November 22, 2019 | AGCC in the Media
By Andrea Serna | Random Length News | November 22nd, 2019
The idea of a notion is the preconceived assumption about a subject, something you thought you knew, but maybe not. In Local Notions, the exhibition of San Pedro artists at the Angels Gate Cultural Center,notions of community art are shattered.Since the mid-20th century, when Jay Mueser set up his studio in the heart of downtown, San Pedro has nurtured local arts. As time progressed the town began to attract a wide variety of professional and amateur artists to the cloistered peninsula where they could count on available studio space and a sense of isolation where creativity could be cultivated.
Four years ago, Amy Eriksen became director of Angels Gate Cultural Center, located on the site of the World War II-era 1 Fort MacArthur. When the U.S. Army relocated the old fort across the road, they discarded a breathtaking location high on a hill above the Pacific Ocean overlooking Catalina Island. A group of artists recognized an incredible opportunity. The Cultural Center emerged in the 1970s from a group that created an artist’s studio and exhibition space within the 1940-era Army barracks in Ft. MacArthur’s Upper Reservation.
Eriksen’s vision was to attract local talent to an exhibition that would reflect the range of artistry within the boundaries of the community. This show represents not just the artists working in Angels Gate studios, but a collection of artists throughout the entire art colony that exists here.
[Read the article here]