The new Santa Monica Art Museum (SMAM) debuts its first immersive and evolving art experience and exhibition to the public, inviting visitors and artists to see and participate in Los Angeles’s newest art ecosystem with Looking West, on view now and upcoming throughout Frieze Los Angeles.
Christoph Rahofer opened the 7,000 sqft museum along Santa Monica’s Third Street Promenade with the exhibition Looking West, titled by co-curator Tom Venditti, featuring several regional artists on view to the public and those visiting during Frieze Los Angeles.
In addition, SMAM will be hosting a series of events, exhibitions and panels with experts in art, curation, and museum innovation, as well as showcasing curated VR (virtual reality) exhibitions by leaders in the genre, Vortic and GAZELL.iO throughout Frieze Week.
As the museum continues to evolve you can stay tuned for more details regarding exhibition news related to SMAM’s ongoing digital art program, activations, and discussion panels throughout Frieze Week. To learn more about the museum’s programming during Frieze Week, visit HERE.
Looking West
Throughout the museum, visitors are invited to see the regional exhibition Looking West, featuring a diverse array of work from both emerging and established artists. These artists include: renowned British-American artist Russell Young, presenting selections of silk screen paintings from his iconic series WEST; Gretchen Andrew’s mixed media Vision Boards; Joachim Castañeda’s assemblage made from unconventional materials; Casey Baden’s mixed-media tapestries and weavings; Daniel Sackheim’s film noir-inspired street photography; and Lindsey Price’s surreal collage paintings. Other artists include: Dhiren Dasu, Feldsott, Brett Foraker, Jessica Goehring, Bob Landström, Tom Pazderka, Max Rippon, Nathan See, Philip Vaughan, Tatiana Wills, and Jody Zellen. Together, these artists add an evolving and important regional voice to the conversation about contemporary art in California through a variety of thematic explorations.
Santa Monica Art Museum Opening Reception + Looking West Afterparty at 1212, Saturday, Feb. 18th, 5PM – 9PM at SMAM and 9PM onward at 1212 Santa Monica.
From 5:00 – 9:00 PM, join us at the Santa Monica Art Museum to celebrate the new museum’s opening to the public with its inaugural contemporary fine art exhibition Looking West. There will be complimentary wine and spirits. At 9:00 PM, visitors will walk across the promenade to the Looking West Afterparty hosted by 1212 Santa Monica to continue the celebrations. RSVP Required
Panel Disscussions During Frieze Week
What is an Art Museum? Friday Feb 17th 2PM – 5PM
Please join SMAM for 3 panel discussions about immersive experiences, digital art, and the future of the Santa Monica Art Museum. Starting from 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM.
Immersive Art – 2:00 – 2:45 pm The Santa Monica Museum of Art was created to stand at a crossroads of traditional presentations of art and immersive experience. This panel brings together artists, companies, and programs pushing boundaries in immersive space using VR and AR technologies. Imogen Hare, Gazell.io & Gazelli Art House will discuss the state the future of immersive art with Vortic VR and artists.
NFTs with Physical Practices – 3:00 – 3:45 pm Aubrie Wienholt, founder of PR For Artists, artist Russell Young, and Casey Coyle, art advisor at SuperRare, discuss how artists with physical practices navigate the digital art market and what NFTs can offer to empower their careers.
The Future of Art Museums – 4:00 – 4:45 pm The future of the museum with Christoph Rahofer, Corey Madden, Merel van Helsdingen, and Jesse Damiani.
Crypto Mermaids & Mimosas – Powered By Tezos Saturday, Feb 18th, Discussion Panels, 11AM – 3PM
Start off your Frieze weekend with the Crypto Mermaids at the Santa Monica Art Museum! Powered by Tezos with support for the NFT Tuesday community.
Join us for complimentary mimosas and panel discussions about empowerment and feminism in Web3.
Crypto Mermaids support crypto education for those who feel isolated from Web3. We are an open community demystifying male-dominated knowledge topics in a fun, female, and approachable way. We will be celebrating with important voices in Web3 feminism and knowledge empowerment.
*Speaker list being updated daily.
Mermaids & Mimosa Welcome – 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM Crypto Mermaids support crypto education for those who feel isolated from Web3. We are an open community demystifying male-dominated knowledge topics in a fun, female, and approachable way. We will be celebrating with important voices in Web3 feminism and knowledge empowerment.
Community Formation as a Form of Art and Activism – 1:00 – 1:45 PM Daniel Kantor, Community Archivist, Cody Edison, NFTuesday Founder, Michael McClure, Blokhaus, Moderated by Mia Stern from Crypto Mermaids.
Expanded.art NFT Feminism – 2:00 – 2:45 PM Margaret Murphy, Expanded Art, Anika Meier, writer and curator, Ann Hirsch, artist, Gretchen Andrew, artist RSVP Required
VR Exhibitions
GAZELL.iO’s VR Library installations, each pushing the boundaries of the medium and raising probing questions about pressing environmental and societal issues, will be presented in a portfolio format that include VR experiences from GAZELL.iO’s artists: Alison Goodyear, Jocelyn Anquetil & Charles Harrop-Griffith, Armin Kelinger, BRiGHTBLACK, Matteo Zamagni, Matterlurgy, Michael Takeo Magruder, and Shi Zheng.
Vortic Curated is a new project which encourages a symbiotic collaboration between curators, artists and Vortic’s digital platform to create an exceptional programme of exhibitions and artist projects that push the boundaries of a virtual reality viewing experience. Exhibitions will include “Fever Dream” curated by Daria Borisova, featuring the works of 13 international artists; “Tim Stoner: Toil Stories” curated by Louis Blanc-Francard; “What Lies Beneath” curated by Direlia Lazo; and its newest show, “baby hair and afros” (meditations on hair) curated by Alayo Akinkugbe.
