You no longer dare to look at your hands and now I feel like crying
Over you over the one I love over everything that has scared you.”
― Guillaume Appollinaire, Zone
(Translated by David Lehman)
Sponsor: Downey Arts Coalition and Downey Symphony
Where: Downey Civic Theater, 8435 Firestone Blvd., Downey, CA 90241
When: Saturday, January 28, 2017 – 6:30 p.m.
Duration: Thru Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Theme: Dreamscapes
Parameters: All Medias, Mixed Medias, All Sizes, Self- Contained. Artwork must be regarding theme.
Fee: $5 per selected art piece
Submission Deadline: Sunday, January 15, 2017, Midnight
Dreamscapes: Take us into a surreal world, where your imagination is set free and reality is tweaked. A place free from conscious rational control, which may lead you to whimsical places, or to your darkest fears.
Selected artists will be featured in the Symphony concert program, with your contact information, will be publicly recognized from the stage, and will have the opportunity to purchase discounted tickets to the evening’s performance.
For consideration, please submit images, with a one sentence description, of your artwork via email to Eloisa Ball at ej@www.downeyarts.org.
Those chosen will be sent an artist’s information packet explaining details about delivery and retrieval.
Celebrating the culmination of Christmastide, the Downey Master Chorale will present its seasonal concert on January 8th at 4:00 PM in the Cornerstone Christian Worship Center, 9001 Paramount in Downey. Entitled “Epiphany,” it offers old and new music to mark that great event when all the world met the new-born King through the persons of the Magi.
Several surprises will delight all in the concert. It will feature local composer- arranger Ruth Nix, who will accompany the chorale and will premiere her charming and uplifting work “Little Baby.” Several members of the newly formed Downey Youth Chorale will join the Master Chorale in their own debut performance.
A meet and greet dessert reception will follow. Bring the whole family. Tickets will make great Christmas gifts.
For more information email info@downeymasterchorale.org or call (310) 941-3042 or (562) 927-1436. Online at www.downeymasterchorale.org.
The Avenue Theatre with its current mural facade, courtesy of Downey Daily Photos.
The Avenue Theatre is about to be sold – at Monday’s City Council meeting (November 7, 2016) the City of Downey will vote whether to approve the sale of the property to Downey Restaurant Group.
Update: Council approved the sale 3-0 with Marquez absent and Vasquez abstaining.
Downey locals Adrian Amosa and Kirk Cartozian (a former mayor) partnered to form the company, and earlier this year opened the popular new Gaucho Grill restaurant at the Downey Promenade.
The Avenue is one of the historical icons of Downtown Downey. Built in 1922, originally as a vaudeville stage with a fly system, it was renovated as the Avenue in 1949 to be a first run movie house. The stage also served as a dance studio for choreographer Doris Niles. It’s last official operation as a 2nd run movie house ended in 2003.
The City of Downey purchased the property in 2008 with the goal of developing the property for housing and mixed-use. Requests for proposals were submitted to the development community to find an appropriate project for the site. National Community Renaissance (the developer of The View apartment complex on 2nd Street) had an earlier proposal, but the project never got off the ground.
The brick walls of the Avenue Theatre along Third Street, east of Downey Ave.
With a sale price of $750,000, the Restaurant Group is purchasing the property and the building, which is in decrepit condition and deemed unsafe in its current form. The proposal is for adaptive reuse of the building, within the same 10,000 foot structure and footprint. The complex has a proposed name of Alegria at the Avenue Theatre, which relates it to one of the Restaurant Group’s related properties, Alegria Cocina Latina restaurant in downtown Long Beach.
Two storefronts will be created, one fronting Downey Avenue, which will keep and restore the existing cinema marquee. A second restaurant will open up to Third Street at the north end of the former auditorium, with potential for outdoor seating as well. The majority of the masonry that defines the red brick building will be kept intact and restored (No word on what will become of the massive bee hives that inhabit the roof).
The Interior of the Avenue Theatre in 2007, photo by George Manzanilla
The proposal and terms of the sale are available at the city’s website under City Council Agendas, for this Monday. Within the agreement is a brief description of the proposed Conditional Use Permit that would need to be approved by the Planning Commission (which is not guaranteed). It describes live entertainment, dancing, performance dancers used with live entertainment, including those used in dancing styles of flamenco, merengue, salsa, rumba, samba, tango and others (Alegria in Long Beach is also known for it’s flamenco), amplified music, private rental for special events, valet parking, rooftop entertainment, hours of operation through 2:00 a.m., patio dining on the sidewalk along 3rd Street and Downey Avenue, removal of two city trees on 3rd Street, and ABC (liquor) licenses type 47 or 48.
Also interesting to note from the proposed agreement, in exchange for the developer preserving and restoring the historical features of the building, the city will waive the Art in Public Places requirement, which sets aside 1% of the cost of the project for publicly displayed artwork (or contributing to the city’s public art fund).
in 2011 the city of Downey hired mural painters to upgrade the boarded up exterior of the theatre entrance.
The Avenue has been a point of contention in the community. In 2009 a small group of community activists launched a “Save the Avenue” campaign, along with an online petition, when projects were first discussed for the building. Along with the conservation of a historic landmark, it was the group’s contention that downtown Downey was missing a hub for arts and culture, which the Avenue could potentially play a role. Wish-list uses included a performing arts center, a smaller 99-seat theatre, a cinema for indie film, and art gallery space.
A bit of DAC history: the renewed interest in the arts at that time, also fueled by articles in the Downey Patriot by theatre critic Lawrence Christon, impacted the formation of the Downey Arts Coalition in 2010. Nothing became of the petition, but in 2011 the city approved money from the Art in Public Places fund to paint a mural over the boarded up front of the Avenue, in an effort to recall the vibrant life the theatre once had.
If you can’t get enough history of the Avenue Theatre, see below.
Join the Downey Symphony Orchestra for “The Stars Align” on October 22, 2016 at 8:00pm. This will be a thrilling program featuring the powerful and expressive work by Gustav Holst, The Planets. In keeping with the symphony’s tradition of commissioning new pieces, the concert also includes the world premiere of a composition by long-time Downey resident and well-established composer, Lars Clutterham.
Read about the concert, the composer, and Downey Arts Coalition’s Cosmic art show at the links below:
I’m Over the Moon!” says Peggy Dobreer.
Winner of first prize for best poem in Poetry Matters’s Contest
celebrating Downey’s aerospace connection, Peggy Dobreer
will read her entry at Stay Gallery, for Poetry Matters October 20.
Local poets are invited to come and read Downey-themed poems at the open microphone at 7:30.
Contest Finalists Beth Ruscio and Don Kingfisher Campbell will also read.
Dobreer will return to present the poem, “Astronomical Units of Flight,”
Saturday night at the Downey Theatre preceding the Downey Symphony Orchestra
Concert Saturday at the Downey Theatre, when Holst’s “The Planets” will be the featured musical selection.
The Contest was sponsored by the Downy Symphonic Society.
On October 2nd, 2016, the Downey Arts Coalition and the City of Downey present a celebration of Art, Film, Space and Downey’s 60th Anniversary. “Stardust Art Festival” takes place 12PM to 6PM at the Downey Civic Theatre, with free movies provided by GlennFest Film Festival including Ice Age: Collision Course, the astronaut documentary The Last Man on the Moon, and the anime concert film Joe Hisaishi in Budokan: Studio Ghibli 25 Years. The Aerospace Legacy Foundation presents a panel discussion about Downey’s role in aerospace history, “Journey to the Stars and Beyond.” There will be artist booths on the plaza, live music, food trucks, and “Cosmic,” a special curated art exhibit in the theatre lobby.
Downey Arts Coalition in partnership with the Downey Symphonic Society, Aerospace Legacy Foundation, Glennfest Film Festival, and the City of Downey present:
“Stardust Art Festival”
Sunday, October 2
Downey Theatre and Ken Miller Plaza
Art Walk noon to 6:00 p.m.
vendors, music, food trucks, refreshments for sale
Opening of Art Exhibit “Cosmic” in Theatre Lobby
12:30 p.m. film Ice Age: Collision Course in the Downey Civic Theatre
2:30 p.m. panel presentation: “Journey to the Stars and Beyond” by Aerospace Legacy Foundation
4:00 p.m. film Last Man on the Moon(documentary on Gene Cernan and Apollo Program)
6:00 p.m. film Joe Hisaishi in Budokan: Studio Ghibli 25 Years(concert film by the composer for anime master Hayao Miyazaki)
introduced by Sharon Lavery, Music Director, Downey Symphony Orchestra
Artists
We’re proud to host a number of artists from Downey and beyond:
The Last Man on the Moon (4PM) is an impressively crafted, affectionate portrait of astronaut Gene Cernan and, by extension, the program that concluded with Cernan’s 1972 Apollo 17 landing. Conveyed in first person through the razor-sharp recollections of the now 81-year-old Texas rancher, the film traces Cernan’s career trajectory, going back to his days in San Diego as a hot-shot naval aviator, blending terrific archival footage with contemporary perspectives to quietly poetic effect. More information and trailers at www.thelastmanonthemoon.com.
Ice Age: Collision Course (12:30PM – PG) is the fifth movie in the popular series from Blue Sky Studios. Manny the mammoth starts to worry when his daughter Peaches announces her engagement. Still unlucky in love, Sid the sloth volunteers to plan the couple’s wedding. To Manny’s dismay, nothing can stop the upcoming nuptials, except maybe the end of the world. When Scrat accidentally launches himself into outer space, he sets off a chain reaction that sends an asteroid hurtling toward Earth. Now, the entire herd must leave home to explore new lands and save itself from Scrat’s cosmic blunder. Website.
Joe Hisaishi in Bodukon: Studio Ghibli 25 Years (6PM) Joe Hisaishi, one of the greatest composers of Japanese film music to date, conducts the New Japan Philharmonic (World Dream) Orchestra among a host of other musicians, including marching bands and choirs, numbering over a thousand musicians on stage, performing in the Nippon Budokan venue in Japan. This concert celebrates 25 years of collaboration between Joe Hisaishi and Hayao Miyazaki and is a jubilee of the music that Hisaishi has composed for an assortment of the Miyazaki films, some of them re-arranged here and there for concert performance. Selections from the films are projected onto the enormous screen that looms over the orchestra to go along with the music. The selections are from “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind,” “Princess Mononoke,” “Kiki’s Delivery Service,” “Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea”, “Laputa: Castle in the Sky,” “Porco Rosso”, “Howl’s Moving Castle,” “Spirited Away,” and “My Neighbor Totoro.” (Review source: Yu-Ten Lee via Amazon.com)
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This event is FREE and open to the public. Handicap accessible. For more information contact Downey Arts Coalition at contact@www.downeyarts.org or call (562) 419-ARTS (2787)
The 5th annual GlennFest Film Festival brings movies of special interest to Downey, movies that you wouldn’t normally see in our area. Movies that aren’t mainstream, but explore the lives of minority people groups, or experiences from other cultural backgrounds. Best of all, the screenings are free with reservation from the website.
Screenings this is year begin September 24th with an animated current film presented for children and young adults with special needs. This screening will accommodate the special sensitivities needed for that group, offered free with support from SEIU Local 721 and Southland Credit Union. 9am at the Downey Krikorian Theatre, visit Glennfest.com to RSVP.
Films continue through October 9th, visit their website for a complete schedule.
The opening reception for a special poetry and art exhibit “Life in Print” will be held Saturday September 24th, 5 to 8PM at the Norwalk Cultural Art Center, Mary Paxon Gallery (3200 Clarkdale Ave, Norwalk, California 90650).
Hannah Matus and Alyssa Wynne will host their first group exhibit at the Mary Paxon Art Gallery from Tuesday, September 13, to Saturday, October 1. All are welcome to the reception, which will feature live music and merchandise available for purchase (cash only, please).
Hannah and Alyssa are collaborating to bring the world a show that is way past due. They aim to give a voice to those who have been hushed all their lives through Matus’s art and Wynne’s poetry. Together the duo will display approximately 50 screen printed pieces that will shine light on the dark moments in American history and culture, such as the social perspective on mental health/disability, white privilege/modeled minorities, women’s suffrage, and police brutality. “Life in Print” is best described by their official artist statement:
We are icebergs waiting to
pierce an approaching ship.
Our words and appearance
compile the 10 percent at
the surface–but the mass
that matters, the bulk of our
being, is hidden underwater.
This exhibition is the 90
percent. It’s a voice for the
unspoken words. It’s an
image for the unseen
details. We are icebergs,
and we have pierced the
approaching ship.
Bonjour Mes Amis! “Afternoon in Paris Garden Party” Oh La La!
To benefit the Downey Symphony Orchestra and Music in the Schools Programs
Sunday, September 18, 2016 – 3pm to 7pm
Rio Hondo Event Center, 10627 Old River School Road, Downey, CA
Indulge yourself on a divine French affair. Enjoy delicious food, wine and champagne, while being entertained by amazing live music. Splurge on live and silent auctions. Get in the spirit, and come dressed in French-inspired colors, be Chic in Chanel or Dior, or simply wear your French beret.
