the door for general admission. For opening night attendance, tickets are priced at $75 online/$85 at the door. Proceeds from the opening night ticket sales go directly to the Museum of Contemporary Art. For more information on Art San Diego, please visit www.art-sandiego.com.

SHOW HOURS:

VIP Opening Night

First Preview (UBS & Collectors Club/Invitation Only): Thursday, November 3, 2016 | 5 – 7pm

VIP Opening Night: Thursday, November 3, 2016 | 7 – 9pm

Open Show Days:

Friday, November 4, 2016 | 12 – 8pm

Saturday, November 5, 2016 | 12 – 8pm

Sunday, November 6, 2016 | 12 – 5pm

DATE:

Thursday, November 3^rd – Sunday, November 6^th, 2016

VENUE:

Balboa Park Activity Center

2145 Park Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92101

ADMISSION COST:

VIP OPENING NIGHT: $75 Online | $85 Door *Benefits the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

3-DAY GENERAL ADMISSION: $25 Online | $30 Door

1-DAY GENERAL ADMISSION: $20 Online | $25 Door

About Art San Diego

Art San Diego Contemporary Art Show, with presenting sponsor UBS Financial Services, takes place annually in November at the Balboa Park Activity Center in the beautiful Balboa Park. Art San Diego has emerged as one of the best-attended cultural events in southern California. Founded in 2009 as the first and only contemporary art show in San Diego, Art San Diego is a four-day art event that features more than 60 international galleries and offers dynamic programming that includes Art Labs, Art Talks, the LaunchPad and Spotlight Artist Programs, and the San Diego Art Prize. Art San Diego provides a focus on San Diego’s vibrant and diverse cultural art scene alongside an exciting collection of international artists and galleries. For more information, visit www.art-sandiego.com.

About Redwood Media Group

Since 2009, Redwood Media Group (RMG) has been revolutionizing the global fine art community by helping artists and gallery owners grow their businesses through fine art exhibitions and publications, art business education, mentoring, marketing, and social media. Today, RMG owns and operates six fine art shows: Artexpo New York, Spectrum Miami, Art San Diego, Spectrum Indian Wells, Art Santa Fe, and Red Dot Miami. Artexpo New York, the world’s largest fine art trade show for 38 years and counting, attracts more than 30,000 art enthusiasts every year, including 4,500 industry buyers. Spectrum Miami and RMG’s newest acquisition, Red Dot Miami, take place during Miami Art Week, an annual attraction that draws over 80,000 art collectors to the city. Over the past seven years, RMG has welcomed hundreds of thousands of visitors to their events, sold millions of dollars’ worth of art, and helped thousands of unrepresented and established artists launch or grow their careers. Aside from hosting multiple high-end art shows throughout the year, RMG also owns Art Business News and DECOR Magazine.

For more information, visit:

www.redwoodmg.com, www.artbusinessnews.com, www.decormagazine.com, www.artexponewyork.com, www.art-sandiego.com, www.spectrum-miami.com, www.spectrum-indianwells.com, www.artsantafe.com and www.reddotmiami.com.

***Some or all of the accommodations(s), experience(s), item(s) and/or service(s) detailed above may have been provided at no cost and/or arranged to accommodate this review, but all opinions expressed are entirely those of Merilee Kern and have not been influenced in any way as per the disclosure policy on our “Legal” page***