Home is Where the Art (and Fashion) is with Casita Events

Art, fashion, human connection — that’s what you’ll experience at Casita Events. Founded in 2024, Casita (“little house” in Spanish) is a community art show held in founder Aughnie Castillo’s actual home, featuring local artists and fully immersive, themed experiences. Castillo, an artist, art teacher and event planner, says Casita came from a desire to create a collaborative community art space that felt safe and welcoming.

“It’s my mom’s home. She always called it Casita, and so I decided to go with that name when it came to the house,” Castillo says. “Being in a house feels safer or more comfortable for people. If they’re sharing their work for the first time, and we have a lot of artists who have never shared their work, they feel more comfortable doing it there. That gives them the confidence to do scarier things, like [show work at] bigger galleries.”

Each art show is curated around a central idea or color palette, featuring art in various mediums, including paintings, photography, fashion, music, short films and more. Guests become part of the show through theme-based dress codes and interactive art experiences. For Castillo, fashion is an essential part of Casita.

“We provide a Pinterest inspo board so they can know exactly what the idea is, what we’re expecting,” Castillo says.

“I really encourage people not to be scared of being extra. Fashion is an art form, and people get to showcase it at events. It’s one of my favorite parts [of the shows].”

Interactive exhibits are a Casita signature. Past shows included readings with handmade, collaged tarot cards, music with lyric video visualizers and an installation that guests could tie ribbons onto. Every show also features performers and DJs who enhance the interactive art experience.

When it comes to curating artists, it’s as intentional as the theme itself. Most of the early shows at Casita mostly featured artists that Castillo already knew, but that changed this year with the “Unfinished and Imperfect” show, which was open to public submissions. “It was really great because we got a bunch of people we would have never known about,” Castillo says. “It’s very important for us that it’s diverse. We want to include everyone and anyone, but we like to make sure we include work by people of color and other marginalized voices.”

Casita has hosted three themed shows so far: “Monochromatic;” “Black, White & Red;” and “Unfinished and Imperfect.” The next show entitled “Complementary Colors” is on September 12 at the Art Garten in Downtown Salt Lake City and will showcase the work of six artists and two muralists.

The main event will be a live art exhibition where the featured artists are challenged to create pieces on the spot using only two complementary colors, plus black and white. Guests will be asked to dress in complementary colors, and there will be a “Best Outfit” contest.

Two interactive guest experiences will be part of this show. “We’ll have two walls that people get to paint on. Kids can do it, anybody can do it,” Castillo says. There will also be postcards guests can draw on, prompted by their favorite place in Salt Lake City. “The point of this show would be to love your city, to get to know your city,” she says. Food trucks, vendors and performers will round out the night. It’s a lineup meant to showcase both the local art and food scene.

Castillo is always looking for volunteers to support Casita’s community art movement. “We love collaborating with people,” she says. “So if anybody ever wants to ask us something, they should just ask. I don’t want anyone to be scared to do that.”

Keep an eye on Casita’s Instagram @casita.events and website casitaevents.my.canva.site for updates and details about the upcoming show, as well as information about free art initiatives and other opportunities to get involved in the local art scene.

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