The Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery Presents OPEN CALL: APOPHENIA, December 9- March 16

The Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery (LAMAG), a facility of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA) will present Open Call: Apophenia.

In celebration of the gallery's 70th year anniversary, LAMAG revisits its popular open call format, an exhibition featuring 350 artists living and/or working in Southern California. Founded as the All City Outdoor Festival in 1950 and dispersed throughout nine LA city parks, the recurring program evolved into Open Call, a non-juried opportunity for youth, students, professional, and non-professional artists to present their artwork side by side at LAMAG. This year, in lieu of a cash prize and honorable mentions, LAMAG will invite between two to four artists to develop an exhibition in the gallery's project space. The selection will be made by newly appointed LAMAG Curators Nancy Meyer and Hugo Cervantes.

This year's Open Call, subtitled Apophenia (the tendency to perceive a connection or meaningful pattern between unrelated or random things, such as objects or ideas) is derived from an artwork included in the exhibition. The curatorial approach speaks to the show's ethos of creating connections among artists and practices that celebrate the differences across Southern California. Organized by theme, medium, and color, Open Call: Apophenia generates a conversation mediated by artistic differences to create points of connection. Open Call: Apophenia includes painting, photography, works on paper, and sculpture made by artists living within Imperial, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties.

Open Call: Apophenia is curated by Nancy Meyer and Hugo Cervantes.

The Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery's (LAMAG) mission is to be responsive to the human experience. Established in 1954, LAMAG is the longest running institution in Los Angeles devoted solely to exhibiting art. The gallery focuses on artists from Los Angeles - in particular underrepresented artists whose work may not otherwise have found a platform. Our exhibitions, educational and public programs aim to inspire conversation about the contemporary issues and ideas that resonate most with the people of Los Angeles.

Many local artists who have exhibited at the gallery have gone on to become fixtures of the national and international art world, including Carlos Almaraz, Eleanor Antin, John Baldessari, Mark Bradford, Vija Celmins, Harry Gamboa Jr., David Hammons, Barbara Kruger, Kerry James Marshall, Senga Nengudi, Catherine Opie, Sandy Rodriguez, Ed Ruscha, and Bruce and Norman Yonemoto. Today, the gallery continues to build on this rich legacy, operating as a site of discovery for outstanding work by the City's most exciting artists, from recent graduates to practitioners with years of experience.

Offering free admission and programs, LAMAG serves as a welcoming space for everyone, regardless of their race, religion, national origin, ancestry, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, domestic partner status, marital status or medical condition.

It is important that the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery prioritize respect for both the historic culture and the contemporary presence of indigenous peoples throughout California, and especially in the Los Angeles area. To that end, and particularly as a public and civic institution, we acknowledge that our gallery resides on what was historically the homeland of Kizh, Tongva, and Chumash peoples who were dispossessed of their land. If you would like to learn more about the land you are on please visit: https://native-land.ca

For more information, please contact lamag@lacity.org or visit lamag.org and follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/LAMAGBarnsdall and Instagram @lamagbarnsdall.

As a leading, progressive arts and cultural agency, DCA empowers Los Angeles's vibrant communities by supporting and providing access to quality visual, literary, musical, performing, and educational arts programming; managing vital cultural centers; preserving historic sites; creating public art; and funding services provided by arts organizations and individual artists.

Formed in 1925, DCA promotes arts and culture as a way to ignite a powerful dialogue, engage LA's residents and visitors, and ensure LA's varied cultures are recognized, acknowledged, and experienced. DCA's mission is to strengthen the quality of life in Los Angeles by stimulating and supporting arts and cultural activities, ensuring public access to the arts for residents and visitors alike.

DCA advances the social and economic impact of arts and culture through grant-making; public art; community arts; performing arts; and strategic marketing, development, design, and digital research. DCA creates and supports arts programming, maximizing relationships with other city agencies, artists, and arts and cultural nonprofit organizations to provide excellent service in neighborhoods throughout Los Angeles.

For more information, please visit culturela.org.

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