18th Street Arts Center’s April ArtNight

Join us on April 14, 2012 from 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm, for 18th Street Arts Center’s popular ArtNight celebrating the vibrancy of the creative process, and featuring an opening reception for the Alliance of Artists Communities’ Visions from the New California exhibition showcasing artists from across the state. Stay for open studios by local and international artists, art installations, live Brasillian percussion from Batuclada, and more. Come early at 6:00 pm for an artist talk by Artist in Residence Michiko Yao in conversation with 18th Street’s Director of Residency Programs Pilar Tompkins Rivas.

Complimentary beverages provided by Izze Sparkling Juice and Hpnotiq Liqueur

Art Openings:

April 14 – May 31, 2012

Main Gallery

Curated by Mark Steven Greenfield (for 18th Street Arts Center) and Lauren Davies (for Kala Art Institute in San Francisco), this two-city exhibition features recipients of the Alliance of Artists Communities’ ‘Visions from the New California’ Award. With openings in both Los Angeles (at 18th Street on April 14th) and San Francisco (at Kala Art Institute on May 18th), Visions surveys the dynamic approaches and sensibilities of artists working in California. Artists featured at 18th Street: Ala Ebtekar, Joanne Hashitani, Prajakti Jayavant, Bessma Khalaf, Matthew Mullins, John Ruszel, Ethan Turpin, Suné Woods, Andre Woodward

Curator Mark Steven Greenfield says: “There are few occasions when the breadth of work in a group exhibition so serendipitously finds its own cohesion. Consistent themes of “pan-culturalism” are thematically present in the work, as well as in the diverse backgrounds of the artists.  The work also suggests a rethinking of long held notions of the contemporary Californian aesthetic as envisioned by a cross-section of artists representing ideas with decidedly global perspectives. The exhibition features works that deal with issues of race, sex, gender, redefinitions of constructionism, new minimalism, early photography, nostalgic meditations, and the interplay between nature and the man-made.”

April 14 – May 31, 2012

Atrium Gallery 

In our Atrium Gallery, 18th Street Arts Center will present Tandem / Lebensraum- Living Room, a bi-national photography exhibition consisting of twelve students of artist, photographer and instructor Sandra Mann from the Academy of Visual Arts, Frankfurt; and twelve current and former students of artist and instructor Ichiro Irie, from the Santa Monica College Art Mentor Program (AMP). Previously displayed in Frankfurt, the exhibition now makes its way to Santa Monica. Consisting of twenty-four photographs, the works investigate personal space on physical and psychological levels.

April 14 – May 31, 2012

Artist talk: April 14, 6:00 pm – 6:30 pm

Project Room

From 6:00 pm – 6:30 pm resident artist Michiko Yao will be in conversation with 18th Street Arts Center’s Director of Residency Programs, Pilar Tompkins Rivas in conjunction with her exhibition Samsara Pleasure Principle featuring a video installation of the same title.  Join us for a look into the artist’s work, centering around Dutch and Portuguese influences in Japanese culture. For ArtNight, Yao will create an edible and interactive still-life table setting as part of her Project Room presentation. In Samsara Pleasure Principle, Yao considers the historical influences of Western culture in Japan from the Edo period until today. The artist creates a gradually unfolding narrative in the form of a floral still life gesticulating in slow motion. The composition references both Dutch Golden Age painting and ikebana, drawing upon the cultural exchange that evolved through the trading relationship between Japan and the Netherlands.

Open Studios:  

A selection of artists’ studios at 18th Street will be open to the public. Wander our campus and learn more about artists’ work in an intimate setting where their ideas are generated and their work takes shape.

Participating local artists will include: Otis M.F.A. in Public Practice, Clayton Campbell, Yvette Gellis and others.

Participating International Artists: Alex Crotitorou, Francisca Caporali, and Guiseppe De Bernardi.   

Alexandra Croitoru is a visiting artist from Bucharest, Romania. She is the second artist this year to visit 18th Street from that region through a generous grant from the Trust for Mutual Understanding.  Utilizing photography, installation and book projects, Croitoru’s work explores the intersections of personal, group and national identities.

Both arts administrators and artists in their own right, Francisca Caporali is the director and co-founder of JA.CA Center for Art and Technology, in Belo Horizonte, Brazil and Giuseppe De Bernardi is the founding director of Tupac Asociación Cultural in Lima, Peru. While here, they will investigate and research the structure of residency programs such as 18th Street’s, as well as other programs in Northern California. Caporali and De Bernardi come to 18th Street through generous support from the Department of Cultural Affairs, Los Angeles.

Outdoor Area:

The Artist and the Past Present – Vincent Ramos and high school students from the Virginia Avenue Park Teen Center

Artist Vincent Ramos and high school students from the Virginia Avenue Park Teen Center present an archival project looking back at the sights, sounds and feel of mid-century Santa Monica, told from the Mexican-American perspective. Through research and archives, this presentation maps out the deep diversity of the area and invites viewers to reexamine the chronicles of our local lore.

Batuclada

7:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Batuclada specializes in the infectious rhythms leading the street parades of Northern Brazil during Carnaval. With 8 to 15 drummers, the group performs authentic renditions of well-known songs from the top ‘Blocos’ (carnaval groups), including Olodum, Ile Aiye and Timbalada. Led by musical director, Kirk Brundage, Bauclada plays in traditional Afro-Brasilian street style, with just voice and percussion, and will be joined by Bahian vocalist, Rene Flores.