Look. Watch. Listen. - LA Exhibit Update

A Creative Collaboration of Art and Community

Host: Phantom Galleries L.A.
Location: Long Beach, CA
Date: July 18-24th

Exhibiting in the tabula rasa of Southern California, Project FOCUS embarked on an evolutionary tour that began with a 4 day journey across the united states and a plan to create an experiential multi-media art exhibition that provided the audience member with a lens from which to view Prince Primary School and its surrounding community. Upon reaching our destination, we realized that we had our work cut out for us. 5000 square feet of gallery space stared down at us while a sort of sinusoidal array of emotions rushed through our veins. Humbled and anxious, we forged through with the help of Liza Simone at Phantom Galleries L.A. and many others, creating an impressive exhibit. The 7 day show embodied progress and offered us the opportunity to solidify a presence in Long Beach.

While short on resources, we were able to connect to several community members and inspire productive conversations. A generous amount of people at the show have expressed interest in a Los Angeles based Project FOCUS where we will be able to pool new energy and resources. We found that when it comes to work that is critical of injustice; people (the community) tend to engage the show on an intimate level. Even though we are addressing serious issues and attempting to combat social apathy, it was important to "seduce" the audience in a formally aesthetic way. This was a successful moment for us; the exhibit was nothing short of stunning and felicitous for the evolution of Project FOCUS.

Much love to those who attended the event and especially those that volunteered their time and resources to make this a successful show. 100% of the money raised throughout the exhibition did go toward the development of Prince Primary School.

A special thank you to Deborah Diesel at Sepulveda Building Materials for hooking us up with a pallet of bricks for the duration of our show, and Winter Byington at Apple for donating ipods for the audio installation.