CMND SHFT has become more than just an annual conference. It is also a tremendous amount of work that no one gets paid for. That said, we’ve found the benefits far outweigh the effort, and we’re well on our way to planning next year.

“Balancing the stage” is a common theater term. It refers to the arranging of the actors and set in a strategic way to produce a desired effect. A director can create a feeling of order or of chaos with the choices they make. For the audience, balance is crucial — a stage that lacks balance will pull focus and distract from the story the company needs to tell.

When money grows tight in a town like Sacramento, nonprofits must get creative to stay afloat. This is particularly true for the performing arts. But the region’s creative nonprofits have risen to the challenge in recent years, finding innovative means to engage the community and fill both seats and coffers.

Bryan Valenzuela’s sculpture, “Multitudes Converge,” will illustrate the convergence of the Sacramento and American rivers, and it is one of four pieces of public art commissioned for the Golden 1 Center in downtown Sacramento.

Debatably the most exclusive event to come to the city, Le Dîner en Blanc is a pop-up posh picnic, designed to celebrate friendship and community — trés chicly.

Do you live in Stockton? Well then you can take your business across the street. That’s because the popular and ever-growing Stockmarket has officially moved its location from downtown to the Miracle Mile, as of this Saturday. 

At the young age of 11, Fred Uhl Ball had his artwork exhibited as a one-person show at the Sacramento Central Library in downtown, and by 13 years old he offered demonstrations as part of the Art in Action exhibit at the California State Fair where his artistic talents flourished for all to see. 

The 12 artists selected to paint murals throughout downtown and Midtown Sacramento are putting on their finishing touches and cleaning off their brushes, as the Sacramento Mural Festival draws to a close on Saturday.

When the Sacramento Mural Festival kicks off its weeklong run tomorrow, 12 artists will begin to transform blank walls into works of art. But is this public art or a private venture?

Maybe it’s both.

At its best, placemaking can bring attention to forgotten, underserved or otherwise blighted corners of a city, and build a communal aesthetic that empowers residents and visitors to celebrate a neighborhood. However, it can also go awry.