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2010 E-Newsletters (click to open)
2009 E-Newsletters (click to open) |
2008 E-Newsletters
DECEMBER eNEWSLETTER
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Anibal Catalan, Debris Project, Installation, 2008 |
ALMOST UTOPIA
In the movie Blade Runner, Los Angeles, 2019, was depicted as a dystopian urban universe. At 18th Street, we tend to see things differently. We have invited four curators, Ichiro Irie, Ciara Ennis, Pilar Tompkins and Robert Sain to look ahead for us to a mere ten years away to 2019 and do so with equal amounts optimism and realism. Hence, almost utopia. They will be organizing group exhibitions and engaged public presentations which look at the possibilities of architectural space, intentional communities, our urban demographics, and the state of our cultural institutions.
2009 18th Street Artist Fellows
We are pleased to announce that four artists have been selected to be in residence during the Almost Utopia project. Each will be in residence for three months, and receive support to create new works. Artists Marcos Novak, Nuttaphol Ma, Sandra de la Loza, and Andrea Bowers are our new Fellows. Congratulations!
"SHANGRI L.A.: architecture as a state of flux "
curated by Ichiro Irie
Opening Reception Saturday, February 7, 2009, 6-10pm
February 7 - March 27, 2009
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Marcos Novak,Selected images from Garanti Galeri in Istanbul, 2008 |
Shangri L.A. approaches architecture as something fluid and ephemeral, at times virtual, interactive, recycled and purely cosmetic, building on and dissecting what is already there, exploiting in between spaces, and shifting as needs, values, emotions and desires shift. The exhibition celebrates architects, and non-architects, who make work that serves as visual/structural enhancers and pressure valves which might one day help Los Angeles or a city like it be more fun and less monotonous, more livable and less alienating.
Artists include: Anibal Catalan, Debbie Hu Ricks, InfranaturaL, Marcos Lutyens, Daniela Frogheri, Fernando Meneses, Oyler Wu Collaborative, James Rojas, Chris Tallon
Project Room Gallery:
An Installation by Marcos Novak, 2009 Artist Fellow
Henry Walton of KPFK's, Labor Review gets the lowdown on War as a Way of Life with the shows curator Clayton Campbell and learns more about some of the work in the show.
Walton also interviews one of the artist in the show Ronald Lopez, who talks about his video documentary and wallpaper installation, Searching for Bonnie Birch. Listen in...
Local artist in resident David Mcdonald, currently showing at Jail Gallery was reviewd in the LA Times by Holly Myers. Read the Review
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Margaret Bong,Eyefinger, video still Courtesy of the Artist |
Margaret Bong Asian Cultural Council, Margaret Bong is a Malaysian media artist who has written, produced and directed six short films. Her 2005 Lie Beneath was shown in festivals in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore, and her short documentary Tudtu, The Salt Boy, which focus on one of the Indigenous groups has been shown in South Korea, Italy, Brazil and Lebanon. She is fascinated by recollections provoked by photography, and uses her memories and specific personal experiences as themes in her media projects. During Ms. Bong's residency at 18th Street she further developed Singing Tombstone, her feature directorial debut.
Visiting Int’l Artists in September
Anthony Jonhson, Australia
Sonya Kelliher Combs, Alaska
JANUARY eNEWSLETTER
18th Street Arts Center presents:
PATRIOT ACTS opens “The Future of Nations,”
A yearlong examination of election year issues at 18th Street Arts Center
Opening Reception January 26, 2008 6:00 – 9:00pm
January 14 – March 28, 2008
Santa Monica, CA – On January 26th, 18th Street launches its most ambitious exhibition series ever, THE FUTURE OF NATIONS, a year long look at many of the issues that will determine the future of the nation, viewed from the multiple perspectives of an array of contemporary artists.
The opening reception for our initial offering, the group exhibition PATRIOT ACTS and the HABEAS LOUNGE will be held on Saturday, January 26, 2008, from 6:00 to 9:00 pm.
We are pleased to host open studios for visiting international artists Eric Siu (China), Jee Un Park (Korea), and Kieran Boland (Australia).
Gallery hours are Monday – Friday 10am-6pm. 18th Street Arts Center is located at 1639 18th Street, Santa Monica. For further information and images please visit our pressroom/gallery at www.18thstreet.org/pressroom.html
| PATRIOT ACTS AND THE HABEAS LOUNGE |
Inspired by Samuel Johnson's words written in 1775 "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel", Linda Pollack has curated an art exhibition that departs from recent manifestations of patriotism (Go out and shop, the USA PATRIOT ACT) and has invited eleven artists to create new works about different constitutional issues for PATRIOT ACTS. While the works themselves do not offer a prescription for how to be a patriot, the exhibit explores visions about core constitutional issues confronting us today. Pollack suggests that it is engagement with the complex issues of constitutional democracy, and not mindless support of the various schemes cooked up by present day scoundrels, where true patriotism, alluded to in Johnson's critique 200+ years ago, resides.
Anchored by a voting machine relic, Vincent Johnson takes a sober view of our right to vote, looking historically at voting technology and follies over the years to the present day. Sara Hendren's video interviews directly examine the often-overlooked experience of jury duty. Filmmaker Meena Nanji takes a survey on the status of academic freedom in a post 9/11 homeland security world. Pam Strugar joins forces with Shirley Tse to create a flowing dynamic sculpture that offers a highly associative inner meditation on the principle of Habeas Corpus. Hillary Mushkin's patterned wallpaper camouflages two national obsessions - war and consumption, in high design. Rebecca Ripple creates a minimal wall piece, taking a simple word that has become a smoke screen to deflect attention from the most irrational of national plans. Susan Silton's postcard series returns us to the very basics of grade school journalism, reminding us all of the Five Questions. Zeal Harris tells the stories of a two-term Iraqi war veteran in a complex world of war, economics, social forces and politics in her mixed media canvas. Irina Contreras charms us with her series of zoetrope’s, tugging on our nostalgia for this historic technology until we realize its images are of immigrant detention centers.
On opening night, the public is invited to join Adam Overton in a performance that harks back to the first constitution of our bodies and our collective beings.
As a backdrop to the project, Pollack has created The Habeas Lounge, a space to support civic dialogue. Located in the new project room gallery at 18th Street Art Center, the Lounge offers an oversized oval red sofa that shapes dialogue and social interaction, where Pollack has hosted a series of formal and informal discussions since September 29, 2007. The social sculpture sofa is designed by Mark Gee of Mimetic systems especially for The Habeas Lounge, which will be up through March 28.
Contributors and consultants to the project include Burma Forum, Professors David Glazier, Allan Ides, and Gary Williams of Loyola Law School, County of Los Angeles Registrar – Recorder / County Clerk, criminal defense lawyer Mia Yamamoto, the Los Angeles League of Women Voters, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the California Voter Foundation.
| About THE FUTURE OF NATIONS |
THE FUTURE OF NATIONS aims to address many issues that will determine the future of this country. Using the themes of Patriot Acts, Demographics, The Environment and War as a Way of Life, artists and curators will create a forum for the issues of our time while examining this country’s highly politicized demeanor. The event will also be reflective of a diversity of opinions and art making practices. “The artists involved come from diverse political, religious, cultural, and artistic backgrounds. This is not a monolithic group espousing a narrow political art agenda,” Campbell says, “Rather it is a group of humanists who care about the quality of life around us and feel their contributions are part of mainstream cultural and social conversations.”
18th Street Arts Center is Southern California’s well known alternative art center, supporting emerging to mid-career artists and arts organizations dedicated to issues of community, diversity, and social justice in contemporary society. 18th Street’s hosts and supports an artist in residence program, a visiting international artist program, an exhibition program in its two gallery spaces, and free art events for the public.
18th Street programs are supported in part by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Asian Cultural Council, Australia Council for the Arts, California Community Foundation, Circuit City Store Inc, Durfee Foundation, InterfaceFLOR, the James Irvine Foundation, L.A. County Arts Commission, National Endowment for the Arts, the Peter Norton Family Foundation, the Santa Monica Department of Cultural Affairs Division, and Trust for Mutual Understanding.
- END March 28, 2008-
OCTOBER eNEWSLETTER
18th Street Arts Center presents:
CROWDS TURN OUT
FOR
RECENT ARTNIGHT EVENT
Hundreds of arts patrons turned out for 18th Street’s latest ArtNight event on Saturday, September 29th to take in an evening of free music, art exhibitions and open studios.
Mark Steven Greenfield’s “Incognegro” exhibition was the gathering point for cognoscenti from around greater LA, including Olga Garay, general manager of the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, LA Weekly news editor Jill Stewart, Hamp Simmons of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs, arts mover and shaker Al Nodal, and many others.
To the backdrop of music by California Choro Collective and Bobby Matos Afro-Latin Jazz, attendees took in Manuel Gil’s photo exhibit “Guatemalan Forced Migration” and open studios by Lita Albuquerque, Barry Frydlender, Otis College of Art and Design graduate students, and others.
Thanks again,
Elda Pineda
Program Manager
P.S. ARTS
Habeas Lounge Opens
During Art Night, the Habeas Lounge at 18th Street Arts Center opened for its first event. So what is the Habeas Lounge?
The Habeas Lounge is part of "Patriot Acts," a six-month public dialogue project to support civic processes, that brings together artists, lawyers, activists, students, scholars, former military personnel, and other civilians. Conceived and curated by Linda Pollack, the project commences 18th Street Art Center's "Future of Nations" exhibition program, designed to reflect on many of the issues related to the 2008 Presidential election that will determine the direction and future of our nation. A "Patriot Acts" group arts exhibition will open in the Gallery of the Center in January 2008. 18th Street is the only art center in Southern California devoting an entire exhibition season to this important election.
"Patriot Acts" is part of the "Future of Nations" project at 18th Street Arts Center, which is supported by the Andy Warhol Foundation for Visual Arts, Asian Cultural Council, Australia Council on the Arts , Barnacle Brothers Custom Fabrication, Council for Cultural Affairs Taiwan, Durfee Foundation, InterfaceFLOR, James Irvine Foundation, Jumex Foundation, Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Mimetic Systems, National Endowment for the Arts, Santa Monica Cultural Affairs Division, and the Trust for Mutual Understanding.
Check future emails for updates on upcoming events involving both the Habeas Lounge and the "Future of Nations."
Hsiao-Fang Lin
Hsiao-Fang Lin is one of three visiting international artists currently in residence at 18th Street. Her documentary works, which deal mostly with issues of Taiwan’s road toward modernization, have won numerous awards in her native country and abroad. Her presence at 18th Street provides another example of 18th Street’s mission to tie communities together through the arts, a mission furthered by 18th Street’s close ongoing ties with the nation of Taiwan.
“Hsiao-Fang Lin is the most recent artist in residence in our long-standing and important partnership with the Council for Cultural Affairs in Taiwan,” says 18th Street Artistic Director Clayton Campbell. “For the past six years, a dozen artists from Taiwan have each been in residence for three months. To a person, the artists have been professional and dynamic in the work they have made, and what they have presented to our public. I am very pleased that through the international residency program at 18th Street, we have built a cultural bridge between Chinese artists and Los Angeles through the forward-looking program the CCA/Taiwan has undertaken.”
The artist’s work itself reflects an intention to build bridges as well.
“As a former film student [who] studied in the Western world, I am also aware [of] the history of identity politics as an important thesis in the cinema world,” she says. “My purpose is to seek the possibility of trans-culture understanding as an immediate task, as well as [to] research the trans-culture visual language with personal local reflection.”
For Campbell, his work with the Council for Cultural Affairs has deepened his respect for Taiwan’s commitment to the arts.
“Amongst the many cultural and exchange programs we have worked with, theirs is one of the most developed and progressive in terms of acknowledging the importance of artist mobility, and the need for federal government support of the arts.”
> Seemingly, 18th Street Arts Center has been everywhere in the news lately.
We were the subject of a front-page story and extensive profile in the Santa Monica Daily Press that highlighted our special nature as an arts center and forecast where we’re going with redevelopment. Click here to read it.
Mark Steven Greenfield’s Incognegro exhibition was the subject of numerous writeups around town, including this one
in the Argonaut.
Other recent shows have also received extensive press. Book of Lies was Pick of the Week in the LA Weekly, while Nature Interrupted was written up in the Los Angeles Times Calendar.
> 18th Street Artistic Director Clayton Campbell will be speaking at the Alliance of Artist Communities conference in Washington, D.C. on November 10th as part of the panel “Supporting Artists: Innovation in funding.” This panel will address the shifting focus in the funding sector and explore what these developments mean for residency programs. Other speakers include Adam Bernstein (Deputy Director of Programs, Mid-Atlantic Art Foundation) and Dana Whitco (Project Director, Center for Creative Research).
> Our new Program Coordinator, Ronald Lopez, is an artist and curator with a devotion to emerging art and social justice. For more than a decade, he has produced provocative art and has helped to implement city art programs in Los Angeles and Istanbul, Turkey. He is also no stranger to 18th Street, where last year he helped evaluate the artist-in-residency program. He also introduced audiences to the U.S. version of "Does Religion Kill?" (November 2006), a thought provoking group exhibition featuring video, illustration, drawing and an interactive dialogue mural. "Does Religion Kill?" first premiered at Turkey's 9th International Istanbul Biennial in September 2005. Ron has also participated in public art forums, including speaking engagements at the Alliance for Artists Communities' annual conference at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA and at the Res Artis' annual conference at Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporaneo in Mexico City. Recently, he helped manage Couturier Gallery in Los Angeles, an establishment known for showcasing Latin American and American art. Ron is a native Angeleno and has returned to his roots after several years in the Middle East. We’re glad to have him here.
> Please join us for a free screening of “90404 Changing,” a film by 18th Street board member and resident artist Michael W. Barnard. The film details the history of the Pico Neighborhood, a historic, culturally diverse community within Santa Monica that is being lost mostly due to accelerating development and gentrification
The screening is on Wednesday November 7th at 7 PM at the Fairview Branch of the Santa Monica Public Library, 2101 Ocean Park Blvd., Santa Monica 90405. A Q&A with the filmmaker and actors/co-producers willl follow. 18th Street Arts Center is an official sponsor of this film.
Need more information? Please call 310-451-0443 or click here to visit the “90404 Changing” website.
> Villa Aurora presents a one day symposium titled Artist Residences and Inter/National Art. 18th Street Artistic Director Clayton Campbell will participate in the symposium which takes place November 5 at Villa Aurora, in Pacific Palisades and will look at the political, social, and cultural functions of artist residences past and present. Other participants include (among others) Dr. Angela Windholz (Independent Scholar), Dr. Friedrich Meschede (DAAD, Berlin), Jürgen Jakob Becker (Literarisches Colloquium), Dr. Mechthild Borries-Knopp (Villa Aurora, Berlin) and Charles Salas (Getty Research Institute).
ArtNight is sponsored by Santa Monica City Cultural Affairs Division, Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences, IZZE, and Hpnotiq. 18th Street exhibits are supported by the James Irvine Foundation, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and National Endowment for the Arts.
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1639 18th St., Santa Monica, CA 90404 | Phone 310.453.3711 | Fax 310.453.4347 | office@18thstreet.org | Website designed by: Fei Liu
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