With a series of immersive art experiences and an inclusive community of artists working in collaboration, Liminal Space Collective is building a future of creative collectivity in Santa Cruz.
At an artist-led meetup on a Santa Cruz beach in late 2020, a small group of local creatives were gathering for the first time, coming out of their pandemic hibernation, eager to connect with one another and their creative spirits. Weston Mossman was there, and the creativity and connection within the group sparked him. “I knew this idea could be expanded on,” says Weston. A few months later, Liminal Space Collective was born.
Starting at a small coffee shop downtown, Weston gathered a group of artists to lead workshops, show their artwork, and play music, advertising an immersive event experience of creating live art, learning, and sharing. Everyone and anyone of all ages was invited. People came. People created. People connected. Liminal Space was onto something, and within a year of hosting monthly events, they had packed 11th Hour Coffee beyond capacity and knew it was time to level up.
Enter the historic Circle Church, a massive unused building in the heart of Santa Cruz’s Westside neighborhood—quite literally circling it. Weston had a vision of murals and installations and creatives en masse working together in community—flowing and collaborating in the name of creativity. He got the keys, met Wendy Frances soon after, and the Northern Lights project was born. The project involved around 60 dedicated artists volunteering their time, materials, and ideas to create immersive, interactive art exhibits throughout the building. Each room was an experience. The one-night event blew away the organizers’ expectations, selling out and creating a buzz in the community.
“How do we enable creative agency, open creativity, and change, change being a constant thing that we are all grounded by—change in the world, in the universe, in us as artists?” -Weston Mossman, Executive Director of Liminal Space
Two months later they did it again. Impermanence marked their last project at the Circle Church as the building was set to be demolished later that year. Weston’s inspiration was guided by the question, “How do we enable creative agency, open creativity, and change, change being a constant thing that we are all grounded by—change in the world, in the universe, in us as artists?” And with that they wiped out the rooms and walls of Northern Lights and started again.
Artistic Director Wendy Frances recounts her entrance into Liminal Space as a shy creative with minimal experience in large scale murals and installations. She jumped in the fire head first, dedicating all of her time outside of work to a large mural for Northern Lights and an installation room called Weeping Note Grove at Impermanence. “I’d work all day, go to the church, and be there until three o’clock in the morning,” says Wendy. “The next day, I’d get up and do it all over again.” Her blacklit installation room was filled with fluorescent trees and an invitation to write a note and hang it from the branches. “The idea was for people to leave something there—intentions, thoughts, feelings, so that they left feeling lighter.”
Hundreds of artists contributed to the space for Impermanence. Watsonville-based muralists Augie WK and Jessica Carmen with Jams Brand, Elijah Pfotenhauer, Emily Love, and the group Made Fresh Crew were just a few artists who pitched in their time, skills, and supplies to bring this project to life. Supply calls went out on Instagram, and people came through, donating spray paint, house paint, and an assortment of art supplies and materials. Most of what was used was upcycled, another component of Liminal’s work they are passionate about. They packed the church for Northern Lights, gaining insight on how to throw large-scale events, work with the city, and forge community relationships.
In the summer of 2023, Liminal Space submitted a late proposal to the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH) for their Frequency Festival, a multi-artist exhibit featuring lights, sound, and digital technology. They just made their way in. This time they crafted a leveled-up version of Wendy’s former installation called the Crystal Note Grove, paired with a large-scale icosahedron sculpture and live performers. Collaborating with Jordan Layman of Idea Fab Labs and with the help of 117 volunteers, they created a 13-foot-tall tree filled with fiber-optic lights, twinkling experiences, hanging LED crystals, and 3D-printed elements along with a 5-foot, pink, lighted icosahedron.
The folks at Liminal Space stay focused on art as an impermanent structure and creativity as a constantly fluid mindset, so frequently changing spaces is truly at the core of the organization. The circle of creative energy that results from community interaction with their art installations keeps them inspired, connected, and creating more.
And more and more and more. Liminal Space, now a nonprofit project of The Children Are Our Future, recently teamed up with Idea Fab Labs and the Trellus Collective at the Old Wrigley Building in Santa Cruz to create a bimonthly meeting space and think tank for artists called “Creative Commons.” Everyone is welcome to this open event on the second and fourth Mondays of every month from 6pm to 10pm. Visit their website for information on how you can get involved, and keep an eye out for more projects collectively created in the liminal.
imispace.org
Instagram: liminal_space_collective
Top group image: (Left to Right): Wendy Frances | Weston Mossman | Taylor Royan