Bonnie Carroll's Life Bites

The 2023 Young Artist Showcase is a continuing effort to further engage youth with the Santa Barbara Sister Cities.

For the last 34 years Sister Cities International (SCI) has sponsors an annual young artist showcase, encouraging youth from around the globe to express the mission of SCI through original artwork. Sister Cities International aims to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation – one individual; one community at a time showcases the importance of travel and exchange in achieving peace.

Theme: Peace by Piece: Food Security in My Community: The young artists & poets showcase encourages youth and member communities to submit innovative, thoughtful, and impactful creations that emphasize various aspects of food security including the impact ofclimate change on food production and food consuption, in their own communities. Poetry must not exceed 200 words - Submissions must be in English.

Artists must be between 13 and 18 years of age. The deadline to submit artwork is March 21, 2022. All entries must meet the criteria and guidelines listed below:

· Media accepted in this category include oil, acrylic, watercolor, charcoal, colored pencil, crayon, ink, marker, etching, collage, etc.

· Only two-dimensional (2D), unframed and no larger than 24 in. x 36 in. artwork will be accepted.

· All entries must be original and conform to Sister Cities International’s policy on plagiarism.

PRIZES: 1^st Place Winner - $250 * 2^nd Place Winner - $150 * 3^rd Place Winner - $100

Please make arrangements to deliver your entry to Garcia Architects, 122 E. Arrellaga St. Judging will take place on April 22, 2023 from 2-4 p.m. at 2215 Santa Barbara St. All artists are invited to attend. Questions: Gil Garcia (805) 689-2588 or gil@gilgarcia-aia.com

We encourage our youth to be creative and examine all aspects of this year’s theme, including:

· How has your community been affected by food security during floods, fires and the recent pandemic?

When describing their artwork in the application form, students are encouraged to discuss how their local communities and/or international cities are approaching this year’s theme. Students can talk about collaborative efforts between communities, give project examples, or explore areas of potential cooperation within the food security community. Descriptive paragraphs should be written by the student.

Lot's of new celebrity books on the market and some are actually very interesting and inspiring!

Check out the shelves of standard and new easy travel books to take along and enjoy as you go.

The Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture, in partnership with the City of Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara Public Library, is seeking applications for the position of Santa Barbara Poet Laureate for the 2023-2025 term. The deadline to submit applications is 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 24, 2023. To apply, complete the application and submit it along with supplementary materials by following the application guidelines.

The selected poet shall seek to advance awareness of, access to, and appreciation for poetry, spoken word, self-expression, and the literary arts within the greater Santa Barbara community.

As both a local resident and a civically engaged poet, the Poet Laureate shall uplift the artistic achievements of the City and local communities through active participation in ceremonial, educational, and/or cultural activities. To the extent possible, the Poet Laureate will also promote community awareness of the literary arts and encourage community members to develop their own creative interests. The Santa Barbara Public Library serves as the office of the Poet Laureate and is a major partner in the stewardship of the program.

Poets with diverse backgrounds, especially those from historically marginalized communities, are encouraged to apply.

Current Poet Laureate Emma Trelles’s term concludes in March 2023. In 2022, the Academy of American Poets named Emma Trelles, a Poet Laureate Fellow, recognizing Trelles’s work as a poet and commitment to making poetry accessible to the community. The award enabled Trelles to further develop the Mission Poetry Series, support the Gunpowder Press Alta California Chapbook Prize, and work with the Santa Barbara Public Library to host free poetry workshops and events, including SBPL’s upcoming Poetry Walks.

“It’s been an honor to serve our Santa Barbara community through poetry. The idea that poems are also a gathering place where everyone can both speak and listen to one another is at the center of my own writing and teaching practice,” Trelles noted. “I feel lucky to live in a city that values the art of language and how it can transform us in ways that fuel compassion and friendship. What I’ll remember most about my poet laureateship are the open-hearted people I’ve met, worked with, and learned from. It really has been an extraordinary experience.”

The city’s Poet Laureate is an honorary position established in 2005. The individual selected will serve a two-year term commencing in April 2023, for which they will receive a $2,000 honorarium to encompass all civic and official work performed or produced in the position. The Laureate may also be offered the opportunity to receive an additional stipend for serving as a ‘Poetry Out Loud’ Mentor.

As a spokesperson for the City’s literary community, the Poet Laureate shall endeavor to promote the artistic achievements of the City and actively participate in ceremonial, educational, and cultural activities in the community at various times throughout their term of service. The Poet Laureate also works with Santa Barbara Public Library to offer public programming.

“Santa Barbara Public Library is thrilled to partner with Poets Laureate to encourage creative expression and facilitate community connection through interactive programming that makes the literary arts more accessible to the community,” said Santa Barbara Public Library Director Jessica Cadiente.

The Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture is a Division of the County’s Community Services Department, serving as the local governmental umbrella for arts and culture projects and programs within the County. The Office represents a longstanding partnership between the County of Santa Barbara and the City of Santa Barbara. For more than 30 years, both governments have shared resources and staff to maximize support for Santa Barbara arts and culture institutions, programs, initiatives, and projects. For information, visit www.sbac.ca.gov.

The Santa Barbara Public Library is a department of the city of Santa Barbara and is dedicated to supporting education for all ages through classes and events, building a community of readers, empowering individuals with free access to information, and connecting people to community resources. For information, visit www.sbplibrary.org.

Announcing Call for Santa Barbara Poet Laureate Applications for 2023-2025 Term