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Ray
at Night
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Ray at Night, a gallery walk held the second Saturday of every month in North Park, is the largest monthly art event in San Diego, drawing over 1,500 people. From 6 to 9 p.m., you’ll find a wide variety of artwork on display including paintings, sketches, sculptures, ceramics, blown glass, organic art and jewelry.
The center of the arts, culture, and entertainment activity is Ray Street, a narrow one-way side street off of University Avenue, just east of 30th Street. On the second Saturday of each month, the galleries, shops, and businesses on and around Ray Street welcome artists, art lovers and the simply curious to explore the neighborhood's arts offerings during Ray at Night.
Ray at Night started with a handful of businesses opening their galleries on Ray Street in September 2001. Since it’s inception, it has steadily grown as the number of visitors and galleries has grown with it. Currently, over two-dozen businesses participate. Many are along the one-block stretch of Ray Street between University and North Park Way. Others are nearby on University Avenue, North Park Way, and 30th Street. And it’s not just art galleries that are participating in Ray at Night – coffee shops, an art school and various other stores also turn their space into galleries for the evening. |
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There is often entertainment at the event – everything from jazz, blues and cultural music to poetry readings and performances by dance groups. Performances are usually held in a parking lot along Ray Street. Since each space projects its own ambience, galleries may hire a saxophonist, harp player or other musical guest to play in their gallery as well.
"North Park is such an eclectic area. You have such a variety of people. I tend to compare it to SoHo in New York. People feel free to express themselves artistically," says Joel Sharp who owns a gallery on the street.
When artisan Gustaf Rooth walked Ray Street, he was immediately drawn in. He had moved back to San Diego from Sweden and opened a furniture design shop in National City. But it didn't work out, so friends directed him to North Park, where he found the perfect spot on Ray Street. Since then, new galleries have opened around his and other artisans have moved in, giving the area the energy of an artists' community. Now, he's surrounded by creative people, which he said makes his life fun and interesting. |
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The popular event even influenced George Lofland, founder and director of the San Diego Art Department, to open his school in the neighborhood. “One of the reasons that I came here was because I thought that it would be a good event to participate in with the ideas and plans that I had for the space that I was creating,” Lofland said. “I was looking downtown and in different areas — Little Italy, by the ballpark, in different neighborhoods.… But what really drew me was when I came to a Ray at Night and saw the energy and the people and what was going on. It was just perfect for what I was planning in my head.”
The collective sensibility the coalition of shop owners have formed with Ray at Night has created other opportunities for them as well. When the National Ceramics Conference was held in San Diego, the galleries along Ray Street uniformly displayed ceramics from artists all over the world. There were 4,000 people in town for the conference and bus tours were led through different areas of San Diego, allowing for conference attendees to shop the local ceramics scene and for North Park businesses to gain national exposure.
In 2004, Deputy Mayor Toni Atkins – recognizing the importance of the Ray Street arts district – allocated over $100,000 through Community Development Block Grant funds for streetscape improvements on Ray Street. Improvements included 1,700 square feet of new sidewalks, curbs and gutters, 19 flowering street trees (a combination of evergreen pears and crepe myrtles) and a series of color-coordinated enhancements including decorative tree grates and guards, benches, trash receptacles, light poles and planters. Street trees were provided as part of the Mayor's Community Forest Initiative, and project coordination was handled by the City's Community and Economic Development Department. Combined, these improvements created a more pedestrian-friendly environment for patrons of this thriving arts community.
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| Excerpted from the following articles:
“Ray At Night A Big Draw”, by Kristen Green, San Diego Union-Tribune
“North Park’s Art Colony”, by Don Stanziano, Buzz Publications
“An Arty Night Out”, by Rachel Ralston, Gay and Lesbian Times |
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