Category: Events

View From The Edge is a lecture series bringing life to modern art with important voices of the local arts community.  Thursday May 23, we present Sue Ann Robinson, Director of Collections and Exhibitions for the Long Beach Museum of Art, as she brings a talk entitled, “Modern Art Nurtured in California: Historical Contributions of Our Local Artists.”

The lecture begins at 6:30PM at the Downey City Library, and is free to the public.  The Downey Museu of Art, Downey Arts Coalition and curator Roy Anthony Shabla have collaborated to bring you this series.  The DMOA has had a historically significant place in the modern art movement in California, as have artists local to the area.  Come to learn about some of the significant names of the local history of modern art.

Sue Ann Robinson’s bio, courtesy of Southern California Women’s Caucus for Art.

Sue Ann Robinson is a visual artist, educator, author and museum professional. Robinson co-founded the first graduate program in museum education at George Washington University, Washington, DC. She worked with art museum director Walter Hopps at the Corcoran Gallery of Art and has developed innovative educational programs at the Long Beach Museum of Art, where she is currently the Director of Collections. She authored essays for the Art Museum as Educator, published by the University of California, Berkeley.

Robinson exhibited her assemblage on the east coast in the 70’s and produced artist’s books at the Writer’s Center, Glen Echo Park, MD. She was employed by the Women’s Graphic Center at the Women’s Building in Los Angeles in the 80’s. She received two three-year artist-in-residence grants from the California Art Council at the Long Beach Public Library and the Long Beach Museum of Art, where she subsequently continued as Director of Education.

Robinson has received numerous fellowships, awards and grants for her artist’s books—including the Library Fellows Grant from the National Museum of Women in the Arts, two artist’s fellowships from the Arts Council of Long Beach, a C.O.L.A. grant from the City of Los Angeles and residencies at Centrum, Port Townsend, WA; Dorland Mountain Artist Colony, Temecula, CA; The Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale, NY; and the Visual Studies Workshop, Rochester, NY. She has completed numerous commissions for the Long Beach Public Library, the Long Beach Symphony and the California Art Education Association.

Her artist’s books are in the collections of The National Gallery of Art, the Long Beach Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, The Getty Research Institute, Yale University, University of Washington and the Environmental Library at the University of California, Berkeley, among others. Robinson maintains her studio in Long Beach, CA.

As a bonus, Roy Anthony Shabla is hosting a TV Night on Tuesday 21st to watch arts documentaries, held at his home Casa La Reina.  Contact the website for directions, begins at 6:30PM.

The Downey Art League, Downey’s original fine arts association, presents a painting demonstration by Calixto Shibaja on Tuesday April 23, 7PM at Rio San Gabriel Park in the activity room.

Originating from San Pedro Tapanatepec Oaxaca, Calixto Sibaja showed great talent for painting and sculpture.

While in school, he won numerous painting and drawing contests. He also took part in events that required making sculptures out of clay. At the age of 9, he was invited to be part of the creation of a presidential mural for his town, and at age 11, he like most Oaxaca natives, he moved to Mexico City where he continued middle school. His talent earned him various recognitions in his new residence.

Due to circumstances of life, Calixto had to pursue an alternate career. He became an optometrist with which he was able to help himself continue with his passion for art.

After some time, Calixto moved to Los Angeles, California, where he became a full time artist. He exhibited in numerous galleries such as Casa de Sausa, the Silver Dollar, Xochitl Gallery, El Tecolote, Raymundo’s Art and Soul Gallery, and Plaza Mexico. He participated in the Contemporary Spanish Market Art festival in New Mexico in which he won first place for the oil on canvas category. He was also able to participate in the International Art Festival in New York, International Latino Film Festival in city hall of Los Angeles California, Art Exhibitions for NASA Laboratories in Pasadena, and Boeing in Long Beach.

His art offers a colorful interpretation of life in his native land, the sun burnt faces of the field workers, the fresh smiles on children’s faces, families hard work, showing the magic of his culture and ethnic groups from Oaxaca and Mexico. He has so much love for art; he wishes to leave a legacy for humanity. To do so, he invented a new art technique which he calls “Elipsismo”.

His goal is to be happy with what he has and share it with others through his art, but his biggest longing is to visit poor isolated villages and teach his art in particular to the native children.

“Over at Oaxaca, we used to entertain ourselves by playing with dirt and clay; we used to watch corn grow. I believe that all that is inherited has to be put out there through art and the colors on the canvas, since we are serene, hardworking, honest, respectful, intelligent people”.

Nowadays, he has received important recognitions for his art work. Throughout his trajectory, he has been able to achieve an important evolution in his techniques and art work.

Thursday April 25 is the first of several free lectures on modern art put on by the Downey Arts Coalition, Downey Museum of Art and curated by Roy Anthony Shabla.