Black Matters at West Los Angeles College

West Los Angeles College invites the community to honor Black History Month at the Black Matters exhibition running throughout February. Admission is free.

A public reception, also free, will be held Thursday, February 8 in the college Fine Arts Gallery adjacent to the parking structure from 5 pm to 8. The exhibit will display the works of 11 prominent and outstanding black artists including Charles Mingus III, Fred Eversley, Holley Tempo, June Edmonds and local Culver City artist Pamela Smith Hudson. Parking is available directly adjacent to the gallery in the Parking Structure for $2 - exact change will be needed.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Charles Mingus III, son of the legendary bassist and composer, is known for his work in film, animation and art. His work is has been featured in the New York Public Library, and the Museum of Modern. It is also part of distinguished private collections. He is also a teacher and lecturer in art and multimedia at the School of Visual Arts, NY, Towson State University, MD, S.U.N.Y./Empire State College, NY.

Fred Eversley made history as the first artist-in-residence at the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum. His art is permanently on display at the prestigious Whitney Museum of American Art and the Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Holly Tempo has been a featured artist by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and exhibited internationally in India, Spain, Great Britain, France, The Netherlands, Israel and Central America. She has been teaching at the School of Fine Arts at Otis College of Art and Design since 2001.

June Edmonds' work has been shown at local museums including California African American Museum, Huntington Beach Art Center and Watts Towers Art Center. She contributed to Los Angeles' public art by creating twelve Venetian glass mosaic panels which can be found at Metro's Pacific Station.

Pamela Smith Hudson will be a featured artist and speaker at the California African American Museum this Spring. Hudson lives and works in Culver City and teaches at Otis College of Art and Design. She applies a variety of techniques to her work such as printmaking, encaustic painting and mixed media drawing.

Other featured artists include Benny Andrews, Sharon Barnes, Lavialle Campbell, George Evans, Michael Massenburg, and Willie Middlebrook.

The exhibit is curated by Molly Barnes and Pamela Smith Hudson. Barnes is an art dealer, curator, radio personality and artist-in-residence at West. In addition to sharing her wealth of experience and knowledge with the college's aspiring artists, she coordinates free exhibits and lectures which are open to the public. Hudson teaches painting and mixed media courses at LACMA and Otis. Her work will also be displayed.

West Los Angeles College is located at 9000 Overland Avenue, Culver City, CA 90230. The college is a ACCJC-accredited community college providing full-time, part-time and online paths to university transfer and career preparation.