About us
SandBox is a dynamic platform for realizing and witnessing the creative energy of the performing arts. Located in the heart of the warehouse district of Sand City, we host concerts, spoken word artists, film screenings and art parties that push boundaries and build community.
We pluck artists from the global touring circuit and provide them a haven to collaborate and experiment, often putting different artistic practices in conversation.
It's our belief that bold performances make a bigger impact in smaller settings, and that something unique happens when the curtain between performer and audience dissolves -- that’s why we present intimate events that get you right up close to the creative process.
This isn't a venue where after the lights go up, everyone exits. SandBox is a spot for lingering. Our hope is that you stay to check out the art on the walls, share a glass of wine with the performers you've just met, keep the conversation going. Because after all, that's what art allows us -- an opportunity for dialogue and unexpected encounters.
We're so proud to be immersed in the diverse and vibrant arts community of Sand City. We're inspired by the builders, makers and bakers that surround SandBox. We encourage you to explore the many neighboring studios where you’ll meet the glass blowers, welders, sculptors, and wood workers that sustain this unique community by the sea.
In the Schools
SandBox is proud to be the new home of Musikiwest, an innovative program that brings chamber musicians into classrooms to teach conflict resolution while exposing students to world-class live music.
Musikiwest programs feature an ensemble of internationally renowned professional musicians rehearsing a piece of chamber music in a scripted format. As they play passages and intermittently stop to talk, a health professional plays the role of ‘moderator’, highlighting to the audience in real time each player’s comments, gestures, expressions and body language, and the reactions these may elicit in the other players.
Scripted dialogue will illustrate different aspects of interpersonal interaction and group dynamics, such as intimidation, shaming, resentment, divisiveness and other ingredients of discord which ultimately undermine their relations and their music. The moderator and musicians will maintain an interactive dialogue with the audience, and suggest alternative scenarios of speech and behavior that restore harmony among the ensemble. We present our programs in a small classroom setting at select middle schools and high schools.
Students will be seated around the musicians, close enough to discern their facial expressions and subtle gestures. The week of school presentations will culminate in a full-length professional concert performance open to the community.
We hope that participation in our program will empower these young audience members to build their awareness, empathy and skills for conflict resolution, to expose them to a performance of classical chamber music by world-class musicians, and to encourage them to invite their family and friends to join them in enjoying this rare community concert.
In the Press
"[SandBox] combines the charm of a happening urban arts center with the intimacy of a small local theater. It's a gem."
- Monterey Herald
"Sand City’s Sand Box venue is managed and the programs curated by world-class classical cellist Michelle Djokic. She’s been producing some beautiful concerts that cross over often from classical repertoire to more popular music styles."
- Monterey Herald
"An intimate and distinctive performance space."
-Carmel Magazine