To Do 04.08.21

FIND: inspiration through working artists.

Get inspired by people who have some skin in the game. On Wednesday, April 14, the Arts Council for Monterey County will feature the dream team at The Shop, a Monterey arts collective that’s part art studio, part retail gallery, part sound studio and part commissary kitchen. Pick the minds of the masterminds behind the creative space including Chris Powers, Gerardo Zambrano and Jess Ansberry. Find the live presentation at facebook.com/artsmonterey or find a link at artsformc.org. You can also attend the 10-year anniversary celebration of the You Will Rise Project, livestreamed in partnership with Palenke Arts. The stream starts at 2pm on Sunday, April 11 and will include a look back on the project’s history, a tribute to the late co-founder Ling Egula and a virtual exhibition of works created by middle-school participants. Find more details at artagainstbullying.com.

DIG: through history.

Inspire new work by studying the past. Monterey Public Library hosts a history slam on Zoom, 10am-4pm Saturday, April 10. Experts on local history dive deep into local culture, offering talks on Flora Woods (the famous madam of Cannery Row), the porthole in Robinson Jeffers’ Hawk Tower, local Japanese-American flower growers, the Point Alones Chinese fishing villages and more. It will also include Tiburcio Vasquez: The Musical. Registration details are at montereypl.libcal.com. While you’re at it, go explore the “Research” tab on Monterey Public Library’s website. You can explore databases and archives and go on a history hunt of your own. Prefer to explore IRL? Follow the golden emblems embedded in the sidewalk in downtown Monterey or take a self-guided tour of historic houses mapped out by the Heritage Society of Pacific Grove. Or make history yourself and participate in Monterey County Agricultural and Rural Life Museum’s oral history archive. (Call 385-8020 or email info@mcarlm.org.)

WRITE: when prompted.

Sometimes daily walks or nightly bedtime book ritual just doesn’t cut it for getting creative. Sometimes we just need hard directions. Luckily, during National Poetry Month 2021, there’s an abundance of prompts floating out there on the internet. Two Sylvia’s Press (twosylviaspress.com) will let you buy 30 daily prompts for $14, or prompts plus editor feedback for $49. The Rising Phoenix Review has a PDF of prompts you can download for free (or pay what you can) at therisingphoenixreview.com. Young Chicago Authors also has a good, comprehensive assignment/prompt package on their website (youngchicagoauthors.org).