Spotlight West Marin

A Creative Region Comes Into View

September 16 – October 17, 2026
Opening Reception: Sunday, September 20 | 4:00pm – 6:00pm

Presented with support from the San Geronimo Valley Cultural Center.

There is something unmistakable about West Marin.

Its dramatic coastline, open agricultural valleys, small communities, and distance from urban life have long drawn artists seeking space to observe, experiment, and create on their own terms. The region has nurtured a creative culture shaped by natural beauty, independence, resourcefulness, and a deep relationship to place.

This fall, the Sausalito Center for the Arts brings that creative community together for Spotlight West Marin, an expansive exhibition featuring notable artists who live and work throughout the region.

Visitors will encounter drawing, painting, photography, sculpture, woodworking, and other forms of artistic expression, presented by artists at different stages of their careers. The exhibition also includes work represented by the estates of several important legacy artists, connecting West Marin’s creative history with the work being made there today.

Spotlight West Marin has been designed to preserve the individuality and character of each artist’s practice while revealing the larger creative culture they share.

Participating artists have each been invited to select and arrange their own work within a dedicated gallery space, giving visitors an intimate look at the ideas, materials, and bodies of work that have emerged from West Marin’s communities and landscape.

Together, the exhibition creates a broader portrait of a region where art is deeply connected to place, independence, and creative life.

We invite you to experience this remarkable gathering and discover the creative life of West Marin.

All exhibited artwork will be available for purchase.

Key Dates

Wednesday, September 16
Spotlight West Marin opens to the public

Sunday, September 20 | 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Opening Reception

Saturday, September 26
Sha Sha Higby dance performance

Saturday, October 17
Final day of the exhibition

Opening Reception

Join us for the opening of Spotlight West Marin, a special gathering celebrating the artists, creative traditions, and enduring spirit of West Marin.

Spend the afternoon exploring the exhibition, meeting participating artists, and experiencing the remarkable range of work emerging from this distinctive part of Northern California.

Sunday, September 20
4:00pm – 6:00pm
RSVP FOR THE OPENING RECEPTION

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS

SHA SHA HIGBY
FOXES OF THE FLOATING WORLD
Saturday,  September 26 
7:30pm – 8:30pm

The Sausalito Center for the Arts is honored to present a new performance by internationally acclaimed sculptural performance artist Sha Sha Higby, whose intricate, dreamlike creations have captivated audiences worldwide. In this special engagement, Higby invites viewers into a narrative realm shaped by the presence of a singular figure: the fox, a mythic wanderer who slips between worlds and carries stories in its wake.

In Foxes of the Floating World, the fox becomes both muse and messenger. Higby traces its path through shifting landscapes of silk, lacquer, and shadow — a creature who appears at the edge of perception, guiding the audience deeper into a tale of transformation. 

As she moves, her sculptural costume unfurls into foxlike contours: a flicker of a tail, a glint of amber, a sudden stillness that feels like listening. The fox is never literal; instead, it emerges as a presence, a whisper, a question.

The performance follows the fox’s quiet journey through a world in flux. It pauses at thresholds, slips behind veils, and reappears in altered form, echoing the ancient stories in which foxes shift shape, cross boundaries, and reveal truths only through indirection. Higby’s slow, deliberate gestures give the narrative a meditative rhythm — a sense that the fox is teaching us how to see, how to wait, how to notice the delicate hinge between one moment and the next.

By the end, the fox has become a symbol of resilience and intuition, a reminder that transformation is not a single act but a continual unfolding. Higby’s sculptural performance becomes the fox’s story — a tale told without words, carried in movement, costume, and breath.

September 26, Saturday,  7:30pm – 8:30pm
Tickets: $25.00 in advance. $30.00 at the door.

About Sha Sha Higby

Sha Sha Higby is celebrated for her singular fusion of sculpture, costume, and performance. Her work, shaped by years of study in Japan, Indonesia, and beyond, is known for its intricate craftsmanship and slow, deliberate movement that blurs the line between body and object. Each performance is a visual poem — a story told through gesture, material, and atmosphere.

We Thank Our Generous Sponsor Of This Exhibit