Arts Devo

Art is in season Cool air, sunshine, maybe a coffee in hand (or a flask in pocket)—this fall weekend is shaping up to be an ideal one for art-walkin’ or art-bikin’, so it’s a good thing that every place in town has an art show. Seriously, is there any standing structure in Chico not showing art this weekend?

In addition to the current exhibits at local galleries and museums (see Fine Arts, page 24) there is:

• Open Studios Tour, with more than 60 local artists opening their spaces to the public on Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 19-20 and Oct. 26-27). This is the 30th edition of the Chico Art Center’s annual fundraiser, and you can pick up a tour map there while also checking out examples from all the participating artists at the gallery’s month-long accompanying exhibit.

• Fall Open Studios at Chico State, today (Oct. 17, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.). The Department of Art and Art History has opened the studios, galleries and labs in both Ayres Hall and the Arts & Humanities Building to show off the works of the school’s BFA and MFA students.

• Butte College Arts Open Studios Art Tour (and Create Space grand opening), Saturday and Sunday (Oct. 19-20, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.). Faculty and student art will be on display and tours of the new maker space will be given.

• Art & Wine Walk: The art is still there on display at 30 downtown Chico businesses (but I think the wine was just for the kick-off party earlier this month). Info on participating establishments at the Downtown Chico Business Association’s Art & Wine Walk page at downtownchico.com

• Arts DEVO’s arts pick: Two local purveyors of the macabre arts join forces this Saturday (Oct. 19, 6 p.m.) for a party at Blackbird. It’s a reception for Zak Elstein’s latest exhibit, featuring 17 of his shadow boxes filled with death and spooky lights, and a performance by Ken the Revelator (aka Ken Smith) and his own shadowy atmospheric explorations on theremin and other noise-making devices.

Check the credits Chico homegirl Mallory Schwartz is a producer, as in movie producer, as in the person in charge of getting a film made. And it’s not some film-student project; Schwartz is the producer for legit independent film Before You Know It, which screened at Sundance this year, was released in the U.S. this summer, and is coming to Chico’s Pageant Theatre this Friday (Oct. 18). The film stars Judith Light, Alec Baldwin and Mandy Patinkin and tells the story of a couple of adult women (Hannah Pearl Utt and Jen Tullock) who find out that the mom (Light) they thought died when they were young is actually alive and starring in a TV soap opera.

Schwartz was born and raised in Chico, was active in community theater and did hip-hop dance with Full Force Dance Co. (now Synthesis Dance Co.). She graduated from Pleasant Valley High School in 2008 and headed out to New York University, where she got her bachelor’s in Film & TV Production from the Tisch School of the Arts. Before she landed her first feature-length production credit, she worked at Saturday Night Live, was director of development for Baldwin’s El Dorado Pictures, and produced the Baldwin-hosted Match Game and The Alec Baldwin Show on ABC.

Meet Schwartz in person and pepper her with questions at the Pageant’s opening-night showing (7 p.m.), where she’lll be on hand for a post-film Q&A.