The Artists Village is located on Second Street at Broadway, in the heart of historic downtown Santa Ana, California. The village extends from First Street to Fourth Street, and Bush Street to Birch, surrounding the Second Street Mall between Broadway and Sycamore Street.
Originally proposed in the mid-1980s, the village was meant to revitalize one of Orange County's oldest cities and bring back part of a once-thriving downtown, with dozens of historical buildings, most vacant for years.
Included in the Artists Village are the Spurgeon Building, Santora Arts Building, Cal State Fullerton Grand Central Art, Salon of the Theatres, and the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art.The Santora Arts Building, with its architectural gargoyles and demons, is the soul of the Artists Village. More than two dozen artist studios and galleries fill three floors.
The building anchors a pedestrian mall along Second Street that includes restaurants and the Grand Central Art Center (with three galleries, a small theater, and more artist studios).
Students from the college's visual arts and graduate arts programs exhibit and sell their works.
Across the street from the Santora Building is the Empire Theater, which is home to an eclectic mix of new plays and classics (with a spin) performed by Rude Guerrilla Theater Company. The Salon of the Theatres is home to the Joseph Musil Studios and the American Museum of Theatrical Design.
The OCCCA is a non-profit, affiliate-run, uncensored, community gallery showcasing more than 800 artists and 400 guest artists, which are exhibited through showings and performance projects.
The Artists Village Open House is an event that occurs on the first Saturday of each month, when galleries, theatres, artists, and performers in the Artists Village host their event for the public. The free event attracts people who come from throughout Los Angeles and Orange County to walk through the more than 150 participating studios and galleries located in the historic buildings.