A collaborative exhibition exploring themes of displacement, cultural memory and the fluid nature of home is on view through April 30 at the 18th Street Arts Center, organized by students from Santa Monica College's Gallery Exhibitions & Display program.
"Calls from Home," mounted by approximately 20 students enrolled in SMC's Art 80/82/84 Gallery Exhibitions & Display course, features work by eight Los Angeles-based artists whose practices grapple with displacement by state violence, gentrification, appropriation and environmental disaster. The exhibition runs through April 30 at 1639 18th St. in Santa Monica.
A free public reception is scheduled for Friday, April 24, from 2 to 5 p.m. in the Atrium at the 18th Street Arts Center. The event will open with a film premiere featuring artist interviews, followed by a panel discussion with the student curators, graphics team and outreach specialists. Attendees will also have the opportunity to contribute to a communal art piece.
"This is a family-friendly event, and all are welcome to join us in celebration," said Kim Garcia, SMC art instructor and course instructor.
The exhibition treats home not as a fixed place but as something constantly in motion. Featured artists — Luciana Abait, Jeff Beall, Takashi Horisaki, Dan Kwong, Momo Nagano, Rivka Nehorai, Ara Oshagan and Carol Zou — explore themes of cultural memory, negotiating identity, reclaiming space and building community, with movement as a common thread weaving together each work.
Among the standout works is a posthumous collaboration between Momo Nagano Kwong, who was among tens of thousands of Japanese Americans incarcerated across the western United States, and her son, Dan Kwong. A weaving Nagano Kwong created and later deconstructed for storage has been reassembled by Dan Kwong 48 years later. Also notable is Abait's installation "Off the Map," which explores displacement and loss of self in a world increasingly defined by the impacts of climate change, warping the familiar into a large, chaotic mass. Student curators assisted Abait in creating the installation on site.
The exhibition emerged from a close working relationship between SMC students and the staff and artists in residence at 18th Street Arts Center, a nonprofit artist residency founded in 1988 to support artists from around the world.
Garcia said the course gives students hands-on experience in exhibition planning, research and gallery management.
"The aim is to demystify the art world and highlight how arts professionals often wear multiple hats," Garcia said.
The theme emerged through studio visits and discussions with artists in residence at 18th Street Arts Center. Student curator Cindy Quach said the concept of displacement resonated deeply with her own family history.
"My family had left Vietnam after the war in search of a better life, so I had grown up witnessing the struggles and joy of my family navigating an unfamiliar place and culture," said Quach, who served on the curatorial team. "Home is something that will stay with you even if your physical space changes."
Student Calum, who worked on both the social media and curation teams, said the theme emerged organically from those conversations.
"We developed this theme through our studio visits and discussions with some of the artists in residence at 18th Street," Calum said. "A lot of us resonated with 'uprooted' as an idea, finding lots of different ways to get to that feeling."
The collaboration was not without its challenges. With students divided into four teams — curation, social media and press, graphics, and education and programming — communication across groups proved difficult.
"It felt like juggling while riding on a unicycle," Quach said. "At times, we didn't have time to pause to establish boundaries and best communication practices."
Pearl, who worked across the social media, outreach and education teams, said the experience offered a preview of dynamics students may encounter in professional settings.
"The problems we were running into exist in the professional art world," Pearl said. "Something we're thinking about is how we can stop replicating these issues so we can create healthier workplaces."
The exhibition's curatorial statement acknowledges that the 18th Street Arts Center stands on land traditionally stewarded by the Tongva-Gabrieleno people.
Admission to the exhibition and the April 24 reception is free. For more information, visit 18thstreet.org or call 310-453-3711.