SANTA MONICA—On Sunday, August 24, the Santa Monica Museum of Art (SMMOA) held their sixth annual Tour da Arts from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Tour da Arts is an annual cultural bike tour that invites people to participate in a nine-mile long trip that allows them to take in art, music and theater.
The event allowed riders to view Santa Monica as a car-free community and learn about the fun and safe biking habits through Cyclists Inciting Change thru Live Exchange (CICLE,) Santa Monica SPOKE/Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, LA Metro and the City of Santa Monica Transportation.
The ride began with the viewing of the “Robert Swain: The Form of Color Exhibit†from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. The exhibit initially opened at the SMMOA on May 17; it was Swain’s first solo exhibit in California. According to a SMMOA press release, the exhibit was “comprised of interlocking, modular paintings created specifically for the Museum and the quality of light in Santa Monica. At 2:00 p.m., the Tour da Arts left the SMMOA and reached their second destination, the Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club. Once at the Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club, bicyclists listened to Anna Oxygen’s electronic music as she encouraged the audience to watch the Tour da Arts and dance along with her. At 3:30 p.m., the Tour da Arts approached the third destination on their ride, Barnum Hall at Santa Monica High School. The bicyclists viewed an exhibit titled, “Myth and Infrastructure†which combined a live shadow-play performance with an animated film.
The final stop for the bicyclists was at 4:30 p.m. when they returned to SMMOA at the Bergamot Station Arts Center. They viewed an iconic scene from Homer’s Odyssey that was adapted for Los Angeles. The whole event contained snacks and refreshments from Whole Foods, Clif Bar, and Peddler’s Creamery.
Participants were expected to bring their own bikes to the event. Anyone under the age of 18 was expected to wear a helmet and to be escorted by a parent or guardian to the event. Anyone under the age of nine was expected to be on some form of a child carrying device, such as a tag-along, bike trailer, tandem, etc.
