Visions of art

From action-sports apparel to combined salons and galleries, Costa Mesa has become a haven for artists and their creations.

March 14, 2008 | By Josh Aden

The moniker City of the Arts has become a self-fulfilling prophecy for Costa Mesa. Long established as a destination for the performing arts, Costa Mesa has become a hot-bed for visual artists as well.

The art scene has been growing for several years, as galleries have been popping up along with bars and clothing outlets that cater to an artistic crowd, especially on the Westside.

“There’s more creativity here than really anywhere else in Orange County,” says Christopher Martin, director of the World Gallery.

Martin defected to Costa Mesa from Laguna Beach, whose status as an artists’ community was well established when Costa Mesa was still mostly farming fields.

It’s a movement that has been gaining attention from outside the scene as well. Mayor Eric Bever said he has been watching art multiply in the city over the past several years.

“It was always kind of an underground thing, but now we’re letting it bubble up to the surface,” Bever said. “We have a real organic artist district that created itself without any contrivance by the city. It’s the real McCoy.”

Costa Mesa has designated the area as 19 West to signify that the Westside has an established art district.

One reason Costa Mesa has become a happening spot for artists is plain economics.

Costa Mesa’s industrial areas on the Westside offer large spaces for artists in which to work and sometimes live. They are cost-effective because art is an unstable source of income and young, working artists often look for the cheapest spaces they can find.

The result is not unlike what the area south of Houston Street in New York City experienced when artists started taking over industrial spaces. A new movement and scene developed around them in the district, called Soho.

“The artists always go where they can afford to live,” said Jack Flynn of the J Flynn Gallery near The Lab.

Surprisingly, the action sports apparel industry has also had a large influence in Costa Mesa arts.

Many of the most popular companies in skate, surf and snowboard come from Costa Mesa or have set roots here. Hurley and Volcom are both headquartered in Costa Mesa and Vision and Quiksilver were both in Costa Mesa at one time.