Art center hopes to inspire South L.A.
Catherine Cloutier | Managing Editor | 8-31-2010 | Comments |
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The Center: South LA "I Art LA" from thecentersouthLA on Vimeo.
The Center: South L.A. has launched a fundraising campaign to bring a 5,000 square foot facility for the arts to South Los Angeles. Under the slogan “I Art L.A.,” the campaign seeks to raise awareness about the lack of arts education facilities in the South Los Angeles area.
For founder Jessica Talmadge, that problem became apparent when she bought a house in the South Los Angeles community.
“South L.A. has these horrible stereotypes,” said Talmadge, who currently works as a graphic designer. “It’s just a neighborhood, but unlike most neighborhoods, there’s not a lot of stuff.”
That “stuff” is art, dance, and music studios, as well as theaters and performance venues. “If you don’t have this kind of access, it’s so much harder to plug into the arts,” Talmadge said.
With the idea of The Center in mind, Talmadge and some friends set up a booth at the South Los Angeles Earth Day with art projects for both kids and adults. The booth was an overwhelming success. Talmadge said they ran out of supplies before noon.
At the booth, Talmadge also surveyed participants for interest in an arts center. The results were overwhelmingly in favor of its installation in South Los Angeles.
“My friend was talking to a fourth grade girl [at Earth Day] who said ‘This is really fun,’” Talmadge recollected. “My friend said, ‘You must do this at school all the time,” and the girl said, ‘No, never.’”
That was all the inspiration that Talmadge needed.
Working with artists from around the city, Talmadge launched the “I Art L.A.” campaign. The artists—such as Mel Kadel, James Jean, SLICK, and Marco Zamora—designed T-shirts, which have been sold at events around the city.
Plans are also in motion to design The Center.Two potential locations have been chosen for the arts center — one at the corner of Western Ave. and 48th Street, and the other at the corner of Western Ave. and 54th.
The proposed plans include a 60-seat performance theater, DJ stations, visual arts stations, a silkscreen studio, and a dance studio.
Arts teachers will be volunteers for the first few years of The Center. Classes, which Talmadge hopes will include a range of traditional and non-traditional disciplines, will run for 8 to 10 weeks and will cost less than the average of art classes. For those who cannot afford to pay, volunteer hours can be exchanged for class fees.
“We want to build community by having a space to be creative together,” Talmadge said.
Talmadge hopes to get the necessary funding and start construction in the next year. She believes that The Center will not only bring a new arts facility to South Los Angeles but that it will be the first step in decreasing the disparity of arts resources across Los Angeles.
“We live in Los Angeles; there is no invisible fence,” said Talmadge. “If you want to have a healthy, viable city, you need to address this.”
Help build The Center: South L.A.! Donate today at thecentersouthla.com.
Photos and video provided by The Center: South L.A.
Tags: art arts education jessica talmadge south los angeles the center south la