Santa Barbara’s Newest Art Collective: double dutch

Look at your shelves. It’s not the framed photos or unread books that make those shelves uniquely yours. It’s those knick-knacks, collectibles, and tchotchkes you’ve kept, moved, and refused to throw away over the years. 

What do these trinkets mean about us? Sam Fitz and Bella Vasquez, the co-founders of Santa Barbara’s newest art collective double dutch, have curated an upcoming gallery show to find out.

double dutch’s first show, “Tchtochke,” comprised of submissions from Santa Barbara artists, intends to “explore our relationships to our possessions.” The art collective’s mission is to “elevate the visibility of young artists” so they may “share their voices, engage with diverse audiences, and make meaningful impacts in their community.”

I first met the double dutch duo when collapsing my own art exhibition at Elsie’s Tavern. Even after brief formalities, their personalities were clear. 

Fitz is a concise, driven, fiercely tattooed creative. Her influences include director Petra F. Collins and self-confessed Lisa Frank enthusiast Alake Shilling. Fitz is interested in the art histories of sapphic and queer communities, archiving how they “radicalize, reimagine, and reconstruct” their stories against “the heteronormative canon.”

Vasquez, the personification of a fuchsia butterfly, is bubbly, passionate, and enamored with editorial photography. An artistic inspiration for Vasquez is Rookie Mag, a discontinued online magazine written “for and by teenagers,” which featured artists and writers from a variety of artistic disciplines.

double dutch’s branding is an encapsulation of both their aesthetics: nostalgic collectibles – like Troll Dolls and crane machine prizes – stuffed in microwaves and treated in halftone effects and bubblegum colors. Their kitschy socials cater to young creatives who most likely played in the digital arts program Kid Pix during their typing classes in the early aughts. 

Fitz and Vasquez spent their formative years discovering their artistry through the academic art communities of Santa Barbara. Fitz attended San Marcos High School and was involved with Teen Arts Council (TAC), an arts mentorship program orchestrated by the MCASB. Vasquez attended VADA, Santa Barbara High School’s prestigious arts-focused curriculum. 

Fitz and Vasquez attended UC Berkeley and UC Davis respectively, both initially pursuing film, but their history in fine art spaces drew them elsewhere. 

“The ability to connect and create with people from TAC was the catalyst that guided my career in academia,” Fitz notes, leading to her involvement in the video-arts gallery VIDRINE at UC Berkeley. There, she realized her knack for curation: “While TAC was participatory, VIDRINE showed me how to run and see a curatorial program to fruition.”

Vasquez’s deviation from film production and graphic design started at a “pivotal” textiles class. “It unearthed my inner child. I didn’t really think, I just did art with my hands.” It was 24/7 access to the textile room that led to Vasquez joining a tight-knit community of fashion design students. “I was surrounded by extremely passionate artists. It’s a different kind of energy you put into handcrafted art.” 

After returning from college in 2023, both artists felt a longing to recreate the structure of academic communities. “It’s hard coming back to your hometown from a very curated, school-supported art community… I was looking to either find or create a community that replicated that,” said Fitz.

Though Fitz and Vasquez grew up in Santa Barbara, their interests existing “parallel” to one another, they only formally met six months ago when a mutual friend recognized their shared interest in creating an art community.

When Fitz and Vasquez first met at DART Coffee Gardens, Fitz said they immediately bonded over their “affinity for looser forms of art” that were “more emblematic of childhood, personal.” Vasquez added that their shared love of “childlike wonder” is what led Vasquez to suggest the name double dutch. 

The idea “Tchotchke’’ came from Fitz. “I’ve always been fascinated with how my experience with tchotchkes compares to others,” she noted. “Tchotchkes can mean more to us than what meets the eye.” 

Vasquez fully supported Fitz’s vision, fondly recalling a shelf in her college dorm she dubbed her ‘trinket apartment’. “It feels relevant to a lot of artists. We all have certain figurines, plushies, and toys that bring us joy.” 

In the fall, Fitz will continue her passion for curation by completing a masters in Curatorial Practices at USC. “I always have an underlying thought process about shows and ideas that I would like to see come to life,” she remarks.

double dutch’s ultimate goal is to provide a “fun, safe space” for local artists to “engage with one another.” An upcoming project Fitz and Vasquez are particularly excited about is releasing a zine publication that will allow art lovers to connect with double dutch “consistently and beyond physical spaces.” 

double dutch’s first show “Tchotchke’’ opens August 9th, 6-10pm, at SBCAW (the Community Arts Workshop, 631 Garden St, Santa Barbara), and will remain on display until August 21st. To find out more about double dutch and ticket information for “Tchotchke,” visit their linktree at https://linktr.ee/doubledutchcollective. Follow their Instagram @double.dutch.collective for future opportunities and events.