Almost Utopia 18th Street Arts Center is in the midst of a redevelopment project of its site. We are in effect designing of a new creative community, one that we hope will be relevant well into the future and serve the needs of artists, creators, and the public. The most fascinating thing about the process is projecting into the future to see what relevance means, what art making might be like, what creators will need in terms of sustainable communities that support different ideas. In light of this effort, which looks forward with optimism and the desire to expand our worldview and quality of life, our theme for the 2009 exhibition year that asks curators to look forward at least ten years to 2019. In looking forward, we wonder what Los Angeles could be like, and are seeking curatorial approaches that are proactive in terms of quality of life issues. For many years 18th Street Arts Center has supported artists involved with an array of social justice issues. It is probably why we have become realists with an added dose of altruism. We appreciate the enormity of the many social challenges needing immediate attention and have seen progress and successes along side the set backs. Our exhibition theme in 2008, the Future of Nations, has looked at the responsibilities of artist/citizens as they review the status of nationhood. It is in a way a reactive project, fueled by the 2008 elections. In 2009, we are seeking to foster a proactiv e sensibility, a response to the notion that, god willing, we will all be here in 2019, and are working towards making many things better. In the film Blade Runner, set in a city like Los Angeles in 2019, the world is a dystopian universe. I am not interested in dystopian projections, it is a well-worn path and something of a cliché, especially as it relates to Los Angeles. The challenge to curators and artists will be to bring forth ideas and works of art that are ‘almost utopian’, imperfect yet brilliant, possibly beautiful, and achievable. As curators consider this, there is tremendous flexibility in the approaches they can take. As a few examples, we could explore the area of what will contemporary art look like in ten years; will we be living in new social spaces such as intentional communities; can the civic space be non- lethal, a space of healing and resolution; what will our cultural institutions be like, or should be like? I am pleased to announce our curators for Almost Utopia; Ichiro Irie, Ciara Ennis, Pilar Tompkins and Robert Sain. I am also pleased to announce this years 18th Street Artist Fellows who will each create a new work during the course of the year; Marcos Novak, Sandra de la Loza, Nuttaphol Ma, and Andrea Bowers. Clayton Campbell Artistic Director, 18th Street