I’ve visited art museums before, but I never visited an art gallery till the day I visited the Pomona Arts Colony.
In order to live more about Chicana/o art in the Inland Empire, I decided to visit the Pomona Arts Colony. Even though I live less than 10 minutes away from it, none of my friends @ the Claremont Colleges has visited the art galleries at the Colony. The Pomona Arts Colony is located in Pomona (surprise) – here’s a map http://pomonaartscolony.com/pages/map.html. There are a number of art galleries within a three block radius, and I visited the Latino Art Museum & the DA Center for the Arts.
LAM (Latino Art Museum)
website: http://www.lamoa.net
e mail: latinoartmuseum@msn.com
contact: Graciela Nardi
open hours: 3.30pm - 6.30pm
phone: 909. 620.6009
other phone: 909. 484.2618
cost: Free
The Latino Art Museum is dedicated to displaying work by Latino/a contemporary artists living in the United States. It is a non-profit organization founded by Graciela Nardi, whose passion for the museum shows when you visit it. The LAM strives to encourage communities to love art, and especially gain an appreciate for Latino/a art.
Like many non-profit organizations, the LAM seems to struggle for funding. The entrance to the gallery contains a section with newspaper clippings – at least two of them were headlined “Latino art museum struggles for funding”.
Yet through Nardi’s love for the LAM, volunteers, donations, LAM members, and the support of many others, the LAM is open in two different locations. The LAM has a primary location in Pomona and another in Ontario. The Pomona LAM is a gallery located in the basement of the Founders Building. The building manager said the LAM was scheduled to relocate in a couple months – while it would be loss for the Arts Colony, the LAM would be a benefit for the community it relocates to.
The LAM not only tries to support local Latina/o artists, but also offers art classes to the community. On my first visit, I ran into Mary Lou Arias, an artist and full time student who had hand-made jewelry displayed in the gallery. The LAM not only features paintings and drawings, but a few sculptures and jewelry. There always seem to be at least a couple of people in the gallery, besides the receptionist. There is more traffic during the Pomona Art Walk (the second Saturday of each month). The crowd who participates in the Art Walk is diverse – from young teenage hipsters to older adults to families. It is definitely worth a try.
The LAM offers art classes (drawing and painting) to adults and children. For adults, the art classes seem to be a good way to gain feedback from others, meet other artists, and work in a creative space. The other cool thing about the classes? They’re offered in Spanish or English. http://www.lamoa.net/classes-details/
The second gallery I visited was the DA Center for the Arts (information can be found at the end of this post).
It is located right around the corner of the LAM, behind the Founders Building. The first time I visited, the Center for the Arts wasn’t technically open, but there was someone inside helping set up a new exhibition. The person inside was Cybele Garcia Kohel. She was the daughter of Ray Capella, sadly a recently deceased artist. Cybele explained that Ray Capella was Latino, but the DA Center didn’t necessarily feature Latino artists. http://file770.com/?p=5565 As of April 16, 2011, several art pieces by Ray remain in the gallery.
It is located right around the corner of the LAM, behind the Founders Building. The first time I visited, the Center for the Arts wasn’t technically open, but there was someone inside helping set up a new exhibition. The person inside was Cybele Garcia Kohel. She was the daughter of Ray Capella, sadly a recently deceased artist. Cybele explained that Ray Capella was Latino, but the DA Center didn’t necessarily feature Latino artists. http://file770.com/?p=5565 As of April 16, 2011, several art pieces by Ray remain in the gallery.
The DA Center for the Arts isn’t like the LAM in some respects – it is a nonprofit organization but it isn’t dedicated to showcasing only work by Latino artists. While it does feature some artwork by Latino artists, its main goal is to provide opportunities for community members to experience and support the arts.
The space resembles a creative loft. There is a little bar in the background, and I learned most of the gallery closings and openings involved a reception with a multimedia experience (such as video and music). The gallery seems to be a community space – although it isn’t evident now because the web site is currently under construction, the DA hosts a poetry reading at least once a week. The Center also has a program called GAP which plans events for teens and young adults both afterschool and on the weekends. Past classes have included screen printing, skateboard designing classes, and spoken word workshops. The Center really tries to engage youth – it not only offers a portfolio review workshop to help with college admissions, but also has Gallery Apprentice Training program that teaches student how to prepare and produce an art show.
Every Thursday night, there is a life drawing class. In addition, the Center publishes quarterly newsletters with a calendar of current events. It is a neat space to visit, really engaged with the surrounding communities. And its been around for a good time – its nearing its 30th anniversary.
Here are a few links to past exhibitions: http://www.dacenter.org/pressrelease.htm.
I really enjoyed visited the Arts Colony…it’s a good place to go visit yourself or with friends. Even though visiting art galleries was a new experience, and I was uncomfortable being one of the few people in a gallery, I found the galleries to be very inviting. I’d really recommend the Pomona Arts Walk as well, or visiting on a weekend, because then you can truly see how engaged the community is with the Arts Colony and how Latina/o art is alive in the Inland Empire.
I really enjoyed visited the Arts Colony…it’s a good place to go visit yourself or with friends. Even though visiting art galleries was a new experience, and I was uncomfortable being one of the few people in a gallery, I found the galleries to be very inviting. I’d really recommend the Pomona Arts Walk as well, or visiting on a weekend, because then you can truly see how engaged the community is with the Arts Colony and how Latina/o art is alive in the Inland Empire.
information on the DA Center for the Arts
contact: Tiffani McEwan
open hours: Wednesday-Saturday 12pm-5pm, Sundays: By Appointment only, Second Saturdays: 6pm-10pm
phone: 909-629-8697
cost: FREE
LINKS:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=62493454324
http://www.dacenter.org/
http://www.myspace.com/dacenterforarts
location:
252 South Main Street
Pomona Arts Colony
HOURS
During Exhibitions
Wednesday through Saturday Noon to 4pm
Thursdays until 9pm
Call for an appointment if you want to see the gallery during off hours.
Telephone: 909.397.9716
Fax: 909.629.8697
Email daartcenter@gmail.com
MAILING ADDRESS:
The dA Center for the Arts
252-D S Main St
Pomona CA 91766-1630
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