The Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara’s newest exhibit, The New Salon: Arte del Pueblo, opened recently with an artist party and reception that attracted more than 500 visitors.

Visitors view the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara’s exhibit, The New Salon: Arte del Pueblo. (Courtesy photo)
Visitors view the Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara’s exhibit, The New Salon: Arte del Pueblo. (Courtesy photo)

The exhibit, which runs until the end of July, is unique in its open-call format with no judging panel that invited artists to submit their artwork over the course of two days.

The show features 167 diverse artists from from San Luis Obispo to Orange County.

Displayed in a hung salon style throughout the museum, the show is significant for the museum, formerly known as the Contemporary Arts Forum, as it opened its walls for a large-scale, uncurated exhibit for the first time in decades.

The museum’s new co-executive directors, Dalia Garcia and Fabián Leyva-Barragán, welcomed guests during their first public event in the leadership role.

Visitors can view the artwork, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday at 653 Paseo Nuevo, Santa Barbara. Admission to MCASB is free.