The Winter 2025 issue marks Santa Barbara Magazine’s 50th anniversary with a celebratory focus on the region’s artists, cultural icons, and creative legacy. Editorial Director Jennifer Smith frames the edition as a tribute to five decades of storytelling that honor Santa Barbara’s distinctive beauty, talent, and sense of place.

The issue’s flagship feature, “Superstar,” profiles multimedia artist Russell Young, whose cover piece reimagines Andy Warhol’s imagery of former Santa Barbara local Edie Sedgwick. Photographed in his Ojai studio, Young discusses how the West Coast continues to shape his bold explorations of fame and American identity.

In “Couples Therapy,” writer Joan Tapper examines the creative partnership of Mary Heebner and Macduff Everton, pairing Heebner’s layered, atmospheric paintings with Everton’s vivid photography—a combined artistic dialogue rooted in Santa Barbara’s landscapes and cultural history.

“Double Exposure” offers an intimate look at actor Jeff Bridges and photographer Susan Bridges, whose tandem exhibitions at Tamsen Gallery reveal decades of shared visual storytelling—from film sets to family life—captured through two distinct but harmonious lenses.

The final major feature, “Master Class,” reflects on the late designer John Saladino, whose Montecito residence, photographed by Firooz Zahedi, distills a lifetime of work into a serene, light-driven environment described as both a summation and a farewell.

Surrounding these marquee stories, the issue also spotlights notable contributors, local culture, new restaurants, galleries, and design destinations—continuing SB Mag’s long tradition of celebrating the region’s creative richness.