Western Edge emerged as the brainchild of Dorothy Churchill-Johnson in 2022.  Its roots date as far back as 2008, when Churchill-Johnson and Joan Rosenberg-Dent invited a group of women artists to meet and share their experience of being a woman in the art world, their work and any upcoming exhibitions and issues.  The invitation was sent with the catch line title, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.”

This Santa Barbara group of artists was caught between Los Angeles and San Francisco.  There was (and still is) an abundance of landscape artists in Santa Barbara, who boasts the fifth largest percentage of people listing their profession as “artist” in the country, according to the US Census.  This original group of women artists was united in working diversely, without a particular style or influence and were serious professionals.  As women, the group shared experience of being excluded from certain exhibitions, receiving lower prices for their work than men and not being taken as seriously as male artists.  The group quickly bonded, called themselves the “Salon,” and met regularly in each other’s homes to share art and to support each other without rules or political structure.

Over time, like most good things, the group gained many members.  The group expanded to include architects, writers and other community members, and as such, became WOCA, (Women of Contemporary Art).  While art was always their main focus, WOCA became too large to meet in small art spaces and lost the intimacy it once had.  Consequently, the Salon regrouped with 14 members in 2020.  The Covid pandemic of that year stopped the group from meeting in person for two years.  An attempt was made to meet in the zoom format without success.  The interaction between the artists in person was critical to discuss provocative issues and was sorely missed.

In 2022, Churchill-Johnson had the thought that a select group of professionals could achieve more together than as individuals, and that museums might be interested in the broad spectrum of work being produced on California’s idyllic Central Coast.  So she called together an eclectic group of artists from the original Salon with the purpose of preparing an overview of their work to present to the wider world and to enhance the reputation of Santa Barbara as a place of artistic achievement.  Individuals were selected because their work was united in beauty, innovation and serious intent.  It was her hope and now our group goal, to create compelling exhibition proposals that will interest museum curators that specialize in California and/or American art and in showing the broad spectrum of contemporary work being produced here by this group located on the Western Edge.

Dorothy Churchill-Johnson passed away in May 2023.  It is with much love, sadness and appreciation that Western Edge continues on with Dorothy’s dream.