A "Groundbreakers Q&A" with Sacramento's Art Mavens Liz Moe and Estella Sanchez

Liv Moe, founding director of Verge Center for the Arts, and Estella Sanchez, founder and executive director of Sol Collective, play big roles in shaping Sacramento’s arts scene, supporting and promoting local artists, and getting their efforts talked about in cultural circles around California and nationwide. They’re two major reasons why the Capitol City’s cultural scene is on fire, and why it has such a passionate community rooting it on.

Listen to this great conversation with Moe and Sanchez about the state of the arts in Sacramento, what they’re working on now, and what they want to happen so that the city’s artists get the support they need and the recognition they deserve.

The Sound and The Fury: Listen to Sacramento's Music Makers

Our first event with live music  . . . and ideally the first of many.

We had local musicians Dirty Chops Brass Band (pictured) and Todd Morgan book-end our Pop-Up Panel on "The Sound and the Fury: Sacramento's Music Scene" with great live performances, to give the audience a sample of the great musicians living and playing in the capital city.

It's no Austin yet. Sacramento has done some good things for the music scene, but it still could do a lot more. Our great panelists -- local musicians, club owners, concert promoters -- give some great advice in this conversation we held at CLARA in Midtown Sacramento in June.

Listen to the podcast, which also features more music from Todd Morgan and the Element Brass Band.

The Impact of Street Art in Sacramento

Wide Open Walls (WOW) is set to make a big splash in Sacramento, literally.

Scheduled for August 10-20, WOW is the official name for Sacramento's annual mural festival, now in its second year. During those 11 days, 50 artists from 12 countries will be painting 40 individual surfaces, from back-street alleys on the Grid to silos and water towers in the suburbs. Read more in the Sacramento News & Review's special section about the fest.

Street art is a big deal around the globe. And us with being the capital of the (currently) 5th largest economy in the world, is it our time to join the ranks of international cities known for their colorful, vibrant street-art scenes and communities? If so, what should those look like? What images should be on those walls? Who decides what they should be and where they should go? And how do the non-painters of us living here figure into creating a world-class street-art scene in Sacramento?

We're hosting a panel focused on Wide Open Walls on August 9,  the evening before the festival officially starts. Details and registration info are on the Event page.

By The Way, This Guy Is Coming To Our Event

Yep, Sacramento's new Mayor, Darrell Steinberg, is going to join us this Monday evening, January 23, as we partner with Comstock's magazine for a panel on the future of innovation in Sacramento.

Mayor Steinberg will start things off by taking about his hopes and dreams for Sacramento as an "Innovation City," and his plans for making that happen. Then we'll ask six great Sacramento-based innovators about how they're going to help him out.

Free admission. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. Get there early to grab a seat -- the Mayor kicks off the event at 6 pm.