Culver City is gearing up for the artistic event of the season, as Artist Laureate Katy Krantz prepares to debut her ambitious community project, Dear Culver City. The sprawling ceramics installation, born from the hands and hearts of over a thousand locals, will be on display from April 15th to June 10th, 2024, at the Culver City City Hall. Administer your applause and get your peepers ready for an opening reception that promises to be heavy on local pride and light on pomp. The shindig is set for April 16th, from 5-7 PM, in the building's Dale Jones Courtyard.
According to an announcement on Culver City’s official website, the public is invited to attend the free opening, munch on some light refreshments, and soak in the first look at the exhibit. Mayor Yasmine-Imani McMorrin, along with the big shots from the Cultural Affairs and the Culver City Arts Foundation will drop some opening remarks that are expected to be short, sweet, and likely without the usual political palaver.
What makes this exhibition special, besides its interactive inception, is its foundation in words. Courtesy of a collaborative effort sparked in workshops citywide, Krantz orchestrated over thirty sessions where residents expressed their views on their city through both clay and conversation. They brainstormed words, and pressed them into clay, and now, those very words are shaping the conversations of seven local poets who will be reciting original pieces during the reception, as per a statement released by Krantz.
In the words of the artist herself, "I loved interacting with such a diverse range of Culver City community members." Krantz mentioned her enthusiasm for allowing locals to get their hands dirty with art, in the literal sense, and their minds active in community bonding; what's more, participants will get a chance to reclaim their creations after the exhibit's conclusion, on a yet-to-be-decided "reclaim" date. It’s community engagement at its grittiest, grounded in literal earthware.
The project, funded by the City and its Cultural Affairs Commission, with a financial leg-up from the Culver City Arts Foundation, rolled out across multiple locations, from the Culver City Senior Center to the Julian Dixon Library. The impact is tangible, with each pinch pot and small sculpture adding to a sprawling vista of the city's collective consciousness, a tactile testament to civic engagement and art's place in it. Check out the full program details and the pile of fruitful collaborative work by locals that turned into a vast exhibition, all thanks to the affectionately stamped syllables of their beloved city and the well-managed fire of creativity, over at the city's official communication channels.
