Santa Ana Artist Village Art Walk

So it’s the first Saturday of every month. Parking cost’s money, you can park at the meters or at parking lots however I decided to park outside a grocery store– it was a two hour maximum parking allowance but I fit everything in within two hours. It was pretty cool! However the art on display and the galleries weren’t spectacular. There was only one artist that I truly loved and she was stuck at a table five blocks away. This event definitely has just made my craving for something unique, shocking, disgusting, or new, that much stronger. Guess its time to go to MOCA.

Great place for a date or meet other people with the same likes. Entertaining. I enjoyed the art. Lots of places nearby for snacks. Had a great time.

The Santa Ana Art Walk is held every 1^st Saturday of each month and there is always something new to see. It usually runs from 7 to 10pm, but more often than not, I’m noticing the galleries are opening as early as 5pm.
In the Artists Village, you will find OCCCA, CSUF Grand Central Art Center, Q Art Salon, The Night Gallery, all of the galleries in the Santora Building, Gallery de Fox, and my personal favorite, Gallery 211. The area is well lit and you’ll enjoy walking through the various galleries and sampling food at any number of restaurants.
The Art Walk boasts artisan vendors in the 2^nd Street Promenade, usually a live band or two, street dancers, and food trucks. It is also the home of Hip Cooks, Robbins Nest, Gypsy Den, Lola Gaspars, Kutzi Cocina Bar and Lounge, C4, Chapter One, The Copper Door, Proof Bar, Eqeko Peruvian Cuisine, Elite Fitness, The Estate, and the Libreria Martinez de Chapman University.
If you walk a little further towards 4^th Street, you’ll find Starbucks, The Good Beer, The Wine Barrel, Crave, Velvet Lounge, NWA, and Rags. Rags usually hosts an open mic session right on Broadway, between 4^th and 5^th, try to stop by and check it out if you can. The new ESports Arena is a block away and is a fun place for gamers, and it was recently the host for Santa Ana Sites #10, which was super cool especially with the beanbags and blue lighting.
Parking is available on metered street parking, parking lots, and various parking structures. No free parking in the Downtown area and you must pay for parking through 10pm on all meters.
Allyssa and I, we run Gallery 211 and it is located at 211 N. Sycamore St, (between Main and Broadway) and is open every 1^st Saturday of each month, and in conjunction with the Santa Ana Art Walks. We host Visual Artists of all types and this is our 2^nd year in operation. Most recently, we were nominated for the OC Weekly’s 2015 Best Art Gallery category and we were super excited to have been nominated. We’ve been working hard, and we have committed to talented Artists that are doing some amazing things through their art. You should definitely stop by and meet the Artists, see Gallery 211, as we’re showing some excellent and interesting exhibits.
The schedule of Artists for Gallery 211 is as follows:
— - November 7^th, 2015 — Shannon Richardson — Fictive of the Farm Girl
(Also on the same day, Nov 7^th… on Calle Cuatro — Noche de Altares)
— - January 2, 2016 — TBD
— - February 6^th, 2016 — Brian Peterson — Faces of Santa Ana
MORE INFO ON GALLERY 211:
— OC WEEKLY:
— FACEBOOK:
Please know, there is so much more to the Art Walk than this review can list as we have the East End and all the events they offer along with The Yost, GCS, Guadalajara’s, The Frida Cinema, Wursthaus, The Playground, Alehouse, American Barbershop, and 4^th Street Market. There are Artists, parrots, people, chatter, art, originals, families, sparkles, events, colors, pets, sounds, horses, galleries, lights, smells, restaurants, and sights that make the Art Walk special, and simply, you have to visit, and see for yourself. Come with an open mind, open to something different, something special. Come to see and buy art, and to have fun.
#DTSA #Gallery211 #DTSAGallery211 #ArtistsVillage #OCArtWalk

Thankfully I heard about this place to Unilocal.Thank you Unilocal for an awesome date night idea.
Ambiance:
Very spacious. What I enjoy about this place is that there is a plaza with a stage to centralize communication regarding performances or videos. Though it is quite small as it generally is a building, sometimes there are other events in Downtown Santa Ana that keeps the entertainment going. With my 5 experiences here. It’s great for a date night, family time or just simply hanging out with friends.
Food:
There are some good vendors around here. Gypsy Den is great and you’re maybe 3 blocks down from the famous 4^th Street Market. There’s also good old reliable local restaurants, especially mexican food. Too bad my friend and I had trouble finding churros… ._​.
Vendors
Before 2014, there were a lot of street art which I really did enjoyed but after the gentrification, the art became more fancy and kind of dry in my opinion. I enjoy the live performances, especially the dance cyphers. Those are always fun!
Overall:
4 stars. This used to be one of my favorite Artwalks in Orange County, nowadays it’s a lower rating, a part of me feels like it’s missing that pulse. I’ve noticed lesser vendors and less street art. The food vendors are great and some of them are fairly affordable. Sometimes there are great events in addition to the Artwalk such as Beat Swap Meet or OC Block Party which enhances the experience so be sure to look into those for a two-​fer just in case if you get tired.
Advice:
* Parking generally isn’t too shabby, under $ 10
* FREE 99
* Look into Santa Ana’s website if other events are occurring as well!

I think this Art Walk just turned the proverbial corner. This month, the OCCCA ran this awesome ‘Chaos Theory’ program, where they are taking in any/​every piece of art being submitted — and holy crap is it good/​a ton of fun to look at! I just hope they keep it going so more artists in Orange County have a chance to show off their work to others :)
This Art Walk is still raw but in the best way possible — it’s about to completely explode. The talent is real and if this month is/​was any indication, Santa Ana will soon be The Artist destination in Orange County very, very soon.
The surrounding area just keeps improving too. Restaurants are popping up all over the place, and more developments are on the way. It’s hard not to fall in love with this place once you’ve been here and walked these old, historic streets. There’s a ton of history here, and everything out here just feels so alive.
So happy to update and elaborate upon my previous review. DTSA has arrived in a huge way, and it’s only going to get better

So great! You can meet some awesome artistic people and everything is a sight to see. Come on out, you’ll have fun :)

This is pretty awesome, I’ve been here the last few months and I love it. There’s places to go have a drunk too, and the people that go are definitely a new kind of ‘hip’, it’s a very cool ambiance. I love the galleries and they always have something crafty I like, the live music is really cool too.

This feels like what Downtown LA Art Walk used to be, before being taken over by vendors and food trucks, and bunch of hooligans. Santa Ana Artist Village is small and cozy, and there were actual ART (not like downtown LA art walk.) Streets are closed to traffic, so pedestrians can walk around comfortably in tree-​lined streets. When I went, it sprinkled a bit, so the air was humid and warm — Totally felt like a mini Las Ramblas blvd in Barcelona.
Art walk is every 1^st Sat of every month. The general area is btwn Broadway/​2^nd near Gypsy Den, and goes toward Yost Theater on 3^rd and Spurgeon St.

Rxeyes is the artist to check! Soooo check him out, find him!

Every first saturday of the month from 7-​pm to 10pm you can walk around thru the streets and go inside the different galleries and check out the awesome art exhibits (also most are selling wine or beer for added fun!). Then before or afterwards you can hit up one of the cool bars or hit up one of the yummy food spots or one of the many food trucks that come out to play! What a fun event… totally want to come back next month :)

Smaller than anticipated, luckily placed in a GORGEOUS area (DT Santa Ana is generally super chill and super beautiful). My friends and I had a great time strolling by each vendor while ooing and ahhing at their homemade jewelery, clothing, and artwork. I believe we were early since there were only a few art galleries open to the public, but we thoroughly enjoyed each one (there was a space-​themed art gallery. It was spectacular).
Huge $ 2 parking structure right around the corner too. Highly recommended for a moderately classy and relaxing night out with friends.

It was my first time checking out the Art Walk at night. The address on the website led us to a small parking lot — with a dj and a couple of stands selling clothes. I was like… is this it?!
Obviously, we left. Then, as we were walking around, we stumbled upon the REAL art walk which is actually inside a huge arts building that connects to other museums in other streets. Had so much fun walking into different galleries. Almost all galleries had beer, wine and snacks! Score.
Would come back.

I’ve been wanting to check this out for years and finally made it thanks to an invitation by my guy’s co-​worker. The bohemian vibe – complete with cool, local artwork, folkloric dancing, music, and even wine for a small donation in some galleries – is fresh and hip. Did I like all of the art? Nope. Would I buy most of it? Probably not. But it was fun to browse. And we did buy some pieces (four, small prints) by Gino Perez whose whimsical, oneiric style will look good as a series in my second bedroom. I even got my picture taken with him, you know, so I can say I knew him before he soars to stardom!
We had dinner at Lola Gaspar’s and then headed to the Copper Door for some live music. I’m not a beer drinker, but they seemed to have a decent selection! All in all, a good night! I would recommend people check out the art walk for an hour from 7 – 8, make dinner reservations at 8, and then walk around some more after eating.

For now, three stars. Went today, Saturday afternoon, and it was dead with only Gypsy Den and Memphis open.
Sort of disappointing, as I was looking forward to checking it out. Wish the main page for this place had more information about times and such.

Santa Ana Artist Village Art Walk is like a whole another little world within a world. The main walking area is surrounded by rows of buildings on each side, where a huge group of people can be seen walking around, selling/​displaying works.
When you think Santa Ana, you don’t think about places like these, which you expect more in places like downtown LA.
The whole surrounding area has a plethora of galleries and rooms full of installations. Things are even more lively during the Santa Ana Art Walk with the band playing outside, mimes, police vehicles, the food trucks, and people selling their artwork – an amazing experience with all manners of unusual work and people.
A must-​go place to visit is the Santora Arts Building, which has an old 40’s style look with an influence of 30’s Spanish Baroque architecture, with bunch of mini-​stores and art galleries inside. Who knew a place like this existed? It’s like entering some underground village from Blade Runner. The antique interior and windowed office doors reminded me of something from a hard-​boiled Phillip Marlowe movie. There is a second floor and a basement level – it’s like a little maze of galleries and offices, all intricately decorated.
The event parking structure (about a block away) was about $ 4 after 8pm or so ($ 1 per hour before that up to $ 7 max). The street parking, if there are any, may be the way to go. Hip, little eateries are all around the block.

Came for a stroll on a Sunday afternoon and only the restaurants are open. Most of the shops and art stores were closed. Free parking at the meters on Sundays and holidays. Lola Gasper is probably my favorite restaurant here.
AOK in my book.

Pretty cool. My friend and her boyfriend took me here when I came to visit them in the area. We stopped by the Dia de los Muertos exhibit within a few blocks from the art walk. I loved looking at all of the posters that were made this year. There was a really cool great pumpkin one that was pretty amazing. There are a few galleries but since it took us awhile to find parking we only had about an hour before it closed. That was plenty of time to take everything in though.
It’s definitely a different vibe than the Oakland Art Murmur but there is still a ton of things to do in the area after the art walk closes.

The Santa Ana Artist Village Art Walk is okay, I’ve experienced it twice so far and my favorite part of it is the Santora Arts Building. There are three levels to explore in that building, which isn’t very obvious the first time you’re there. The GCAC is okay, but not as cool as the Santora. Unfortunately, I have yet to visit the OCCCA but I plan to the next time I’m there.
First time I was there, they had pretty good live music and when I came back, they seemed to be playing a film in the same spot. Interesting how they mix up the entertainment in the 2^nd St. Promenade area.
The real cool thing about the art walk is all the cool restaurants that surround it: Chapter One, The Gypsy Den, Lola Gaspar, and The Playground are some of the pretty hip and trendy places to dine at while you’re there. Out of those 4, Lola seems to have the long wait time so get on the waiting list early if you want to eat there.
If you had enough and it’s not quite 10pm, you can always walk over to the Art Walk at the Santiago Art District few blocks away. It’s a more mellow and intimate style art walk where the residents of the Santiago lofts open up their galleries.
I prefer to park on the streets at the meters around 7pm which is when the art walk starts and put in just enough coins until 8pm, since the meters don’t need to be fed after 8pm. Pretty much a night’s worth of parking for less than a dollar.

I’m falling in love with the Artist’s Village area in Santa Ana. I finally got to experience the Art Walk here and it’s seriously one of the best things to do on the first Saturday of… well, ANY month, but especially during the summer, when the nights are warm and you want to feel the energy of a city that isn’t ready to go to bed at sundown. The free art walk starts at 7pm and ends at 10, but many places stay open much later than that. Santa Ana is home to a bunch of art galleries and artist lofts, and you’ll have a great time wandering the streets and following people into random buildings where art, music, food, and/​or drinks flow.
Hopefully those random buildings include the OC Center for Contemporary Art (OCCCA), Grand Central Arts Center (GCAC), Q Art Salon, and the Santora Building. Those are some of the more popular ones, but there’s so many more to check out and the exhibits seem to change a lot.
Eating and drinking this part of town is an event in and of itself. The area is teeming (TEEMING, I say) with some of the best restaurants this side of the Orange Curtain. The Playground, Chapter One, Lola Gaspar, and Memphis are all solid choices to get your grub and/​or drink on, and be sure to hit up Proof afterwards for cheap, stiff drinks and some good music too. They also have food trucks in random places, and on a good night you may be able to catch some of the best trucks in Orange County (and yeah, I have a list for that).
Sure, you’ll see plenty of plastic frame glasses, skinny jeans, and Toms, but please — teleport yourself to Newport on a Saturday night to see what the scene is there, and then tell me you prefer those Botoxed, glowing orange mannequins to the pocket-​sized hipsters here.
P. S. Oh hey, look at that. Review #550!

All this time and I haven’t reviewed the Santa Ana Art Walk? …hell, there’s not even a Unilocal listing for it? That’s just crazy talk. Most of y’all know about Downtown Santa Ana by now, right? Right?! Well, I hope so, but I’m still astounded every once in a while when a friend tells me, «Hey, have you seen this area of cool bars and restaurants in Santa Ana?» Really, friend? REALLY?! What have I been telling you for YEARS?! In any case, the Artist Village Art Walk is definitely a staple in this hood. It’s the first Saturday of every month, and you’ll be hard-​pressed not to have a good time.
Okay, and how about those of you that have been going to the Crosby and whatevs for years? You didn’t know there’s about a bajillion (or 30-​ish, if hyperbole isn’t your thing) galleries in the Santora Arts Building beneath (and above) Memphis at the Santora? Not that those are the only galleries the there’s my fave, Grand Central Art Center and OCCCA and really loads more. It’s one of the best nights of free entertainment around. It definitely has a younger crowd than the Laguna Art Walk, not that Laguna’s is bad by any means, that’s also a fantastic time, this one is just more… well… I’ve trying to get the word hipster out of my vocab, but… well, yeah, you’ll definitely see lots of glasses and tattoos.
In between checking out all the galleries there’s generally live music here and there, DJs at all the bars, and of course, booze at the galleries too. The galleries stay open until 10−11pm or so, but that’s by no means the end of the night. Downtown Santa Ana stays lively until the wee hours.
And don’t tell me you don’t care for art. Don’t. Firstly, I won’t believe you. Secondly, even if the only artists you know share their names with The Ninja Turtles, there’s no way you won’t have a simply splendid time at the Santa Ana Artist Village Art Walk.