An Artful Life: Tribute for James Hubbell
A Celebration of Art and Community!
THANK YOU FOR JOINING THE
3RD ANNUAL PRP FRIENDSHIP WALK
and
TRIBUTE to JAMES HUBBELL
Sunny skies and a sparkling San Diego Bay welcomed more than 300 people Saturday, August 24, 2024, on a 1-mile “Friendship Walk” honoring the life and legacy of artist James Hubbell. Celebrants started at the Pacific Portal gazebo on Shelter Island, and followed a long ribbon of parklands to Pearl of the Pacific Park where music, dance, poetry and a series of eulogies celebrated the profound impact James Hubbell had on the San Diego region and the world.
Guest speakers included Kyle Bergman, organizer of eight Pacific Rim Park projects in seven different countries, Christine Brady, founder of Colegio La Esperanza schools in Tijuana, Milenko Matanovic, founder of Pomegranate Foundation, Marianne Gerdes, executive director of the Ilan-Lael Foundation, and Hubbell sons Torrey and Drew. All shared their memories of James the artist, father, community activist, and advocate for peace.
A performance of the mini-opera Queen Califia’s Pilgrimage, was a highlight. The libretto was written by James and dramatically spoken on this day by Ilan-Lael’s 2024 Poet Fellow Karla Cordero. In addition, a troupe from San Diego’s famed Malashock Dance performed an interpretive dance. Soon after, Taiko drummers energized the crowd and the giant Japanese Friendship bell nearby boomed eight times — one for each of Hubbell’s parks built in various countries around the Pacific Rim. It was a fitting tribute and celebration of a life of enormous accomplishment and purpose.
Attendees traveled from near and far: England, Mexico, Washington State, Massachusetts, Ohio, North Carolina, and Hawaii. These friendships represented seven decades of Hubbells’ activism, from the many friends he made at home, and afar at the Colegio schools in Mexico, artworks created for sites as various as Scotland and the United Arab Emirates, and the other Pacific Rim Parks around the world that have joined the one on Shelter Island as a testament to how people from different countries and cultures can work together to create lasting, meaningful and beautiful gathering places.
As we remember and treasure our dear friend, we are called to action once more. His legacy is now ours to carry forward. Your support of the James Hubbell Memorial Art Fund supports the Ilan-Lael Foundation, which protects and preserves Hubbell’s internationally known unique home and studios — now a center for arts, education, and culture — and carries forward James’ visionary work in the U.S. and beyond through projects like Pacific Rim Park, art and nature education programs, exhibitions like this year’s landmark Architecture of Jubilation exhibit in San Diego’s Main Library, and further collaborations with community partners here and abroad.
Your support of Ilan-Lael has never been as impactful and important! As James Hubbell liked to say, “With friends all things are possible!”
PLEASE SUPPORT THE JAMES HUBBELL MEMORIAL ART FUND
What a beautiful day it was!
We all gathered at James Hubbell’s Pacific Portal sculpture to begin the 3rd Annual PRP Friendship Walk for Peace. Photo: Laurel Costa
The Chunky Hustle Brass Band warmed up their horns and then led the way…and everyone walked along the beautiful shorline down to the Pearl of the Pacific Park. Photo: Andrea Johnson
Friends—our greater Pacific family—walked together, visiting, sharing stories, and enjoying the perfect day! Attendees traveled from near and far: England, Mexico, Washington State, Massachusetts, Ohio, North Carolina, and Hawaii. These friendships represented seven decades of James Hubbells’ activism. Photo: Andrea Johnson
“What if the Pacific were a new culture, different from the Atlantic culture, a new way of understanding our place in the world? What if the countries and people that live by this grand lake thought of themselves as a family? This may seem hopelessly naive, but if we are able to imagine it, it is possible.” —JTH
We walked for about a mile and gathered at the beautiful Pacific Rim Park called “Pearl of the Pacific,” the second of eight parks that have been built on the Pacific. Photo: Andrea Johnson
Almost every seat was filled at the Tribute to James Hubbell, while many gathered around on benches and shady areas to hear rememberances of James’ life, work and vision. Speakers included Kyle Bergman, organizer of eight Pacific Rim Park projects in seven different countries, Christine Brady, founder of Colegio La Esperanza schools in Tijuana, Milenko Matanovic, founder of Pomegranate Foundation, Marianne Gerdes, executive director of the Ilan-Lael Foundation, and Hubbell sons Torrey and Drew. All shared their memories of James the artist, father, community activist, and advocate for peace. Photo: Laura Costa
Guest Speaker and Ilan-Lael board president, James and Anne Hubbell’s oldes son Drew. Photo: Andrea Johnson
Guest Speaker Milenko Matanovic. Photo: Andrea Johnson
Guest Speaker and Ilan-Lael executive director, Marianne Gerdes. >Photo: Andrea Johnson
James Hubbell’s opera “Queen Califia” was performed on an outdoor stage by the John Malashock Dance troup while poet Karla Cordero read the libretto.Photo: Laurel Costa
The La Jolla Taiko drummers performed, captivating young and old alike! Photo: Andrea Johnson
Children played around the park’s centerpiece mosaic pearl fountain.
Photo: Andrea Johnson
…and explored the may beautiful details. Photo: Andrea Johnson
“Beauty can be guide in helping us put together a complex world and be a tool to help us make changes for the better.”—JTH
Photo: Andrea Johnson
Attendees wove together in a community tapistery project. Photo: Andrea Johnson
The celebration closed with the ringing of the Friendship Bell…eight times to honor each of the eight Pacific Rim Parks. A special thank you to the Port of San Diego and Yokohama Sister Society! Photo: Hanni Aburto
Watch the FULL WALK and Tribute on FACEBOOK
Photo: Hanni Aburto
SEE ALL THE PHOTOS FROM THE JAMES HUBBELL TRUBUTE AND WALK