Santa Barbara’s Renaissance
Where It All Began
Santa Barbara has always been a place where bold ideas take form. Nestled between the mountains and the sea is a cradle of creativity where beauty and spirit merge. Long before Los Angeles became synonymous with film-making, Santa Barbara was the thriving hub of American cinema.
At its heart stood Flying A Studios—the very first major film studio on the West Coast. Founded by the American Film Manufacturing Company in 1910, the company was attracted to the city’s diverse landscapes, Mediterranean light, coastal vistas, and Spanish Revival architecture. The city’s natural beauty playing a starring role in hundreds of silent films.
"Cinema is not an art which films life—cinema is something between art and life."
~Jean-Luc Godard
Flying A Studios
Over the next decade, Flying A produced over 1,200 films—mostly silent Westerns, dramas, and comedies. At its peak, the studio employed more than 200 people, including writers, directors, set designers, and a growing group of pioneering actors and actresses.
Drawing creatives from across the country, it set the stage for the city to evolve into a place where art, storytelling, and innovation thrive. Flying A was a catalyst for Santa Barbara’s early cultural development—planting seeds for Santa Barbara’s enduring identity as an artistic and cinematic destination.
"Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth."
~Pablo Picasso
Santa Barbara Artists Collective
A century later, Santa Barbara is experiencing a new kind of artistic renaissance with artists of all types— filmmakers, writers, painters, musicians, spiritual visionaries, and social entrepreneurs—reclaiming the city’s role as a cultural epicenter.
Amidst golden light, red-tiled roofs, and deep cultural roots, a new chapter in storytelling is unfolding—one that honors the past, embraces the future, and begins—as great stories do—with love.
This new wave of creative expression is infused with a sense of purpose: to uplift consciousness, to unite humanity, bring Truth to Light, and to awaken the human spirit in us all.