18th Street Design Team

Artist Sought for 18th Street Design Team due Monday October 22, 2007

18th Street Arts Center is planning to build a new arts facility on its current site. It is recruiting a process-oriented artist or artist team to become part of the design team led by award winning architects Pugh+Scarpa. View Application


A New Arts Building for the 21st Century

18th Street Art Center, a private nonproft, owns two thirds of a city block with five buildings in Santa Monica. 18th Street is planning to replace its aging warehouses with a new 80,000 square foot arts facility to expand its support to artists and arts organizations. In concept, the new arts center will include a cultural commons space for multiple small performing and visual arts organizations and up to sixty affordable live-work artist studios. A new flexible theater and workshop space for Highways Performance Space and other performing groups is envisioned, along with a professional gallery and multiple nonprofit offices. 18th Street is also studying the feasibility of including a café, blue-screen special effects room, sound recording room and screening room. Five to ten of the live-in studios will continue to support 18th Street's International Exchange Program for short-term residencies. This concept is nearly three-fold expansion from 18th Street's current campus of 30,000 square feet, located on the same site as the planned redevelopment.

Design Team
18th Street has assembled an expert project team and seeks to complete it by adding a notable artist or artist team to the design group. Architects Pugh+Scarpa are nationally recognized for thier inspiring public buildings, green designs, and affordable housing expertise. The project will be managed by Community Corporation of Santa Monica, a nonprofit developer that has won multiple national awards for building sustainable and affordable housing. The design team will create Santa Monica's first 'green' art center. This is an open call for artists to submit thier qualifications for consideration.


TO APPLY:
Deadline to apply is October 22, 2007.
For full details
View Application

Mission

18th Street Art Center is a nonprofit residential arts center in Santa Monica, California that supports artists and arts organizations dedicated to the advancement of contemporary art and culture as expressed through artists working with issues of social consciousness, community, diversity and beauty. 18th Street seeks to promote the public's engagement with art and artists on a local as well as international level. The Center aspires to be an artist-friendly gathering place, providing a physical center in a city characterized by its de-centralization.

18th Street Programs
18th Street works to bring artists greater public recognition and paid presenting opportunities through our programs and events. The Residency Program provides low-cost live and workspace for artists and arts organizations. The combined benefits of the Residency Program helps artists put more of their financial resources and time towards their art practice while working in a stimulating and supportive environment. Since our founding year 1988 we have provided long-term homes to 20 arts organizations and 43 individual artists. 18th Street's International Exchange Program facilitates creative inter-cultural collaboration and experimentation among artists. Through this program we are able to forge new relationships with art centers around the world. Now in its 15th year, our program has hosted over 100 international artists with 14 arts organizations in 18 countries. Our Presenting Program includes exhibitions, events, and other opportunities for artists and curators to professionallly exhibit innovative contemporary work. An added goal of this program is to further public understanding and interaction with artists. Over the last 18 years we have presented the work of more than 400 note worthy artists through this program. 18th Street's Arts Education Program trains professional artists to integrate the California's Content Standards with the Visual and Performing Arts standards in public school art workshops.18th Street has a roster of over 50 trained artists in all disciplines to draw from. On national and international levels, 18th Street Arts Center is a respected destination for artists wishing to publish, perform, work and/or exhibit in Los Angeles County.
Read more about 18th Street's history
Brief History of 18th Street
18th Street grew out of High Performance Magazine, an internationally recognized performance art review which was published by Linda Burnham, Susanna Dakin and Steve Durland from 1977-1998. The three artist/writers moved the magazine from Los Angeles to several warehouses in Santa Monica that Dakin purchased in 1988. The property included Judy Chicago's old studio where the "Dinner Party" was created. Named the 18th Street Arts Complex, many artists were invited to take up residence and several arts organizations were founded including Highways Performance Space, Side Street Projects, CARS, and Electronic Cafe International. The combination of artists and organizations has created a thriving, innovative arts community with local and international impact. 18th Street artists have been honored with Guggenheim, Rockefeller, COLA and McArthur Genius fellowships.
More about 18th Street current residents



18th Street Arts Center
Jan Williamson - Executive Director
Clayton Campbell - Artistic Director

If interested, contact Ronald Lopez at 626.675.3643 or rlopez@18thstreet.org