Featured Events

Sunday, 27 September, 2015
iPhone-ography at Bravo School of Art
The Artist's Way 12 weeks at Bravo School of Art
Monday, 28 September, 2015
Chalkboard Lettering at Bravo School of Art
TODDLER YOGA AT PACHIS
Monart Drawing Classes (Ages 4-7) 'Getting Ready'
Yoga - Mindful Fitness
Pure Flamenco - Intermediate Class
Pure Flamenco - Beginner Class
Tuesday, 29 September, 2015
Pachis Art for Toddlers
Pure Flamenco - Beginner Class

ON POINT - January 2011

New Year – New Art at Friday Night Liberty

Start the new year with an evening of great new art at January’s Friday Night Liberty Open Galleries & Studios event on January 7 starting at 5pm. Among the openings are the new pulse gallery featuring sculptures by Chinese master sculptor Xiaoye Sun and a new exhibit at the Martha Pace Swift Gallery - Larry Caveney: The Party Whites and Other Works. Explore the NTC Promenade Arts & Cultural district and enjoy a FREE evening of art, music, food and exhibits, while finding a great array of holiday gifts and ideas. Information is at the Friday Night Liberty page or 619-573-9300.

Irvine Foundation Grant Engenders a Creative Community at NTC Promenade

Thanks to a $40,000 “Creative Communities” two-year grant from the James Irvine Foundation in November 2008, the NTC Foundation and our nearly 40 Resident Groups have successfully developed a Resident Group Collaborative that has a growing record of impactful, creative partnerships and community outreach.

The Resident Group Collaborative was created to:

Facilitate cost-effective collaboration and creative partnerships between the Resident Groups and the community.
Broaden, deepen, and diversify participation among those that will benefit from these collaborative partnerships.
Increase the capacity of the Resident Groups - most of which are mid-size or small budget - to be more effective in their marketing and outreach – resulting in more participation, sales, new audiences and community recognition.

Already active committees and planning groups have resulted in the following successes:

Launched the popular Friday Night Liberty monthly free open studios, galleries and performances to give the general public an opportunity to explore the growing cultural campus and introduce them opportunities to meet artists and purchase art.
Created an Outdoor Sculpture Gallery site plan and initiated the installation of several sculptures to help create a better exterior identity as we transform from a Navy base to an Arts & Cultural District.
Initiated Sustainability efforts to expand our recycling programs.
Established a Gallery Committee to better coordinate and promote the exhibits in the eight galleries at NTC Promenade.
Created a “From Navy Base to Arts Center” Walking Tour offered the first Thursday of each month from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The public is invited to enjoy a FREE behind-the-scenes walking tour at the historic Naval Training Center and see its transformation into the new NTC Promenade Arts & Cultural District.
Expanded our Liberty School, an alternative education program for at-risk youth, to include more Resident Groups in order to reach more students.

According to NTC Foundation Executive Director Alan Ziter, “As the nonprofit developer of the 26-building arts campus, the NTC Foundation is leading the effort to develop a creative, collaborative community. Thanks to our consultant Liz Shear, the commitment of our Resident Groups, and the Irvine grant, this opportunity has helped us to reach that potential. It also positions us for further collaborations as we complete renovations and add future tenants.”

New Outdoor Sculptures Coming to NTC Promenade

Two sculptures by San Diego artist Alber De Matteis will soon enhance the heart of the NTC Promenade Arts & Cultural District as part of our partnership with San Diego Artist and Gallery owner Betsy Lane to create an outdoor gallery that showcases and sells the work of San Diego and California artists.

De Matteis’ The Ascent, which is 14' x 14' x 8’, will be installed in Luce Court in front of the McMillin Companies Event Center. Sol Searching (pictured left), which is 14' x 10' x 4', will be placed in front of Building 176, our Instructional Studios building.

The pieces will join two sculptures by Robert Holmes at Dance Place: “She Dances” and “Bolero.”

The goals of the NTC Outdoor Gallery are to make NTC a destination for sculpture, feature San Diego and California artists, and create opportunities for future relationships with artists, including onsite creation of new work.

Alber De Matteis was born in Paris and has been a sculptor for over 25 years. “After exploring many different media, I felt a close connection to iron. Its strength and flexibility, its ability to be transformed and shaped by fire are qualities that give me the most freedom in my artistic expression. Each sculpture is a personal attempt to find peace and balance and to offer it to the world,” says De Matteis. His most recent public space art are the Sculptural Fences at Rady Children’s Hospital. He lives in San Diego with his wife, artist M. Luna De Matteis.

Robert Holmes is a California artist with a foundry in Sebastopol. Robert is included in many prestigious collections and won the Primio del Presidente award at the International Biennial of Contemporary Art in Florence, Italy. He was chosen for the award by an international jury with 800 artists participating in the Biennial from 74 countries.

Betsy Lane established the Del Mar Sculpture Garden in 1998 following 18 years as a gallery owner in San Diego. She has built numerous collections, curated over 50 exhibitions, and has established working relationships with hundreds of artists, collectors, and art world professionals. In addition to the Del Mar Garden, she curates a Sculpture Garden at the Four Seasons Resort Aviara, and the garden at Parisi Design. To find out more about purchasing sculptures from the NTC Outdoor Gallery, contact Betsy at [email protected] or at 619-997-7491.

The Sale is in the Story

Part of the draw of the Venues of NTC Promenade is the history behind them. Any salesperson worth their salt will tell you that a story will help to facilitate a sale. By nature, people like to know more than just square feet and dollars. We’d like to share with you some of the history we share with our clients. Perhaps you have additional information or trivia that we are missing:

In 1915, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, first surveyed San Diego’s large natural bay as a possible site for the next Naval Training Center. In the mid-1920’s, the City of San Diego offered the Navy more than 200 acres of land for this purpose. For more than 75 years, nearly 2 million Navy recruits were trained at NTC San Diego. It was here that these young men matured and received the knowledge and skill required for military duty.
The 1930’s and 1940’s saw expansion and modernization of the base. More than 130 acres of filled land were added to the base. In 1941, the base library was built. Building 177, as it was designated, is now home to NTC Promenade’s McMillin Companies Event Center.
During World War II, the base population reached 33,000. Several classroom buildings, as well as, the NTC Command Center were constructed during this period. The Commanding Officer conducted the day-to-day operations on the base from Building 200, as the NTC Command Center was designated. The commanding officers of the three tenant commands on the base (Service School Command, Recruit Training Command, and the administrative command, respectively) would report to the base commander. The NTC Command Center is now an executive conference center and contains historical exhibits featuring Point Loma and the Navy. There are telltale signs of its former life, though, as seen in the richly paneled walls and gold-leafed emblem.
The 1990’s saw several base closures, including NTC San Diego. In 2000, the land returned to the City of San Diego. The City’s Redevelopment Agency selected the Corky McMillin Companies as the master developer and named the area Liberty Station. Within Liberty Station, 52 buildings were designated as a National Historic District for their architectural and cultural significance. The structures capture the architectural characteristics of the “Mission Style” that was part of the Spanish Colonial Revival in Southern California during the period of 1915 to 1940.
The NTC Foundation was created in 2000 as an independent, non-profit organization responsible for the rehabilitation and operation of the Civic, Arts and Culture District at Liberty Station, known as NTC Promenade. This 28 acre district includes 26 historic buildings. NTC Promenade is a San Diego treasure and a significant community asset that continues to hold the memories of past generations of naval recruits whose lives were transformed at NTC.

History can make a venue special and unique, and the stories of NTC do just that. We hope you enjoyed a little history, and we hope you book your event at The Venues of NTC Promenade in the coming new year. For more information, visit www.ntcpromenade.com.

To The Point ...

Jan 3 – Jan 31 Sophie’s Gallery & Gift Shop presents “Ladies First”
Sophie’s Gallery & Gift Shop at NTC celebrates the career of artist John Agostini in his first one-man show of acrylics on paper. The collection features fashionable women and Hollywood stars. Reception on Friday, Jan 7, from 5 to 8 p.m. Admission is free. Enjoy wine and hors d’oeuvres and live music by Musica Christina. Sophie’s Gallery & Gift Shop at NTC is located at 2960 Historic Decatur Rd., San Diego, 92106, and is open Tuesday through Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For further information call 619‐578‐2207 or visit www.stmsc.org.

Jan 5 - 30 San Diego Watercolor Society “The More Things Change”
The San Diego Watercolor Society (SDWS) proudly presents “The More Things Change”. Approximately 95 paintings created by national and international artists are on display and for sale. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is free. The SDWS gallery is located at 2825 Dewey Road, San Diego, 92106. For more information, call 619-876-4550 or www.sdws.org.

Jan 7 Friday Night Liberty
Explore the NTC Promenade Arts & Cultural District and enjoy a FREE evening of art, music, food, drink and exhibits, while supporting local artists and designers. Starting at 5 p.m. Located at 2640 Historic Decatur Road, San Diego, 92106. For more information, call 619-573-9260 or visit the Friday Night Liberty page..

Jan 10-Jan 14 San Diego Watercolor Society Workshop with Myrna Wacknov
Variations: Unlimited Possibilities with One Image: This workshop is for those people who wish to move away from a strict interpretation of a photograph and explore the potentials for unique and creative alternatives. Class is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Cost: Members/ $525 and Non-Members/$565. For more information and to register, contact http://www.sdws.org/WorkshopDetails.php?WorkshopID=2011001.

Jan 11, 18, 25 Open House at the North Chapel
The North Chapel at Liberty Station monthly open houses, Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Located at 2881 Roosevelt Dr., San Diego, 92106. For more information, please visit http://www.thenorthchapel.com.

Jan 4 - Ongoing San Diego Fine Art Society
San Diego Fine Art Society’s pulse gallery showcases Alexander Salazar Fine Art, the exclusive US representative of Chinese master sculptor Xiaoye Sun. The gallery at 2820 Dewey Road, San Diego, 92106. For more information, visit www.sdfas.org.

Be sure to check the NTC Promenade online calendar for all the happenings scheduled.

Please consider making a gift to the NTC Foundation to help us translate the community’s vision for NTC Promenade into a new Arts and Cultural District that will increase the quality of life for all San Diegans. Donate now!

For information about lease space in the NTC Promenade, contact Leasing Specialist Sean Giffin at [email protected] or 619 573-9304.