L.A. is going through a renaissance of museums, what with the enduring popularity of The Broad, the opening of The Marciano Art Foundation, and the announcement of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.
Amid this wave of museums, the upcoming Main Museum (which will land in downtown L.A. in both the Hellman Building and the Farmers and Merchants Building) presents a refreshing take by espousing a more focused mission statement. Namely, it will be an L.A. museum that focuses on L.A. artists. The collection will be comprised of works that are created locally, said organizers. "Considering the environment of Los Angeles, I think we are better off using our resources doing things other than buying stuff," Director Allison Agsten said about the museum's collection, according to the Times.
Following in line with the museum's L.A.-centric ethos, the Main Museum will be taking in five L.A.-based artists in January for its residency program. These individuals will be given a furnished workspace (the studios range from 150 to 250 square feet), as well as a monthly "honorarium" of $1,000. The residencies will last between three to nine months. As noted by the Main Museum, a "variety of disciplines are accepted including, but not limited to, visual arts, media/new genre, performance, film/video, music/sound, choreography, and writing."
"It's central to the mission of the Main Museum that we support L.A. artists, and the residency program is the most direct way of doing that," Curatorial Associate Monica Rodriguez told LAist.
One of the intriguing things about this (among many others) is that the artists will be left to their own devices. There's an expectation that the artist works in the space at least three times a week. But, outside of that, the guidelines are pretty much nonexistent. You don't have to produce finished material by a certain timeline. You don't have to give a presentation of your work. That's all up to you. And, as Rodriguez told LAist, if an artist does want to give a public presentation or something along those lines, the museum will try to make that a reality.
Another added benefit: the museum will help to connect the artists with other individuals who are relevant to their work. "We may help facilitate studio visits. We can give them access to other artists and curators in L.A.," said Rodriguez.
“Through this residency, we aim to help artists advance their practices in an environment that cultivates expansive thinking and working,” Agsten said in a prepared statement. A couple artists—visual artists Lauren Halsey and Sid M. Dueñas—have already completed the residency.
The application is currently up on the Main Museum website. The deadline is October 2, and the museum will be conducting interviews with some applicants at the end of that month. A couple notes if you're interested: only residents of L.A. County can apply, and no, you can't move into the studio (which will be inside the museum) and live out of it. There'll be 24-hour access, however, which is way cool.
The Main Museum will be at 114 W 4th St, downtown Los Angeles. Currently, "Beta Main" resides in that space until the museum opens in 2020.
