Betteravia Gallery

New Muralism : Valley Visions January 30 - December 31 | 2025

This exhibition features work from a collective of artists who work out of Slingshot / Alpha Art Studio, a progressive art center that supports artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in Santa Barbara County.

Valley Visions presents a portrait of the Santa Maria Valley— its sweeping landscapes, distinct cultures, and areas of commerce. Each of the large-scale textile panels on view began with an artist’s sketch on paper. The drawings were then collaboratively translated into the applique pieces that make up this exhibition. The warmth of the materials and methods of construction blur the boundaries between art and craft, as well as domestic activities and public life, to reflect the textured landscape of the Santa Maria Valley.

New Muralism is a two-part project developed for the County galleries in Santa Maria and Santa Barbara. Where the first installation dealt primary with the artists’ experience of self and community representation, this exhibition localizes the themes and intent of art in the public sphere to represent a unique sense of place.