The visual arts alternative space located on the West Coast of the US and formerly known as the Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum (CAF), now renamed as the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara (MCA, Santa Barbara), launches its new identity with a series of exhibitions scheduled to begin in July of 2013.
The decision to rename the venue answers to a strategic plan conceived by its board of directors to expand the institution's field of action in the contemporary art scene, with the goal of making its program of events and spaces more visible and to broadly improve attendance. According to MCA Santa Barbara's executive director, Miki Garcia, the project was made possible by a $250,000.00 Arts Regional Initiative Grant. The Museum will continue to be a non-profit organization.
The museum will celebrate its new name with a solo show that will showcase the work by New York artist Dasha Shishkin, and with a newly commissioned series of sculptures by Mexican artist Edgar Orlaineta. Both exhibitions will be inaugurated at the beginning of July.
The museum also plans a group exhibition entitled Requiem for the Bibliophile, which features works by artists Carlos Garaicoa, Jorge Mendez Blake, Xaviera Simmons, among others.