Art Gallery Openings

In 2003, not long after the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council (DLANC) was formed, a group of citizens who comprised the Arts, Aesthetics and Culture committee (AAC) of DLANC requested that the City of Los Angeles designate of a portion of the Historic Core (Main and Spring Streets from 2nd to 9th) as “Gallery Row.”

The proposal was originated and presented by Kjell Hagen, owner of the Inshallah Gallery and Nic Cha Kim, an arts activist and playwright. At that time, there were only three galleries in the area: Inshallah Gallery on Main Street near 3rd, bank (Lorraine Molina) on Main Street near 4th, 727 Gallery on Spring Street near 7th (Adrian Rivas, James Rojas). The borders of the proposed district was largely driven by the desire for inclusion of the existing art venues, as well as the obvious potential for expansion and infill in the largely vacant district.

In 2003, much of the Historic Core shared attributes with Skid Row. By day, the area was marginally active with shoppers and other visitors, but by 6:00pm everything closed up and most people left for elsewhere. Block after block of dirty, dingy streets were frequently populated after hours by high numbers of drug dealers, users, homeless and dispossessed people.

Known also as a commercial loft district for working artists, there was a core community of artists and other residents, and the pioneering Old Bank District (Tom Gilmore) and Spring Towers Lofts & Premiere Towers (Izek Shomof) residential buildings were occupied. A few stubborn visionaries saw great potential in this amazing collection of quality, vintage architecture. But the general public was skeptical.

The City Council motion (co-sponsored by Jan Perry and Antonio Villaraigosa) to designate Gallery Row was passed in July of 2003, and “Gallery Row” street signs were installed in the fall. Chaired by Nic Cha Kim and Santonia Amberly, the AAC Committee met weekly at Inshallah Gallery to plan an official opening ceremony, which was scheduled for May 15, 2004. Joining the AAC was Bert Green (Bert Green Fine Art), Kathryn Hargreaves and Tim Quinn (Dangerous Curve), Rex Bruce (LACDA), Liza Simone (Phantom Galleries LA), Don Garza (LA Town Crier), Kimba Rogers, Cheyanne Della Donna, and many others.

Inaugurated at Biddy Mason Park, the event consisted of a ceremony hosted by Los Angeles City officials, temporary galleries set up in empty storefronts by Phantom Galleries and THE MAX, a series of theatre readings at LATC, and information booths supporting the local community.

Important moral, logistical and political support was provided by both Mayors, (Jim Hahn and Antonio Villaraigosa), the Mayor’s Office (Hamid Behdad), the VEDC (Warren Cooley and Audrey Madrigal), The Center City Association (Carol Schatz), the Downtown Center BID (Hal Bastian), DLANC (Brady Westwater, Doug Wance, Russell Brown), City Council (Jan Perry, Jose Huizar, Marie Rumsey), and local property owners and developers (Tom Gilmore, Izek Shomof, Michael Delijani, KOR group, Alex Moradi, Steve Reinstein, Rob Frontiera, Paul Su, Kevin Taylor), the arts community downtown (Julie Silliman, Michael Alexander, Danielle Brazell, Lauren Reilley, MOCA, Jeremy Green, Center Theater Group, The Music Center, Tom Pratt), and many, many others.

Subsequently, several galleries set up shop in the area. By September of 2004, there were 8 galleries operating, and the Downtown Art Walk was begun by Bert Green, a month in advance of the opening of his downtown gallery at 5th and Main. The AAC committee was spun off as the nonprofit Gallery Row Organization, which serves to promote and develop the cultural resources of the district.

In the months leading up to the launch of the Downtown Art Walk, a series of meeting were held among the various interested arts venues, artists, property owners and government arts officials. This exhaustive process resulted in the decision to hold the event on the second Thursday of every month, from noon to 9:00pm. The rationale for the hours was to be as inclusive as possible. The approximately 450,000 people working downtown would be courted in the day, and the local residents, artists and the general public in the later hours..

At first, the Downtown Art Walk encompassed all of downtown LA, from the 110 to the LA River, and from the 101 south to the 10 freeway. By late 2005, the number of participating galleries had increased to more than 15, and in 2006 to more than 20, although the boundaries of the Art Walk were reduced, and its focus became Gallery Row, where the center of gravity was shifting.

Galleries too far away from the center were suffering for traffic, but Gallery Row was seeing remarkable increases in visitor numbers. Olympic Blvd then became the southern boundary, and San Pedro Street the eastern boundary. This shift ensured the pedestrian nature of the event.

In 2007 the number of participating galleries reached 30, and in 2008, above 35. In 2007, DLANC sponsored the Art Walk shuttle, which began service in June 2007, and is now entering its second year. Keeping in mind that until only recently, the area was still challenging after dark, it took some time before the numbers of visitors increased substantially. But increase it did, steadily from an estimated 75 brave souls in September 2004 to more than 3,000 today.

Between 2003 and 2008 the area has also seen an explosion in residential conversion of formerly vacant or underused commercial buildings. As the resident population increased, so has the cultural vitality of the district. The public is not as skeptical as it was. The Downtown Art Walk now attracts many thousands of people, and the Historic Core and Gallery Row are becoming recognized as one of the most significant success stories in Los Angeles history.

by Bert Green