Upcoming Events
Muse Markets: Downtown Trade Show
On July 12-13, 2025, Muse Markets returns with its largest event yet: a two-day Downtown Tradeshow celebrating Central Coast’s creative pulse. Held in the iconic two-story former Ross building in the heart of downtown San Luis Obispo, the event features over 75+ independent brands, immersive art installations, DJs, and live music across two curated floors.
Muse Markets: Downtown Trade Show
On July 12-13, 2025, Muse Markets returns with its largest event yet: a two-day Downtown Tradeshow celebrating Central Coast’s creative pulse. Held in the iconic two-story former Ross building in the heart of downtown San Luis Obispo, the event features over 75+ independent brands, immersive art installations, DJs, and live music across two curated floors.
The Dignity of Labor Exhibition Preview and Fundraiser
Celebrate the opening of this new exhibition by Warren Chang with an evening of fine art, wine, and community. The Gallery AG invites you to a special evening celebrating our farm and vineyard workers. Guests will have the opportunity to meet the artist, enjoy a gourmet buffet, sip fine wines, hear live music by guitarist Manny Mestas.
The Dignity of Labor Exhibition Opening Special Event: Meet the Artist
The Gallery AG is proud to present The Dignity of Labor, a powerful and evocative exhibit by acclaimed California artist Warren Chang. Meet the artist in person at this special event, and engage in an afternoon of conversation, insight, and storytelling.
Creative Quills Monthly Open Mic Poetry Reading
Creative Quills Poetry Reading Collective fosters a supportive and inclusive environment, providing a platform for local aspiring, amateur, and published poets to share their creative works. Poets meet in the garden at Top Dog Cafe Bar every 3rd Sunday of the month for an afternoon of open mic poetry.
Sign up to read in the garden or contact Elley at creativequillsmb@gmail.com.
Art Talk Series: MT Vallarta
Free art talk by poet and professor MT Vallarta. "Toward a Mad Filipinx Poetics" will explore the incisive potentialities of Filipinx poetry, where "madness" is approached not only as mental illness, but as the subversive, transgressive, and imaginative techniques Filipinx artists use to survive, thrive, and critique dominant power structures. This talk will examine why poetry is essential to resistance movements, and how "madness" becomes an invitation to engage with the unruly, disorderly, and the unthinkable—to dream new worlds and modes of social organization where racism, imperialism, homophobia, and transphobia are dismantled. Through a reading, discussion, and writing exercise, we will be invited to think and write madly together!
Art After Dark
Art After Dark is the FREE event where art, culture, and community come to life!
Colors of Conservation: Original Paintings of Preserved County Lands
The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County and SLOPE (San Luis Outdoor Painters for the Environment) announce “Colors of Conservation 2025,” an annual exhibit of original landscape paintings of our precious open spaces, historic ranch lands, waterways, and coastal areas.
Colors of Conservation: Original Paintings of Preserved County Lands
The Land Conservancy of San Luis Obispo County and SLOPE (San Luis Outdoor Painters for the Environment) announce “Colors of Conservation 2025,” an annual exhibit of original landscape paintings of our precious open spaces, historic ranch lands, waterways, and coastal areas.
Creative Quills Monthly Open Mic Poetry Reading
Featured poets for August are Misty Wycoff and Juan Luzuriaga, who will each red before the open mic portion commences. Everyone is invited to share!
Creative Quills Poetry Reading Collective fosters a supportive and inclusive environment, providing a platform for local aspiring, amateur, and published poets to share their creative works. Poets meet in the garden at Top Dog Cafe Bar every 3rd Sunday of the month for an afternoon of open mic poetry.
Sign up to read in the garden or contact Elley at creativequillsmb@gmail.com.
Arts Around Us: The Many Paths of the Culinary Arts
Studios on the Park is excited to announce a free presentation in collaboration with Chef Gail Cayetano Classick, Chef Candice Custodio, and Jessie Wesch in part of the “Arts Around Us” program. These three experts will be discussing the different pathways they are using to inspire the community with their love of food.
2nd Annual Artisan Market
August 23rd, 10am to 4pm is the 2nd annual Artisan Market featuring 20+ local artists. Enjoy the peaceful lakeside patio setting at Fit Forever Gym in Cypress Ridge on Arroyo Grande Mesa.
Art After Dark
Art After Dark is the FREE event where art, culture, and community come to life!
Art Talk Series: Robin Smith
Free art talk by documentary filmmaker Robin Smith. Robin Smith has used film to tell stories for more than 30 years. She is the producer, director, cinematographer and editor on her films. Robin also has an EMMY award and a few other accolades.
Creative Quills Monthly Open Mic Poetry Reading
Creative Quills Poetry Reading Collective fosters a supportive and inclusive environment, providing a platform for local aspiring, amateur, and published poets to share their creative works. Poets meet in the garden at Top Dog Cafe Bar every 3rd Sunday of the month for an afternoon of open mic poetry.
Sign up to read in the garden or contact Elley at creativequillsmb@gmail.com.
Art After Dark
Art After Dark is the FREE event where art, culture, and community come to life!
27th Annual Open Studios Art Tour: Weekend 1
The San Luis Obispo County Open Studios Art Tour, a program of SLO County Arts Council, takes place each year over two weekends in October, National Arts and Humanities Month. Free to the public, fine artists and crafters open their studios to showcase their art and share their processes. Visitors create their own self-guided tours using the catalog of participating artists.
Visiting studios during the tour gives you the chance to interact with artists on an intimate level and go deeper into their process, all while traveling around the landscapes and communities that inspire their work!
The 2025 tour takes place from 10am to 5pm over the weekends of October 11-12 and October 18-19.
Learn more and find out how to get a catalog of participating artists at slocountyarts.org/osat.
27th Annual Open Studios Art Tour: Weekend 1
The San Luis Obispo County Open Studios Art Tour, a program of SLO County Arts Council, takes place each year over two weekends in October, National Arts and Humanities Month. Free to the public, fine artists and crafters open their studios to showcase their art and share their processes. Visitors create their own self-guided tours using the catalog of participating artists.
Visiting studios during the tour gives you the chance to interact with artists on an intimate level and go deeper into their process, all while traveling around the landscapes and communities that inspire their work!
The 2025 tour takes place from 10am to 5pm over the weekends of October 11-12 and October 18-19.
Learn more and find out how to get a catalog of participating artists at slocountyarts.org/osat.
27th Annual Open Studios Art Tour: Weekend 2
The San Luis Obispo County Open Studios Art Tour, a program of SLO County Arts Council, takes place each year over two weekends in October, National Arts and Humanities Month. Free to the public, fine artists and crafters open their studios to showcase their art and share their processes. Visitors create their own self-guided tours using the catalog of participating artists.
Visiting studios during the tour gives you the chance to interact with artists on an intimate level and go deeper into their process, all while traveling around the landscapes and communities that inspire their work!
The 2025 tour takes place from 10am to 5pm over the weekends of October 11-12 and October 18-19.
Learn more and find out how to get a catalog of participating artists at slocountyarts.org/osat.
27th Annual Open Studios Art Tour: Weekend 2
The San Luis Obispo County Open Studios Art Tour, a program of SLO County Arts Council, takes place each year over two weekends in October, National Arts and Humanities Month. Free to the public, fine artists and crafters open their studios to showcase their art and share their processes. Visitors create their own self-guided tours using the catalog of participating artists.
Visiting studios during the tour gives you the chance to interact with artists on an intimate level and go deeper into their process, all while traveling around the landscapes and communities that inspire their work!
The 2025 tour takes place from 10am to 5pm over the weekends of October 11-12 and October 18-19.
Learn more and find out how to get a catalog of participating artists at slocountyarts.org/osat.
Creative Quills Monthly Open Mic Poetry Reading
Creative Quills Poetry Reading Collective fosters a supportive and inclusive environment, providing a platform for local aspiring, amateur, and published poets to share their creative works. Poets meet in the garden at Top Dog Cafe Bar every 3rd Sunday of the month for an afternoon of open mic poetry.
Sign up to read in the garden or contact Elley at creativequillsmb@gmail.com.
Art After Dark
Art After Dark is the FREE event where art, culture, and community come to life! Join us for the LAST Art After Dark of 2025!
Creative Quills Monthly Open Mic Poetry Reading
Creative Quills Poetry Reading Collective fosters a supportive and inclusive environment, providing a platform for local aspiring, amateur, and published poets to share their creative works. Poets meet in the garden at Top Dog Cafe Bar every 3rd Sunday of the month for an afternoon of open mic poetry.
Sign up to read in the garden or contact Elley at creativequillsmb@gmail.com.
Art Talk Series: Charlie Rugg
Free art talk by artist Charlie Rugg. Charlie Rugg is a conceptual artist based in San Luis Obispo, California, specializing in abstract and figurative oil painting. His work explores the collective nature of human experience, emphasizing the interplay between shifting perspectives and the creation of new meaning.
Creative Quills Monthly Open Mic Poetry Reading
Creative Quills Poetry Reading Collective fosters a supportive and inclusive environment, providing a platform for local aspiring, amateur, and published poets to share their creative works. Poets meet in the garden at Top Dog Cafe Bar every 3rd Sunday of the month for an afternoon of open mic poetry.
Sign up to read in the garden or contact Elley at creativequillsmb@gmail.com.
Earth Gowns Opening Reception
This compelling collection features 25 unique garments by 14 textile artists. Through hand stitching, eco-dyeing, recycled materials, and natural elements like sticks, seed pods, and feathers, the artists reflect on our connection to Mother Earth. The gowns honor earth as home to all life, as well as the challenges we have made for ourselves in the 21st century.
By The Sea & Pressing Forward Artist Reception
Join Art Center Morro Bay for the Opening Reception of two new exhibitions!
Community Collaboration Festival
From 4 to 10pm on Saturday, June 28th, The Bunker, Shindig Cider, Shrine Brewing, and Ancient Owl Beer Garden are joining forces to bring you a space to create!! Walk between venues and listen to electronic music from SLOs underground producers, experience solutionary art and activism from local nonprofits, and have all the space you need to connect and collaborate! So come meet with the minds of the SLO community---- Let's make the change we all crave! Everyone is welcome!
Timo Beckwith Closing Reception
Celebrate the closing of EDNA Contemporary’s June Exhibition with featured artist Timo Beckwith! Beckwith’s solo exhibition showcases 14 original paintings, 6 sculptures, 3 prints and a video installation.
Artist's Talk: Trish Andersen
Join SLOMA and their Chief Curator Emma Saperstein for a conversation with Little by Little artist Trish Andersen. Andersen’s exhibition in SLOMA’s Gray Wing will open to the public on Saturday, June 28.
A wine reception will start at 5 PM, followed by the artist's talk from 5:30–6:30 PM. Free and open to the public, but RSVP is required via SLOMA's Eventbrite: Click here to reserve your seat!
Impossible Forest Opening Reception
Antoine Wagner’s “Impossible Forest” opens at Cruise Control Contemporary Gallery in Cambria on June 14th. Antoine Wagner is a French-American contemporary artist and film director who works in the fields of sculpture, film, photography, drawing, painting, performance, sound, opera and installation. His work explores the connectivity between nature, geography, mythology and the sublime as well as the themes of identity, resurrection and redemption.
A-Town Art Hop
Atascadero’s Downtown Art Hop on June 13 & 14 promises to be a vibrant celebration of local talent and community spirit. With local businesses hosting regional artists, it’s a great chance to explore unique art exhibits, enjoy live music, and experience the creative energy of the area. The event is a perfect opportunity to dive into the town’s cultural scene and support both artists and local businesses. Whether you’re an art enthusiast or just looking for a lively evening out, the Art Hop offers a wonderful blend of creativity and commerce.
Big Community Open Mic: Pride Edition
Open to the queer community and allies! Plan on reading for about three to five minutes. The event host, SLO County Poet Laureate Caleb Nichols, will create a running order, and all the poets will be intro’d by the MC.
A-Town Art Hop
Atascadero’s Downtown Art Hop on June 13 & 14 promises to be a vibrant celebration of local talent and community spirit. With local businesses hosting regional artists, it’s a great chance to explore unique art exhibits, enjoy live music, and experience the creative energy of the area. The event is a perfect opportunity to dive into the town’s cultural scene and support both artists and local businesses. Whether you’re an art enthusiast or just looking for a lively evening out, the Art Hop offers a wonderful blend of creativity and commerce.
Pride Month Poetry Workshop
Led by SLO County Poet Laureate Caleb Nichols, this workshop is themed “The Natural Self: Writing our Queer Natures.” What is the relationship between ‘queer’ and ‘nature’? Between ‘human’ and ‘nature’? Where do things start and stop, and how do we conceive of our queer selves in the grand scheme of things? Are we part of nature or apart from it? Is nature queer? In this generative poetry workshop we’ll close read poems and respond to writing prompts to investigate these questions and more.
Petals in the Park: An Art-Making Luncheon
“Petals in the Park” invites community members ages 8 and up to engage with Studios on the Park’s artists as they lead hands-on art workshops in printmaking, pastels, and acrylics.
In Discussion: Deanna Barahona
Join SLOMA for a compelling conversation between curator and educator Bill Kelley and artist Deanna Barahona. Together, they will explore themes of community, memory, and the socially engaged art practice in Barahona’s recent work seen in her upcoming Nybak Gallery exhibition, Stars Love Being Alone.
Free and open to the public, but RSVP is required via SLOMA's Eventbrite: Click here to reserve your seat!
Art After Dark
Art After Dark is the FREE event where art, culture, and community come to life!
Poetry Reading
Join us at Studios on the Park for a special poetry reading featuring SLO County Poet Laureate Dr. Caleb Nichols, along with poets Kevin Clark, Dian Sousa, and Jacqueline Berger.
FREE to attend! Come celebrate the art of poetry in the heart of downtown Paso. All are welcome!
Georgia O’Keeffe: the Brightness of Light
This new documentary film about the life and art of an American icon will be screening at The Palm Theatre on Monday, June 2nd! This feature documentary film stars Claire Danes as the Voice of Georgia O’Keeffe with narration by Hugh Dancy.
Visit thepalmtheatre.com for ticket information. Learn more about the film at GeorgiaOKeeffeFilm.com.
Whimsical Wonders Silent Auction
A collection of imaginative, original 10x10 paintings created by local artists, each inspired by whimsical wonders. All proceeds directly support Studios on the Park’s transformative art programs.
Art Talk Series: Rick and Lesley Chapman
The husband and wife team will share a collection of photos from their decades of work together, offering insights into how capturing a still image can be shaped by movement—and how movement itself can be reimagined through the photographic eye. This presentation will delve into the ongoing dialogue between the dancer, the photographer and the environment, where each influences and responds to the other in a bold and fluid exchange.
Opening Reception: Illuminations and CCAC Photographers & Craftmakers
Celebrate the opening of two new exhibits at Art Center Morro Bay - Illuminations and the Central Coast Artists Collective of Photography and Fine Craft.
Illuminations and the Central Coast Artists Collective Juried Exhibit
Art Center Morro Bay proudly presents the MBAA Illuminations exhibit joined with the Central Coast Artists Collective of Photography and Fine Craft juried exhibit.
Sizzling Spring Senior BBQ
SLO Parks and Recreation invites Senior Center members for a free Santa Maria style tri-tip lunch. Enjoy food, lawn games, and good company with live music provided by local musicians, Mollie and Nathan!
Sign-ups required! Lunch is limited to the first 50 people. Sign up at the Senior Center or with Kacy at klesage@slocity.org and at (805)781-7303.
Community Reception: SLO County Arts and Culture Economic Impact Report
Join SLO County Arts on May 7th at the Octagon Barn for a Community Reception and Presentation on the newly released Arts & Culture Economic Impact Report, featuring insights from PolicyCraft Institute, LLC and a panel of leaders from San Luis Obispo County’s arts, culture, and economic sectors. This event will highlight the significant contributions of the arts to our local economy, exploring key findings, trends, and opportunities for strengthening San Luis Obispo’s creative industries. Engage with policymakers, business leaders, artists, and cultural advocates in a conversation about the future of our creative economy.
"In Your Dreams" Exhibition
Black and white illustrations from the mind of Storie Grubb.
SLO Rep Presents "I Hate Hamlet"
The San Luis Obispo Repertory Theatre is thrilled to present I Hate Hamlet, Paul Rudnick’s witty and ghost-filled comedy, opening Friday, May 2 and running through Sunday, May 18. This fast-paced, laugh-out-loud play brings together Shakespeare, stage fright, swordfighting—and the ghost of a legendary actor.
The Office of Collecting and Design: A Traveling Interactive Museum
The Bunker SLO is honored to host The Office of Collecting and Design, an interactive museum of “lost” and “forgotten” objects. The museum is often described as a “nostalgia machine,” transporting visitors into a world of delight, curiosity, and half-buried memories. The previous brick and mortar space has been transformed into a 42’ traveling museum, where visitors can open every drawer, explore every box, and engage in hands-on experiences like the Flatlay Session or Scavenger Hunt.
‘The Art of Musical Ornamentation’ Lecture-Demonstration
Mark Kroll will present a lecture-demonstration titled “The Art of Musical Ornamentation.” Kroll, a harpsichordist and Boston University professor emeritus, will explain how and why ornamentation has been utilized by a wide range of composers and theorists. He will also play examples and invite audience members to submit melodies that they would like for him to ornament.
SLO Book Bike Pop-Up
Visit the SLO Book Bike, a pop-up book shop run by SLO County Poet Laureate Caleb Nichols, and pick up a copy of The Tribune for a special SLO County poetry feature with local poets!
"Out of Bounds!" Awards Ceremony and Reception
Awards ceremony and reception for the Pastel Society of the west Coast’s “Out of Bounds!” exhibition with renowned British pastelist, Tony Allain.
Vieux Farka Touré
Often referred to as “The Hendrix of the Sahara”, Vieux Farka Touré is a singer, composer, and guitarist from Niafunké, Mali. His live performances are highly energized and Vieux is known for dazzling crowds with his speed and dexterity on the guitar, referencing elements of rock, Latin music, and other African influences to captivate all audiences in spite of any language barriers (though Vieux does speak 8 languages).
Civic Ballet of SLO Presents: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
In an enchanting, innovative ballet adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s masterpiece, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, Civic Ballet San Luis Obispo will share the stage with an energetic 11-piece jazz orchestra.
Perfect for the entire family, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is sure to be a captivating presentation of “America’s greatest and best loved, home-grown fairytale.” (Library of Congress), featuring an all-new score based on some of the most influential music in the classic American songbook.