Our Year in Photos 2022

The Santa Barbara That Was,
Through the Lens of Our Photographers

By Indy Staff | December 29, 2022

The year 2022 will go down as a year of reconciliation and recovery, as Santa Barbara and the world at large pulled itself out from the COVID pandemic and grappled with social, political, and cultural standards that continue to evolve at a breakneck pace.

That translated to many happy days: a return to live music and festivals, for instance, and a focus back on the arts, entertainment, and culinary scenes that make this region such a delightful place to live. But it also involved a lot of introspection: protests over rising rents and the removal of human rights, worrying about a needless war in Ukraine, decisions about the kinds of leaders we trust to take us forward.

For the past 12 months, we’ve experienced the visual evidence of these matters primarily through the lenses of Ingrid Bostrom, Carl Perry, Matt Perko, Fritz Olenberger, and others. In our end-of-year tradition, we present the best examples of their work in this week’s issue, and we hope you enjoy a colorful, emotional look back at the year that was.

Happy New Year, and we look forward to making more memories with you in 2023.

Protests

In October, Santa Barbara’s Iranian community took over the corner of State Street and Cabrillo Boulevard to join in worldwide protests for women’s rights in Iran, with several women cutting off locks of hair in a symbolic show of solidarity. | Credit: Brett Morrison
UCSB’s roughly 3,100 unionized academic workers were among the 48,000 employees across the UC system who went on strike for better pay and benefits this fall. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
The 2022 Santa Barbara International Film Festival saw the return of in-person screenings and tributes at venues such as the Arlington Theatre, where local Ukrainian activist Tatyana Taruta and Cinema Vanguard Award recipient Benedict Cumberbatch both sought to raise awareness and funds for relief efforts in Ukraine. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
Marvel star Benedict Cumberbatch holds the Ukrainian flag at SBIFF’s Cinema Vanguard Award ceremony. He helped boost the film festival’s Direct Relief for Ukraine fund to $100,000 in March. | Credit: Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images for SBIFF
Nastaran Fathollah holds a chunk of hair she cut off during a protest for women’s rights in Iran, following the death of Mahsa Amini, who was killed while in police custody in Tehran. | Credit: Ryan P. Cruz

Festivals

A beautiful Memorial Day weekend brought larger crowds than ever to the I Madonnari chalk-painting festival held in front of Old Mission Santa Barbara, which had been relegated to online photos and artists’ sidewalks the prior two pandemic years. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
I Madonnari artwork in progress by Psychedelic Honey | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
After two summers of severely scaled-back or canceled Fiesta events, Old Spanish Days returned in full force, with a renewed spirit and a brand-new parade route that drew thousands along Cabrillo Boulevard for the El Desfile Histórico and El Desfile de los Niños parades. | Credit: Fritz Olenberger
Nobuo saws plywood for a float platform at the Solstice Workshop. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom

Features

Our December 8 cover story gave readers a peek inside the colorful world (and Santa Barbara home) of artist Jane Gottlieb. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
Pedro Jimenez was one of our Local Heroes | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
This summer, we caught up with Santa Barbara’s biggest rapper, SadBoy Loko, who talked about his new label and album, as well as his life after lockup. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
In the weeks following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Dr. Katrina Mitchell called for expanded abortion services and the creation of a women’s health task force in Santa Barbara. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
John Perlin | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
Angela Perko with her painting “The Wall,” featuring immigration themes | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
Kai Tepper now heads both I Madonnari and its parent organization, the Children’s Creative Project, the subject of our May 26 cover story. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
Ecologist Rae Wynn-Grant (left) and preserve scientist Elizabeth Hiroyasu stand at the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve, the focus of our Earth Day cover story. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom

Food

Coming out on top of our Best of Santa Barbara® Readers’ Poll in the sushi category was, no surprise, Arigato. Their beautiful Pacific Rim Roll is just one way to dazzle your palate. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
New restaurants always excite Santa Barbarans, and 2022 witnessed quite an influx of culinary creativity. Shellfish and more are showcased at Broad Street Oyster Company, located behind the Shaker Mill cocktail bar on lower State Street. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
Gourmet donut superstar Hook & Press expanded their footprint by taking over the former Jeannine’s space on East Figueroa Street, where they serve matcha lattes, old-fashioned cake donuts, and much more. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
The Santa Barbara Public Market welcomed the latest poultry trend in the form of Matty’s Hot Chicken, where Adam Abrams makes birds spicy and crunchy in honor of his late brother. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
Down the coast a bit, Carp Kitchen & Grocery is bringing healthy and casual yet cheffy eats to that seaside town, including these sandwiches prepared by chef-owner Deb Goldman. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom

Concerts

Trombone Shorty gets up close to the audience at the Santa Barbara Bowl | Credit: Matt Perko
Spencer Barnitz in the Funk Zone | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
The Chicks at Santa Barbara Bowl | Credit: Carl Perry
Zach Gill gives his all for a Halloween-themed pop-up show for Pianos on State. | Credit: Matt Perko
DakhaBrakha at The Granada Theatre | Credit: David Bazemore
Nine Inch Nails brought an intense stage show and performance to the Santa Barbara Bowl. | Credit: Matt Perko
Chris Robinson of Black Crowes shakes his money maker at the Santa Barbara Bowl. | Credit: Carl Perry
Flume, who has captivated the music world for the past decade with hypnotic and abstract compositions, entertains at the Santa Barbara Bowl. | Credit: Matt Perko
My Morning Jacket | Credit: Carl Perry
Fleet Foxes at the Santa Barbara Bowl | Credit: Carl Perry
For 20 years, Rise Against has been performing, as frontman Tim McIlrath said, “songs about change, songs about awareness, songs about family” – and they’re not stopping now. | Credit: Carl Perry

Politics

Outgoing mayor Cathy Murillo passed the gavel to Mayor-Elect Randy Rowse during a January ceremony on the steps of City Hall. | Credit: Erick Madrid
Democrats like Santa Barbara City College Board of Trustees candidate Charlotte Gullap-Moore were part of a local blue wave in this November’s general election. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom
Gregg Hart, beaming here over his early lead in the June primary, would go on to be elected to State Assembly following a November runoff against Republican Mike Stoker. | Credit: Ingrid Bostrom

Nature

The Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network released five of the hundreds of underfed and emaciated brown pelicans they’d been caring for back into the wild at Montecito’s Butterfly Beach in June. | Credit: Santa Barbara Wildlife Care Network
Tropical Storm Kay’s high winds and swells combined to toss newly purchased and uninsured boat ‘Dock U Mentor’ ashore on East Beach this September. | Credit: Steven Cox
June’s Bridge Fire, which burned eight acres and triggered evacuation warnings near Cathedral Oaks and State Route 154, is believed to have started as a couch fire. | Credit: Mike Eliason / S.B. County Fire