The Meaning of Life: A Self Portrait
April 4 – May 30, 2026

The Meaning of Life: A Self Portrait is a new body of work by Southern California–based artist Jo Ann Block, on view at Studio Channel Islands Art Center from April 4 through May 30, 2026.
Through sculpture, video, and painting, Block explores how meaning is shaped over time through personal choices, and self-reflection. The work examines identity, queer experience, sobriety and community using metaphor and materials to map a life that frequently doubles as a broader story of society.
The exhibition unfolds as a series of interconnected works that loosely follows the trajectory of the artist’s life, inviting viewers into spaces that are at once intimate and expansive. Together, these works ask how purpose is formed, how identity evolves, and what it means to live intentionally.
During the run of the exhibition, two guest artist events will further activate and transform the space In April a two-night film screening of Paris Poirier and Karen Kiss’ Last Call at Maude’s along with an immersive experience, integrating live performance with the feature film. Dana Teen Lomax and others offer hybrid experimental poetry. Dates and times for both events will be announced.
Events in conjunction with this exhibition
04apr4:00 pmOpening ReceptionThe Meaning of Life: A Self Portrait

Event Details
Through sculpture, video, and painting, Block explores how meaning is shaped over time through personal choices, and self-reflection. The work examines identity, queer experience, sobriety and community using metaphor and
more
Event Details
Through sculpture, video, and painting, Block explores how meaning is shaped over time through personal choices, and self-reflection. The work examines identity, queer experience, sobriety and community using metaphor and materials to map a life that frequently doubles as a broader story of society.
The exhibition unfolds as a series of interconnected works that loosely follows the trajectory of the artist’s life, inviting viewers into spaces that are at once intimate and expansive. Together, these works ask how purpose is formed, how identity evolves, and what it means to live intentionally.
Time
(Saturday) 4:00 pm
11apr7:30 pm
Carl Verheyen BandConcert in the Gallery

Event Details
Indicates member benefit
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Event Details
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Members receive discounted tickets for this and other concerts. Please log in or contact the office to receive your access code.
Summary
In his 50-plus years of playing the instrument, Carl has created a wildly successful, multi-faceted career. He is a critically acclaimed musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, producer and educator with sixteen albums and two live DVDs released worldwide. Carl is commonly regarded as a guitar virtuoso capable of playing any style of music with remarkable mastery and conviction. He has been one of LA’s elite “first call” session players for the past 40 years, playing on hundreds of records, movie soundtracks and television shows. Verheyen has graced the pages of countless industry publications and been the subject of numerous articles chronicling his rise to the forefront of the modern-day guitar scene. Carl has won numerous polls and musical honors in the US, Germany, France, Italy and the UK.
A member of the smash hit British rock group Supertramp since 1985, Carl has played to millions of enthusiastic fans in sold out arenas worldwide. As the creative force behind the Carl Verheyen Band, he has released an impressive and eclectic discography that showcases his endless talents across a wide array of musical genres. The CVB tours all over the world and continues to draw fans on the festival circuit as well as theaters and clubs. Carl also works with Police drummer Stewart Copeland in his PDO project, playing the music of the Police with symphony orchestras around the USA.
A much sought-after studio musician, Carl plays on other artists’ CDs whenever his busy schedule permits. He has recorded and played with a virtual who’s who of the music industry. His vast collection of movie soundtrack and television credits is enviable. Carl was heard by 67,000,000 people as a featured soloist at the 2009 Academy Awards. He is also heavily featured in the film documentary about the electric guitar, Turn It Up!
On the educational front, Carl has produced two instructional videos called Intervallic Rock Guitar and Forward Motion as well as six on-line master classes for Truefire. He also has a book/CD detailing his unique “intervallic” style called Improvising without Scales. Another book entitled Studio City is a compilation of all the columns Carl wrote for Guitar Magazine between 1996 and 1999. And his recently released Songbook is a detailed look into his unique and guitar-centered writing style. He has written a monthly column for Chitarre, Italy’s #1 guitar publication as well as Guitar and Bass Magazine in both Germany and France and Guitar Techniques in the UK. He wrote four years monthly columns for the prestigious Guitar Player Magazine and occasionally contributes to other guitar publications like Vintage Guitar and Guitar World. Carl has taught private guitar lessons to John Fogarty, members of System of a Down and Maroon 5 and conducted master classes all over the world. And there are 285 instrctional videos on line at carlverheyen.com in Carl’s own teaching site called the CV Academy. These lessons are also available at Truefire.com on Carl’s own channel.
Working closely with the guitar company LsL, Carl has three signature electric guitars that are hand made in the USA. The CV Specials and CV Studio model are patterned after Carl’s vintage Fender Stratocasters. They play and sound every bit as good, but are road worthy and affordable. He also helped design a unique double cutaway acoustic guitar with Avalon Guitars, a highly respected manufacturer in Ireland and is now working with CF Martin in the USA.
Time
(Saturday) 7:30 pm
Location
Studio Channel Islands Art Center
2222 Ventura Boulevard, Camarillo, CA 93010
25apr7:00 pm
Last Call at Maud’sAn Immersive Screening Experience

Event Details
Free event
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Event Details
Free event
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Summary
Step into history and spend an evening that lingers long after the lights come up.
Last Call at Maud’s: An Immersive Screening Experience transforms Jo Ann Block’s exhibition into the final night inside San Francisco’s oldest and most beloved lesbian bar. As the documentary unfolds, the gallery becomes Maud’s itself—alive with atmosphere, memory, and community—dissolving the distance between then and now.
You will not simply watch the story. You will stand inside it.
Surrounded by textures of the space, the echoes of conversation, and the quiet gravity of what once was, you are invited into a turning point in LGBTQ+ history.
This is a tribute to the women who built sanctuary, forged connection, and shaped a cultural legacy that still resonates.
Part film. Part installation. Part living history.
Attendance is free; RSVP required.
Time
(Saturday) 7:00 pm
Location
Studio Channel Islands Art Center
2222 Ventura Boulevard, Camarillo, CA 93010
Future Event Times in this Repeating Event Series
april 26, 2026 2:00 pm
26apr2:00 pm
Last Call at Maud’sAn Immersive Screening Experience

Event Details
Free event
more
Event Details
Free event
RSVP
Summary
Step into history and spend an evening that lingers long after the lights come up.
Last Call at Maud’s: An Immersive Screening Experience transforms Jo Ann Block’s exhibition into the final night inside San Francisco’s oldest and most beloved lesbian bar. As the documentary unfolds, the gallery becomes Maud’s itself—alive with atmosphere, memory, and community—dissolving the distance between then and now.
You will not simply watch the story. You will stand inside it.
Surrounded by textures of the space, the echoes of conversation, and the quiet gravity of what once was, you are invited into a turning point in LGBTQ+ history.
This is a tribute to the women who built sanctuary, forged connection, and shaped a cultural legacy that still resonates.
Part film. Part installation. Part living history.
Attendance is free; RSVP required.
Time
(Sunday) 2:00 pm
Location
Studio Channel Islands Art Center
2222 Ventura Boulevard, Camarillo, CA 93010
09may7:30 pm
Teresa James and the Rhythm TrampsConcert in the Gallery

Event Details
Indicates member benefit
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Event Details
Indicates member benefit
Get Tickets
Members receive discounted tickets for this and other concerts. Please log in or contact the office to receive your access code.
Summary
Teresa James and the Rhythm Tramps are on quite a roll.
Her persuasive pipes slathered in honey and soaked in Texas-bred sass, keyboardist Teresa James and her band, the Rhythm Tramps, have long reigned as one of Los Angeles’ leading contemporary blues outfits, even though their uncommonly imaginative repertoire, much of it supplied by Terry Wilson, James’ husband, producer, and bassist, is by no means strictly limited to the 12-bar form. Their 2019 CD Here in Babylon was nominated for a Grammy in the Contemporary Blues Album category.
Rose-Colored Glasses, the band’s new release on Blue Heart Records, continues that proud tradition. It’s their 12th album and once again showcases Teresa’s enticing way with a lyric and Terry’s prolific songwriting talent, poured over grooves that’ll grab listeners and refuse to let go until the very last notes have rung. A coterie of Texas guitar greats guest on the set, including Anson Funderburgh, Lee Roy Parnell, Johnny Lee Schell, Snuffy Walden, and Dean Parks. “This new album is kind of veering a little bit more into soul,” says Teresa. “But to me, blues is more of a state of mind. It’s where you’re coming from. It’s the attitude and the heart that you bring to it.”
By any yardstick, Teresa got an uncommonly early start on her lifelong profession. “There was always music playing in my house. My dad was a huge music fan. He had all kinds of musical interests, so I was exposed to a lot of different kinds of music.” “I studied classical music until I was about a sophomore in high school. When I was like eight or so, my dad taught me how to play guitar. Those were the seeds which would eventually lead to a musical career including recordings with Walter Trout, Eric Burdon, Spencer Davis, Tommy Castro, Stephen Bruton, Randy Newman, LeeRoy Parnell, Neil Diamond, and more; plus live performances with countless others, including Marcia Ball, Levon Helm, Lloyd Jones, Delbert McClinton, and Eric Burdon & the Animals. She has been a featured act on Delbert McClinton’s Sandy Beaches Cruises for more than twenty years.
Teresa ultimately left Houston at the encouragement of Terry Wilson and his buddy Tony Braunagel, who had relocated to L.A. Terry proved the perfect musical cohort for Teresa. “His songs are brilliant. I think he’s a really great songwriter. And we’ve collaborated on quite a few, but I think what I bring to his songs in the interpretation is just a good match. He knows the kinds of things that I’m going to be able to put myself into to expand them,” she says. “Over the years, we have definitely developed a partnership that works.” Her band, The Rhythm Tramps, consists of world class players that have toured or recorded with artists including Eric Burdon & the Animals, Bonnie Raitt, Delbert McClinton, Jimmy Reed, Lightin’ Hopkins, Jimmy Vaughan, Johnny Nash, Smokey Robinson, Tom Jones, Tower Of Power, and more.
In 1998, The Rhythm Tramps released their debut album, The Whole Enchilada, on Jesi-lu, with Teresa and Terry’s studio cohorts including guitarists Watts, Schell, and Stephen Bruton. Braunagel and Herman Matthews manned the drums. Subsequent releases include Live (2000), Oh Yeah! (2003), The Rhythm Method (2004), and The Bottom Line in 2007. “The Bottom Line is a really good one,” says Teresa. “We still do most of the songs on that album, and that was the one where we got the BMA nomination.” Next up was Country by Request (2008), followed by 2010’s You Know You Love It, Come On Home in 2012, Bonafide in 2016, and the Grammy-nominated Here in Babylon in 2018, which was mixed by Ed Cherney with Jay Bellerose on drums.
As if the band didn’t keep her busy enough, Teresa has also done considerable vocal work on film soundtracks and song demos in Los Angeles. One of her favorite composers to work for in the studio is Randy Newman; she was one of the background singers on “Putin” from his 2017 CD Dark Matter.
Soon to have a full dozen albums under their collective belt spanning 23 exciting years, Teresa James & the Rhythm Tramps remain a staple of the Los Angeles-area blues scene in addition to an international touring artist, with a sound all their own. Moving easily from Texas-style grease and blues into Memphis soul or New Orleans-flavored grooves and all points in between with fun and abandonment, as one critic said, “there are no clichés in this band.”
Time
(Saturday) 7:30 pm
Location
Studio Channel Islands Art Center
2222 Ventura Boulevard, Camarillo, CA 93010
23may7:00 pm
THE PEOPLE'S PLAYGROUNDAvant-garde Art & Community
Event Details
Free event
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Event Details
Free event
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Summary
Please join experimental hybrid artist Dana Teen Lomax for an unusual evening of performance, avant-garde film, movie-talking, and a whole lot of the unexpected. With an International Community of Artists, Filmmakers, and Poets including: Luzmaria Espinosa Juan D. Mendoza, Raquel Baker, Nicklaus Hoffman, Alexis Lopez, Laura Mullen, Monica Mody, Sarah Rosenthal, White Rabbit Magic, & several others TBA, this ONE NIGHT ONLY event is an evening you won’t want to miss!
Time
(Saturday) 7:00 pm
Location
Studio Channel Islands Art Center
2222 Ventura Boulevard, Camarillo, CA 93010