Times of San Diego is home to a bustling arts section, with weekly concert listings and frequent theater reviews. A neighborhood focus gives local artists a space to shine while still promoting hometown heroes who made it big and various visiting national creatives.
Beyond artists themselves, we’ve also done standout reporting on how local orgs are coping with funding cuts, what a proposed downtown arts district would look like and the private equity acquisition that left the historic Spreckels Theatre abandoned.
Here are the five articles that resonated most with you in 2025, gaining wide readership. Chula Vista had a particularly stellar year and of course La Jolla has a spot on the list. It also highlights the diverse range of the arts and your interest in it: We start with a painter and end with a musician.
1. La Jolla painter Concetta Antico can see 100 million colors
Coastal reporter Dave Schwab starts us off with a look at impressionist oil painter Concetta Antico’s new art gallery. The artist and teacher has a rare condition: functioning tetrachromacy, which means she can see colors indistinguishable to those with normal vision. Most humans can see 1 million colors. She’s the only known and scientifically confirmed working artist with an extra cone in each eye so she can see 100 million colors.
2. Breathing new life into Chula Vista’s historic Vogue Theater
Our resident history buff, Debbie Sklar, examined Chula Vista’s cultural anchor, the Vogue Theater, which opened in 1945 to postwar optimism. But single-screen neighborhood theaters struggled as suburban multiplexes gained popularity. Vogue Theater closed in the 1980s but four decades later, the city of Chula Vista is working on reopening its community gathering center, this time as a flexible performing arts venue.
3. Chula Vista’s Jessica Sanchez wins ‘America’s Got Talent’
Contributing editor Elizabeth Ireland brings us the 20-year story of Chula Vista native Jessica Sanchez, who debuted on the ‘America’s Got Talent’ stage during its first season when she was just 10 years old. The Filipina musician was later a runner up on “American Idol.” Now at 30, she was back on “America’s Got Talent” and finally clinched the title, winning a $1 million prize and a headlining slot at AGT Live in Las Vegas – all while nine months pregnant.
4. YOUtopia is San Diego’s mini Burning Man
Contributor Hoa Quach highlighted an event in Jacumba this year which let locals dip their toe into what Burning Man is like. For those who can’t commit to nine days in the desert at the flagship event, this regional five-day campout brought local artists and makers to craft a similar sensory adventure. Attendees saw art installations and participated in sound camps while building fellowship.
5. A vulnerable Teddy Swims wins over San Diego
Back in July, Teddy Swims sang to a devoted crowd at Petco Park’s Gallagher Square with an 8-piece band rocking custom Padres jerseys. Music writer Donovan Roche was in attendance and delivered this review which highlighted Swims’ tender, warm and authentic stage presence. The genre-bending Atlanta crooner has seen a meteoric rise but still connected with the huge crowd, appearing genuinely moved when he found out a couple was engaged. Roche had more on Swims’ musical chops and roots as a cover artist on YouTube.
