18th Street Arts Center Welcomes New Leadership and Vision for the Organization
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| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
| VENUE ADDRESS: 1639 18th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404 |
| CONTACT: Amber Jones |
| PHONE: 310-453-3711 104 or 108 |
| CONTACT EMAIL: ajones@18thstreet.org |
| WEBSITE: WWW.18THSTREET.ORG |
| CHARGE: Free |
| HANDICAPPED ACCESSIBLE: Yes |
| CALENDAR / ART |
18th Street Arts Center Welcomes New Leadership and Vision for the Organization
Santa Monica, CA-18th Street Arts Center is pleased to announce two new additions to our creative team: contemporary art curator Pilar Tompkins Rivas, Director of Residency Programs; and artist-technologist Sara Schnadt, Director of Communications & Outreach.
Tompkins Rivas comes to 18th Street with a deep knowledge of both the international and local contemporary art world and an extensive curatorial background. She has served as arts project coordinator at the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center, curator of the Claremont Museum of Art and director of the Latin American branch of the Artist Pension Trust. As part of the Getty Research Institute’s Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980, she curated Civic Virtue: The Impact of the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery and the Watts Towers Arts Center for the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs in addition to co-curating the suite of exhibitions, L.A. Xicano, at UCLA’s Fowler Museum, LACMA and the Autry National Center. Her many projects include Bas Jan Ader: Suspended Between Laughter and Tears, at Pitzer College in Claremont, California, and Museo de Arte Zapopan, Mexico; Citizen, Participant at Darb 1718 Art Center in Cairo, Egypt; and Vexing: Female Voices from East L.A. Punk at the Claremont Museum of Art which represented the City of Los Angeles at the 2009 Guadalajara International Book Fair.
Schnadt is a working artist, technologist, curator, and arts administrator. She comes to 18th Street after 8 years at the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs where she co-founded Chicago Artists Resource (an artists’ resource and opportunity website). CAR has become a thriving community hub for artists in Chicago, and a national model for artists’ resource sites. A national version of the web site is in the planning stages based on Schnadt’s design. She also co-curates the IN>TIME Performance Series in Chicago. She has served on the Artists’ Advisory Board for the Chicago Artists Coalition, the planning Committee for Carnegie Mellon University’s Technology in the Arts Conference, as a founding member of Chicago’s SpareRoom Performance Collective, and as co-chair for the Chicago chapter of Upgrade!, an international network of new media artists. Sara’s art practice includes recent projects at the MCA Chicago, MOCAD Detroit, Free Manifesta, UNESP Sao Paulo, and the Busan Biennial.
Jan Williamson, Executive Director of 18th Street Arts Center said: “…Because of Pilar’s strong curatorial background, our artists in residence will receive more tailored support in deepening their artistic practice. Sara’s web development experience on Chicago’s website CAR – Chicago Arts Resource – is in keeping with 18th Street’s longstanding history of embracing technology to engage with our artists and audience members.”
18th Street is very pleased that Tompkins Rivas and Schnadt are joining our staff and that their vision and expertise will be part of 18th Street’s next chapter!
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ABOUT 18TH STREET ARTS CENTER
18th Street Arts Center’s mission is to provoke public dialogue through contemporary art making. We value art-making as an essential component of a vibrant, just and healthy society. 18th Street provides a hub for contemporary art through two program areas: 1) A three-tiered Residency Program that fosters inter-cultural collaboration and dialogue and 2) A Public Events and Presenting Program that focuses on engaging the public and revealing the art-making process through exhibitions, events, talks, publications and other opportunities. Our Residency Program supports artists in three ways: Short-term residencies, for national and international visiting artists who live at 18th Street for 1-6 months; Medium-term residencies, of 3 years to advance California artists’ careers; and Long-term residencies that mentor Californian artists and ‘anchor’ organizations.
Gallery hours are Monday – Friday 11am-6pm. 18th Street Arts Center is located at 1639 18th Street, Santa Monica.
For more information on 18th Street Arts Center visit www.18thstreet.org
