Mark your calender now for ArtWalk NTC @ Liberty Station!
Formerly ArtWalk on the Bay, ArtWalk NTC @ Liberty Station builds upon the success of the past years at San Diego’s Bayfront. This 10th annual event takes place in San Diego’s flagship arts and culture district, NTC @ Liberty Station, once San Diego’s Naval Training Center, and now a mecca for artist studios, galleries, museums and performing arts groups.
This fine art festival on August 15-16 is part of the ArtWalk San Diego brand known for bringing together all facets of the arts in San Diego while promoting the experience of owning original art. This annual event will bring together more than 100 artists, a dozen musical performers, gourmet food, and interactive kids’ activities at KidsWalk.
Attendees will be able to experience art “alfresco.” ArtWalk NTC brings fine art outside under San Diego’s sunny skies to create the perfect viewing art under natural light and purchase artwork directly from the finest artists in the region. Attendees get to meet with artists and hear what inspires them about their work. Whether you are a seasoned collector, a family on vacation or are simply ready to be inspired, come to ArtWalk NTC to discover the art that has been waiting for you.
ArtReach San Diego is a not-for-profit, 501 (c) 3 organization that takes working artists into K – 6 schools throughout San Diego County to provide hands-on visual art education workshops. They believe art opens the door to limitless possibilities and teaches young people to think critically and originally. And, that every child should have the opportunity to make art despite budget cuts and regardless of socioeconomic status. The team that brings ArtWalk events to San Diego every year created ArtReach in 2007. Since then, they have worked with thousands of students and families.
San Diego has had a long relationship with the U.S. Navy, stretching back over a century and a half. The Naval Training Center (NTC), where ArtWalk NTC is held, was commissioned in 1923. The maximum number of recruits in training at that time was 1,500, growing to 33,000 personnel during World War II, and reaching a peak population of 40,000 during the Korean War. It provided basic, advanced, and specialized training to a small city of sailors; a city within a city.
NTC has been the setting for several movies including Top Gun, Battle Cry, Here Comes the Navy, and Abbott and Costello’s film In the Navy (the song “We’re in the Navy Now” from this movie became the official training tune of NTC). The golf course at the northern end was once managed by the famous golfer, Sam Snead, during his stint in the Navy.
The base was closed by the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission in 1993, and turned over to the city of San Diego for redevelopment and historical preservation. It is now the site of Liberty Station, a mixed-use community, and San Diego’s flagship arts and culture district, with 28 acres of beautifully renovated Spanish Revival architecture.
Over the past decade, the NTC Foundation has been transforming this historic space into San Diego’s flagship arts and cultural district, housing galleries, visual arts studios, performance spaces, award winning restaurants and the famed Stone World Bistro, a dining venue from Stone Worls Bistro.
