Sara Rubin here, trying to summon my power of imagination. What if downtown Monterey was artsy? What if it was cool?
I get it if that feels hard to imagine today, even if there are arts organizations doing cool things. One of those institutions, the Monterey Museum of Art, decided to help us all with our power of imagination: For the fourth year, they will host a block party, shutting down the street behind the museum to traffic and opening it up for all-ages, arts-inspired immersion and fun.
During the block party the museum itself is open (for free), inviting anyone to walk through. Musicians rotate through. Outside is more boisterous, with free craft activities and art vendors, live music and food vendors.
The idea is simple, especially in a community familiar with free street festivals. The emphasis here is on creative experiences, for a different flair. (So too is the annual West End Celebration, which takes over an entire neighborhood of Sand City.) But it is bigger than just another community craft event in part because it can help us all imagine something different—what an arts district in downtown Monterey could look and feel like.
“A lot of what we do is an experiment toward the future,” says Executive Director Corey Madden, who says her alternate title is Chief Inspiration Officer. “We want to make the center of Monterey a more vibrant, more loveable place.”
The block party gives us a chance to immerse ourselves in how vibrant and fun that could be, even if it’s just for five hours (the free, all-ages block party runs from 11am-4pm Saturday, April 11, followed by a 21-plus dance party from 8-10pm, for $25.)
We’ve reported in the past on the museum’s vision for this transformation, and property acquisitions involved in helping advance the concept. Still, it remains mostly theoretical—except during the block party, when the neighborhood pulses with energy and positivity.
The block party concept emerged post-pandemic as an idea of reintroducing the museum to the community, and it continues to do that. Thousands of people visit the museum itself for the first time during the block party, a sign of how meaningful the simple act of opening the doors can be. The event is fun, free and inclusive—all things that a museum should be, but admittedly it does not always feel that way to people.
“It shouldn’t be just about looking at pictures on walls,” Madden says. “It should be about finding your own adventure through the museum, and through art.” (My personal favorite activity at past block parties has been writing spontaneous poetry on typewriters—sorry, can’t help it if I’m a writer much more than an artist.)
What creative spark will inspire you this time around?