Gustavo Venegas – “Bullethead” (photo courtesy of the artist)

For Immediate Release:  September 30, 2010 [revised 10/25/10]

LOS ANGELES, CA — Beacon Arts, a brand-new “arts laboratory” featuring innovative exhibitions in Inglewood, CA, kicks things off with its inaugural exhibition, Ghost Stories: Happenings, Hauntings, & Curiosities, running from Thursday, October 14 through Sunday, November 7, 2010.  Curated by art writer Shana Nys Dambrot, the show is the first in the art space’s Critics-as-Curators series.  Additional Ghost Stories-related events are planned including an interdisciplinary Halloween extravaganza on the evening of Friday, October 29th and a daytime Pagan Arts Camp (for adults) on Saturday October 30th, with a closing reception/panel discussion on Sunday, November 7, 2010. The Reverend Ethan Acres, whose ministry is dedicated to the expression of religious ecstasy through irrational and absurdist behavior, has signed on as resident “spirit advisor” for the gallery’s first exhibition. His Ghost Stories‘ performances will be his first locally in years.  Beacon Arts provides innovative arts programming and resources to enrich the cultural landscape of Los Angeles with contemporary fine art by a new generation of adventurous Southern California artists.  Renée Fox, known for her success organizing the rapidly growing Inglewood Open Studios, develops and directs creative programming for the Beacon Arts Building. Beacon Arts is located at 808 N. La Brea Ave., Inglewood, CA 90302.  Gallery hours are from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (Tuesday – Saturday) starting October 14, 2010.  Most events are free unless otherwise stated.  For additional information please call 310-621-5416 or visit http://www.beaconartsbuilding.com as well as http://www.facebook.com/pages/Inglewood-CA/Beacon-Arts-Building/129817703733091?v=info.

Rev. Ethan Acres "Real Men Love Jesus" (photo courtesy Samuel Freeman Gallery)

Ghost Stories: Happenings, Hauntings, & Curiosities is an interdisciplinary exhibition and event series that addresses a host of ideas and strategies for activating public space and cultural expression through shared experience. It was inspired by the imminent Halloween / Dia de los Muertos holiday, with all the pagan overtones, confectionary indulgence, flirtation with the spectral and frightening, and permission for adults to gender-bend and explore fantasy which that entails. But in keeping with the Beacon Arts Building idea, these experiences (including a group exhibition in the gallery space, as well as performance art, music, storytelling, adult-themed craft workshops, critical discussions, food, wine, fortune-telling, film, and puppets, throughout the building) also examine the means by which art and creativity can form a solid foundation for community engagement, the more unconventional, the better.

“The idea behind Ghost Stories has to do with using art to activate architectural and societal space through shared experience — fortuitously combined with the permission to play and be transgressive that Halloween gives adults.”  -Shana Nys Dambrot, Curator

Critics-as-Curators is the inaugural art exhibition series at Beacon Arts.  In recognition of the gallery’s first year, esteemed art critics and writers — recognized locally, nationally and internationally — have been invited to conceive and curate shows of their choosing at the Beacon Arts Building in conjunction with discussions, lectures, catalogs, or other ways to reveal the thought process behind why exhibition works are chosen with insight into their importance to the curator. The individual expertise and personal taste developed by the curators’ world-view will be on exhibit throughout Beacon Arts’ first year, with the exception of January 2011.  The series kicks off in October 2010 with a dynamic exhibition curated by Flavorpill Editor Shana Nys Dambrot and will also feature Peter Frank in December, Jan Tumlir, and Doug Harvey in future months, with additional curators to be announced. Critics-as-Curators strives to enrich appreciation of contemporary fine art by critically engaging in art. This series of shows provides a wonderful opportunity for artists and art audiences to learn what individual critics look for, how they think about the art they choose to focus on, and what catches their eye.

Maggie Simpson – “Mortal Ebb” (photo courtesy of the artist)

Ghost Stories key dates –

Thu. 10/14 – Sun. 11/7 – Ghost Stories: Happenings, Hauntings, & Curiosities art show – FREE
The gallery exhibition features photography, sculpture, painting, video, mixed and multi-media contributed by the core of visual and performance artists who are participating in one or more of the special events, workshops, and performances. With a range of styles and voices from the romantic to the uncanny, disturbing, eerie, and simply beautiful.
– Participating artists include Rev. Ethan Acres, Juan Martin del Campo, Laura Mae deLeon, Dino Dinco, Mark Dugally, Martin Durazo, A. McLean Emenegger, Ashley Gibbons, Amy Kaps, League of Steam, Jessamyn Lynn, Milo Martin, Maggie Simpson, Jill Tracy, Gustavo Venegas, Ivo Vergara, Dorian Wood, plus a few more surprises.
– Gallery hours: Tue. – Sat. 11:00am – 6:00pm

 

Curitorial Advisor, Dino Dinco (photo credit: Juan Martin del Campo, Jr.)

Fri. 10/29 [6:00pm – 2:00am] – Ghost Stories: A Night of Happenings and Hauntings – FREE until midnight, $10 after
Starting just before dusk, the entire building and grounds will host a flow of indoor and outdoor events until the wee hours. Co-curated by Dino Dinco, who will also be performing, early evening highlights include a very special musical performance by Jill Tracy, a convocation with Rev. Ethan Acres, lite eats, and ghost-biker motorcycle crew with vehicles designed by the talented Mark Dugally. After dark, a program of suitably unconventional films including Warhol’s darkly sexual masterpiece Frankenstein will screen. An otherworldly interactive performance installation from League of Steam is sure to be a crowd pleaser.  All that wraps up by midnight, when the fourth floor of the building is transformed into a ghostly lounge hosting a program of story-tellers, poets, and performers until 2:00am for the late night crowd.  $10 cover charge applies starting at midnight for the after-party in the expansive 4th floor loft with a hosted bar – wine provided by Cafe Literati, artisan beer provided by Blue Dog Beer Tavern. Complimentary valet parking will be provided. The Halloween party/multi-media extravaganza is co-presented by Flavorpill and the Beacon Arts Building.
– 6:00 – 10:00pm – Gallery viewing
– 7:30pm – Ghost Biker Rally
– 8:00 – 10:00pm – Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein film + other short films
– 9:00 – 10:30pm – Intimate concert by piano femme fatale Jill Tracy
– 8:00pm – 2:00am – Rev. Ethan Acres performances throughout the evening
– 10:00 – 11:30pm – League of Steam sets the mood for the late night crowd
– 12:00 – 2:00am – Late night afterparty featuring music, spoken word and performances by Rev. Ethan Acres, Dino Dinco, Amy Kaps, Milo Martin, Dorian Wood (on 4th floor) – $10 for re-entry with a hosted beer and wine bar

Jill Tracy (photo credit: Bleeding Visuals)

Sat. 10/30 [1:00 – 4:00pm] – Ghost Stories: Pagan Art Camp – FREE to attend; $10 materials fee per workshop
Remember all those times you got in trouble for making inappropriate art in craft class, or going all tranny on your mom’s make-up case? This adults-only afternoon at Pagan Art Camp is a chance to go back and get it right (or perhaps even more wrong), as a group of artists (Laura deLeon, A. McLean Emenegger, Ashley Gibbons, Jessamyn Lynn) lead workshops in altar-decorating, face-painting, found-materials instrument building, and tarot. Workshops cost $10 for materials fees, but it’s free to come by and just hang out, eat something, and check out the DJ.

Sun. 11/7 [1:00 – 4:00pm] – Ghost Stories: Closing Post-Mortem – FREE
The closing reception will provide a final opportunity to see the gallery show and examine the bare bones of Ghost Stories: Happenings, Hauntings, & Curiosities through conversations with Beacon Arts Creative Director Renee Fox, Ghost Stories curator Shana Nys Dambrot, “spirit advisor” the Rev. Ethan Acres, performer and curatorial advisor Dino Dinco, and future Beacon Arts curators. The panel will lead a discussion about curatorial strategies, the expanded role of the arts in cities, and specifically look at the success of the inaugural project. Following the conversation, there will be a closing party for the gallery exhibition, including brunch by IHOP.  Wine provided by San Antonio Winery and LA Canvas.
– 1:00pm – Brunch, dessert, and sparkling wine
– 3:00pm – Panel Discussion: Shana Nys Dambrot, Dino Dinco, Rev. Ethan Acres, Renée Fox, Peter Frank, and Doug Harvey (panelists to be confirmed)
– Closing ceremony by Rev. Ethan Acres
– DJ Martin Durazo

All events above are at Beacon Arts • 808 N. La Brea Ave. • Inglewood, CA 90302 • 310-621-5416

 

Beacon Arts private opening 10/13/10 with Ivo Vergara's giant puppets (photo credit: Damon Wellner)

Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein –
Warhol’s Frankenstein, aka Flesh for Frankenstein, is the 1973 schlock horror spectacular directed by Factory fave Paul Morrissey and produced by Andy Warhol.  Starring Udo Kier, Joe Dallesandro, Monique van Vooren, and Arno Juerging, this heartwarming Frankenstein flick follows the incestuous, necrophiliac, mad scientist “Ze Baron” (Kier) on his mission to rule the world through an obedient race of nymphomaniacs (with perfect Serbian noses) that he is creating in his laboratory.  Lusty wenches, buckets of blood, hideous decapitations, disembowelments, and unconvincing bat attacks abound in this high camp classic.

Shana Nys Dambrot, Ghost Stories Critic-as-Curator –
Shana Nys Dambrot is an art critic, curator, and author based in Los Angeles. She is currently the LA Managing Editor at Flavorpill.com, as well as the LA Editor for Whitehotmagazine.com.  Her writing has appeared in Modern Painters, ARTnews, TimeOut, Juxtapoz, LA Canvas, and many other publications.  A more or less complete account of her publications and curatorial projects lives at www.sndx.net; her blog, Urban Scrawl, lives at Createfixate.com, and her Huffington Post LA blog launches in October 2010.

Additional participating Ghost Stories artist and Critics-as-Curators bios can be found on the Beacon Arts website at http://beaconartsbuilding.com/?page_id=43.

About Beacon Arts:

Renée Fox, Beacon Arts Creative Director –
Renée Fox, a contemporary artist working in mixed media painting and drawing, was tapped to run the Beacon Arts gallery space based on her success organizing Inglewood Open Studios. The Open Studios project grew quickly from 7 to 39 participating artists, attracted large crowds, and garnered great press in just a few short years under Fox’s leadership, providing a nexus for the blossoming art community in the area. The firecracker mover-shaker was born in Frederick, Maryland, attended the Corcoran College of Art and Design in Washington D.C. and graduated from Otis College of Art and Design in 2002. She is an experienced curator and owner of art-related businesses (archiving and decorative painting).   She has participated in and curated art exhibitions in Washington DC and Los Angeles.  Fox currently directs the new Beacon Arts gallery space in Inglewood, CA and continues to organize Inglewood Open Studios.

Beacon Arts –
A brand-new, risk-taking fine arts enterprise, housed within the iconic Beacon Arts Building, the venture offers innovative art programming to enrich the cultural landscape of Los Angeles. Its primary directive is to provide and maintain the integrity of an exhibition space for contemporary art by Southern California artists working in all media, including painting, sculpture, installation, video, and performance art. Works by both emerging and established artists will be presented in an effort to provide a variety of ideas in different forms that both challenge and inspire. As a catalyst and advocate for new ideas, the endeavour enriches public understanding and appreciation of contemporary fine art by creating conversations through special events, lectures, symposia, and panel discussions with intellectual commentary on exhibitions. Exhibiting artists are encouraged to forge new relationships and learn from arts professionals through programming such as the gallery’s inaugural Critics-as-Curators series — consecutive shows conceived and curated by LA art writers and critics. This series will continue through the first year for the space; October 2010 – October 2011. In support of local artists, the Beacon Arts Building will host the 2010 Inglewood Open Studios Group Show of artist participants on November 13 and 14, 1:00 – 6:00 p.m.  Regular Beacon Arts gallery hours are 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (Tuesday through Saturday) beginning October 14, 2010.

Beacon Arts Building –
The 32,400-square-foot Beacon Arts Building is an iconic four-story, solid reinforced concrete structure located in the heart of the burgeoning Inglewood Arts District. Having stored inanimate items for close to sixty years, originally as the legendary Bekins Moving and Storage Company, this dramatic, 1951 edifice is now transforming into a springboard for artistic expression.  In addition to ground floor gallery and retail spaces, the building offers a gorgeous New York warehouse-style environment for professional artists, with spaces in various sizes up to 8,000 square feet with 11’6” ceilings.  It has a high rear loading facility, large freight elevator, WiFi availability, and sprinkler system throughout. Beacon Arts Building sits prominently on La Brea Avenue, located just 11 minutes south of the 10 Freeway (I-10).  On-site parking is available or found on the adjacent streets. For further information about availabilities in the Beacon Arts Building, please contact Scott Lane at 310-576-3543 or scottlaneco@yahoo.com.

“Our goal is to serve as a catalyst for compelling experiences that engage the hearts and minds of Los Angeles art audiences,” says Fox of the new art space’s quest, “With that objective in mind, we are embracing smart, risk-taking curators and artists with new perspectives and fresh ideas.”

For more information, images, and interviews please contact Green Galactic’s Lynn Tejada (née Hasty) at 213-840-1201 or lynn@greengalactic.com.