About Nectar Arts Forum

NECTAR ART FORUM is "a professional level artists' forum highlighting relevant social themes through the ARTS and EDUCATION". NECTAR was founded by Cybil Gilbertson in October 2009, as a response to the suicide of her beloved, Aunt Barbara. NECTAR has since hosted over 250 artists and highlighted the work of 14 notable Santa Barbara County organizations including but not limited to; The Glendon Association, The Santa Barbara Birth Center, The Central Coast Doulas, Art WIthout Limits, Hospice of Santa Barbara, The Threshold Choir, All For Animals, The Community Counseling and Education Center and Transition House. 

NECTAR is at home at Yoga Soup in downtown Santa Barbara (www.yogasoup.com) and takes place 1-2 times a year as an evening length forum. In addition, a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales goes to the organization that is being highlighted for each show! NECTAR has raised over $3,000 for local Santa Barbara organizations.

NECTAR is intended as a lab for local artists to investigate, create and share meaningful work with their community, in a space that is safe and vital.  Artists are supported to engage with themes that are socially and personally charged and then share their process through their artistic medium at the intimate NECTAR forum. Each show, a call to artists is opened to the community. Artists called to the specific theme of the show come forward and create new work, or revive a piece from the past. The evening is fully curated by NECTAR/Cybil Gilbertson in collaboration with Yoga Soup.

NECTAR has been recognized several times since 2009; receiving the Art Collaborative Direct-to-Artist Grant in 2010, and the Santa Barbara County Arts Grant in both 2011 and 2012. In addition, NECTAR was nominated for the NEBULA Choreographer and Community awards in 2016. NECTAR is under the umbrella organization of Art Without Limits (AWOL), 501 (c)(3), directed by Julie McLeod. AWOL acts as fiscal receiver for NECTAR for grants and donations both public and private.

In 2014, during her second pregnancy, Cybil went on hiatus from producing NECTAR ART FORUM shows. From 2014-2016, Cybil has been calling in various workshops, and The Little Bee Children's Festival under the NECTAR name. In January 2015, Cybil produced and performed her piece, "My Belly Is A Watermelon" for the festival as well as 2 other Santa Barbara venues. "My Belly" was also performed by dancer, Kaita Lepore Mrazek, in her 3rd trimester at the HIVE show of 2016 and will soon be out as a children's book, under Conch Creative Press, NYC.

NECTAR ARTS FORUM RETURNS to YOGA SOUP in late 2016, with the theme of "family". Call to Artists will be posted on the event page soon!