After more than four decades as what 3rd District Arts Commissioner Roman Baratiak described as “a discerning and gifted arts journalist/critic, talented musician, and acclaimed author and teacher” and “an outstanding champion of the arts in Santa Barbara County,” Josef Woodard will receive the 2023 County of Santa Barbara Leadership in Arts Award.
The Santa Barbara Independent’s senior arts writer joins the ranks of prestigious individuals and organizations — among them Kathy Koury and the Children’s Creative Project, the City of Buellton’s Arts & Culture Committee, and Zaveeni Khan-Marcus, founding director of UCSB Multicultural Center — who have received this award since it was established in 2006 “to honor and recognize individuals or organizations that have made a significant impact on the arts and culture of our region through innovative thinking and exemplary commitment to promoting sustaining, and advancing our quality of life through the arts.”
“Joe has written literally thousands of articles and reviews of performing artists/ensembles, musicians/bands/orchestras, visual artists, film reviews, and feature stories supporting the work of Santa Barbara County artists, authors, musicians, and dancers,” stated Baratiak, who served more than four decades as the associate director of UCSB Arts & Lectures before his retirement in 2020.
“This award is really an honor, to me, both for the kind recognition — I guess people really do read my scribblings — and because it gives me a moment of reflection over what I’ve done for the past 40-plus years,” said Woodard. “When you’re caught in the constant flow of deadlines, concerts, pondering what that art exhibition meant, or dealing with larger cultural questions, it can be a constant and sometimes dizzying flow. But this honor reminds me that, despite my work out of town and for various publications elsewhere, it really has been the richness of Santa Barbara culture — high and low and middle — that has kept me engaged for all this time. There’s never a lack of things to write or think about.”
In addition to his impressive body of work, in nominating Woodard for this honor, Baratiak also pointed out that “Joe has a particular passion for promoting young artists, musicians, and filmmakers of diverse backgrounds with careers outside of the mainstream. He’s regularly and consistently highlighted the work of artists from marginalized communities and has been a key player in promoting the value of the arts, including experimental and new works, to diverse audiences. In addition to his writing for local publications, Joe contributes to national publications, including the Los Angeles Times (for 25 years), and many music magazines, including Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, Down Beat, Variety, Opera News, and Jazz Times.”
Baratiak also highlighted Woodard’s passion for making his own music — his bands include Headless Household, Dudley, and Lucinda Lane — as well as his collaborations with local musicians through his eclectic record label Household Ink Records, which was founded in 1987.
“In addition,” stated Baratiak, “Joe has been teaching guitar to aspiring young musicians for decades. I cannot stress enough the enormous positive impact and promotion of the arts that journalist/musician/author/teacher Josef Woodard has on audiences and readers throughout Santa Barbara County. There’s a reason arts presenters and concert promoters save their best seats for Joe. They know he’s the living memory of the arts in Santa Barbara County.”
Asked about his initial response to the honors, with characteristic humbleness, Woodard said, “I had heard rumor of this possibly happening, through Roman’s wrangling, but when I got the official word from Sarah [York Rubin, executive director of Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture], it was a warm bath of a surprise, with a little bit of ‘I’m not worthy’ sensation attached.”
He added, “Interestingly, my earliest contact with Roman came when I was a teenage film nerd, going to the series he organized at Campbell Hall, where I was introduced to the heady stuff of Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Jacques Tati, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Humphrey Bogart, among others. Thanks, Roman.”
October will be officially recognized as Arts & Humanities Month by the County Board of Supervisors and Santa Barbara City Council. In addition to Woodard, Montecito Bank & Trust will receive the 2023 Business in Art Award for its investment in youth arts education, as well as its Community Dividends Program. Proclamations will be issued on October 17 by the County Board of Supervisors and on October 24 by the Santa Barbara City Council.