This past June, Mama Earth presented it’s 3rd installment of ONE PEACE, an all-ages, pop up art show that raises awareness about our ongoing work in Los Angeles and abroad, at William Grant Still Arts Center in the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles. People from all walks of life show up to the event to view original art, listen to great music, and spend time with friends and family for a good cause. Click here to see photos from this year’s ONE PEACE show>>
After 2 years of ONE PEACE at the historic Bergamot Station in Santa Monica, we wanted to switch things up a bit. Last December, we heard about the 34th Annual Black Doll Show* at William Grant Still Arts Center (WGSAC) in Los Angeles.
*The Black Doll Show was founded in 1978, by the legendary L.A.-based artist and curator Cecil Fergerson, who served as the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts’ (LACMA) first black curator. It was inspired by “The Doll Test,” which revealed that children tended to assign negative qualities to black dolls and revealed how students internalized the racism that structured their everyday lives.
We were so pleased to learn about the wonderful work that William Grant Still Arts Center, founded in 1977, is offering to the community – summer camps, winter workshops, music and art classes for adults and youth, an exhibition space, concerts, and places for community meetings and the neighborhood to come together. With Los Angeles public schools facing continuous cuts to their art programs, staff members at the WGSAC in the West Adams neighborhood are working to ensure that students from all socioeconomic backgrounds have access to a cultural arts education. We knew this would be the perfect spot for this year’s ONE PEACE art show. With the help of the 34th Annual Black Doll Show curator, Keisa Davis, we were able to make contact with WGSAC director, Amitis Motevalli, and book the event!
“We believe our community arts programs are a great way to engage youth and open their perspectives to cultural arts and innovation,” Motevalli said. “They become more in touch with their community, their city, their state, their country and their world.”
We are honored and humbled to have presented a beautiful weekend of art at a community gem such as this.
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